Zonal: Wrecked

This album has some listeners excited. Part of the reason is that it brings together the talents of Justin Broadrick (Godflesh) and Kevin Martin (Kind Midas Sound) in ways that are weird and wild and trippy. Some readers may be familiar with Broadrick and Martin’s last project Techno Animal. This project is like that album in that the sounds are more indebted to dub and drone than anything else. I’m not sure if Techno Animal drew on the talents of Moor Mother, but this album draws on her abilities liberally for at least half of the tracks. Moor Mother is good at what she does and her haunting lyrics and melancholy vocal performance gives this album some much-needed variety.

You might like this album if the artists names are already familiar to you and you want more of what they do. You also might like this album if you like bands like Psychic TV, Prurient, The Haxan Cloak, Chrome, or Scorn. Fans of extreme metal will not likely enjoy what they hear unless really like dub-inspired beats and rhythms. It’s possible that some fans will flock to Zonal’s melancholy beats. Things are consistently dark and foreboding, but the band never leaves things there. They dive deeper, exploring some of the darkest possible places. Some albums have a consistent gloom hanging over everything; this album takes that gloom and strips away the possibility of hope. Fortunately, the tracks with Moor Mother have a bit more heft and personality. I wouldn’t be surprised if Zonal collaborates with her again. There’s a workable chemistry there that has potential for something truly interesting. And yet, this is not an album I would reach for on a regular basis.

Track Listing:
1. Intro, Body of Wire (ft. Moor Mother)
2. In a Cage (ft. Moor Mother)
3. System Error (ft. Moor Mother)
4. Medulla (ft. Moor Mother)
5. Catalyst (ft. Moor Mother)
6. No Investigation (ft. Moor Mother)
7. Wrecked
8. Debris
9. Black Hole Orbit
10. S.O.S.
11. Alien Within
12. Outro�"Stargazer

Added: November 4th 2019
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Bandcamp Page
Hits: 823
Language: english

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