THE BLACK SEA
With the release of
The Black Sea
San Diego-based DIVIDED BY ZERO blends more musical styles together
seamlessly than you could ever imagine possible. Melodic Rock, Punk,
Reggae, and Metal are fused together to present a truly unique sound.
I've always been a fan of bands that could do this ...well. Plenty of
bands try to blend musical styles, and a lot of them fall flat.
Remember FAITH NO MORE? T-RIDE? GALACTIC COWBOYS? If not, you should
check out
T-Ride and
Space in Your Face, two discs that were WAY ahead of their time, and never got the props they deserved. But I digress...on with the review.
Right off the bat, "Ashes Of Armies" hits with you with a homogenized
blend of all the aforementioned musical styles, and caps it with a big
fat melodic chorus seldom heard in rock (recently released, that is).
"Damn The Dream" has so many peaks and valleys in it, moving from
thrash-inspired riffs to beautifully harmonized vocal melodies, it's
hard to believe they packed so much into 3 minutes and 45 seconds.
Comprised of members from 90's hard rock/hip-hop/reggae band
GHOULSPOON, Divided By Zero has potential to be really huge. They're
the kind of band that is going to develop a very loyal underground
following that's only going to increase exponentially with every
release. What is going to help them immensely is how they make musical
styles you may not have been into very agreeable. The biggest shocker
for me when I first listened was how much I didn't mind the reggae
influence. I was never a Bob Marley fan, but I like what these guys are
doing with the reggae beats. They're a TIGHT band, too; the kind of
tight that comes with playing with the same crew for years.
Production-wise, this is a very dynamic disc. Mikey Doling (SNOT,
SOULFLY) did a superb job making every instrument and voice mesh
perfectly. Nothing is overpowered, and they sound like one cohesive
unit.
Divided By Zero are a band to keep an eye on. Like I said, they're
going to develop a very strong, gradual, following, until eventually
you're not going to be able to ignore them. That's what will give you
staying power if you're a working musician, and everyone loves staying
power.... oof, that sounded like a Viagra commercial.
