Band : Song of Zarathustra
Album : The Birth of Tragedy
Release Year : 2000
Genre : Post-Hardcore | Screamo | Experimental
Tracklist :
1) Intro
2) Mess of Zero
3) With Hands That Bleed
4) The Great Longing
5) The Evening Beat
6) Deep Yellow and the Burning Red
7) The Birth of Tragedy
8) Science, Science
9) Cry of Distress
10) The Stillest Hour
11) Machinist Union
12) Outro
Song of Zarathustra originated in Sioux City, IA during March 1997. The founding members were Trever McInnis, Travis Bos, James Munsen and a Roland R8 drum machine which was later replaced with David Seaman (ex-Nudibranch, ex-Orlock) on drums. For the next year, SOZ toured the greater part of the U.S. and disbanded in 1998 when David moved back to his hometown of Richmond, VA.
From 1998-2000, James and Travis moved to Minneapolis, MN and formed The Book of Dead Names (featuring members of Cadillac Blindside, The Evening Rig, The Cardinal Sin and The Crush) while Trever resided in Oakland, CA forming the Kill In Me (also, featuring members of Cadillac Blindside and Angel Hair). David formed the band Hot New Dance Hits with members of his previous band Nudibranch. March of 2000, SOZ decided to regroup. They toured immediately with the original line-up (Trever, Travis, James / Roland R8) and later recorded “The Birth of Tragedy” (Troubleman Unlimited) with Mark Jorgensen (Book Of Dead Names & Infinity Dive) on drums.
If you've heard any of SOZ's previous stuff (get the 10" if you haven't!!!) then you'll be familiar with a band that played screamo in a different fashion to most of the bands doing the style these days. And they've taken a further step to diversify their sound on this album, throwing a keyboard into the mix. Whilst they aren't doing anything too far out with the keyboards (often using repetetive sounds set to play in the stlye of a church organ), they aren't ripping off the Locust either. Musically it's a spazzo-screamo fest, lots of flailing and yelling and dancing to be done here. Imagine mixing Angel Hair and some Blood Brothers, and you'll be heading in the right direction. Crunching hardcore riffs do battle with off-kilter rhythms and screamo insanity, yo.
I also understood that they used a drum machine now instead of a drummer? I couldn't tell by listening to this. The whole sound they have now is perhaps a little too clinical and precise (certainly much more than they used to be), but I would hazard a guess that most people listening wouldn't pick out that they had programmed the drum beats. Or maybe they hadn't, and it was just a weird internet rumour I read somewhere. Hmm. And my biggest complaint about this record was that the vinyl didn't come out till much after the CD, and I wasn't going to sit around waiting to get this so I had to pick up the digital version. Sucks to be me.
Well, I wouldn't say that this was quite as good as the 10", but at least they are actually trying out some new sounds and not sticking to the tried and tested formula. This album will appeal to the spock-rocker in you.
2) Mess of Zero
3) With Hands That Bleed
4) The Great Longing
5) The Evening Beat
6) Deep Yellow and the Burning Red
7) The Birth of Tragedy
8) Science, Science
9) Cry of Distress
10) The Stillest Hour
11) Machinist Union
12) Outro
Song of Zarathustra originated in Sioux City, IA during March 1997. The founding members were Trever McInnis, Travis Bos, James Munsen and a Roland R8 drum machine which was later replaced with David Seaman (ex-Nudibranch, ex-Orlock) on drums. For the next year, SOZ toured the greater part of the U.S. and disbanded in 1998 when David moved back to his hometown of Richmond, VA.
From 1998-2000, James and Travis moved to Minneapolis, MN and formed The Book of Dead Names (featuring members of Cadillac Blindside, The Evening Rig, The Cardinal Sin and The Crush) while Trever resided in Oakland, CA forming the Kill In Me (also, featuring members of Cadillac Blindside and Angel Hair). David formed the band Hot New Dance Hits with members of his previous band Nudibranch. March of 2000, SOZ decided to regroup. They toured immediately with the original line-up (Trever, Travis, James / Roland R8) and later recorded “The Birth of Tragedy” (Troubleman Unlimited) with Mark Jorgensen (Book Of Dead Names & Infinity Dive) on drums.
If you've heard any of SOZ's previous stuff (get the 10" if you haven't!!!) then you'll be familiar with a band that played screamo in a different fashion to most of the bands doing the style these days. And they've taken a further step to diversify their sound on this album, throwing a keyboard into the mix. Whilst they aren't doing anything too far out with the keyboards (often using repetetive sounds set to play in the stlye of a church organ), they aren't ripping off the Locust either. Musically it's a spazzo-screamo fest, lots of flailing and yelling and dancing to be done here. Imagine mixing Angel Hair and some Blood Brothers, and you'll be heading in the right direction. Crunching hardcore riffs do battle with off-kilter rhythms and screamo insanity, yo.
I also understood that they used a drum machine now instead of a drummer? I couldn't tell by listening to this. The whole sound they have now is perhaps a little too clinical and precise (certainly much more than they used to be), but I would hazard a guess that most people listening wouldn't pick out that they had programmed the drum beats. Or maybe they hadn't, and it was just a weird internet rumour I read somewhere. Hmm. And my biggest complaint about this record was that the vinyl didn't come out till much after the CD, and I wasn't going to sit around waiting to get this so I had to pick up the digital version. Sucks to be me.
Well, I wouldn't say that this was quite as good as the 10", but at least they are actually trying out some new sounds and not sticking to the tried and tested formula. This album will appeal to the spock-rocker in you.
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