Customer Reviews

Fear Is What Keeps Us Here (Bonus Dvd)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With their newest album, one of the most influential metalcore bands of the entire underground scene has again surprised its fans and foes alike. Far more brutal than their preceding concept album, Zao has shed the restrictions of what a studio album is "supposed" to sound like and created a profoundly different sound for themselves that draws a line in the sand that divides their listeners: those that like it, and those that don't. While I am of the opinion that this is a fantastic record, it is important to know a few things before listening to it for the first time.

The most obvious change in this album is the massive drop in production from The Funeral of God. Recorded with Steve Albini (of Pixies and Neurosis fame) without using computerized effects or balancing, the sound and feel of the album are much more gritty and raw than FoG. Going right along with this is the change in vocalist Dan Weyandt's sound - for this album, his voice was not captured directly from the microphone. Rather, the microphone feed went into an amplifier, and the sound from that was then fed onto the recording tape; in layman's terms, this means that the vocals on this album sound much more like the vocals from Zao's live show than any other Zao album to date. Inevitably, this produces a split between those who love the heavier, grittier, more raw sound and those who prefer the more produced sound that is heard on the Funeral of God. Lastly, one thing that can hardly be complained about (even by those who don't particularly like the album) is the amazing showing from Jeff Gretz, Zao's new drummer. His pounding rhythms add a whole new dimension to the sound of the band and are easily one of the best things that has happened to Zao since the loss of Jesse Smith.

Therefore, it is almost impossible to say for sure just from reviews whether or not you will like the album. If you enjoy Zao's live show and were a fan of Liberate Te Ex Inferis, then there is a very good chance that you will love the new album. If you'd rather listen to the more polished sounds of Funeral of God and Self-Titled, then perhaps you might want to pass on this album. What is unmistakeable and unchangeable, however, is the unbridled passion and talent of this long-lived, genre-defining band, so if you are even slightly excited by the prospect of an exciting new direction for this amazing band, do yourself a favor and give it a spin.

It's hard to write a proper review for this album. With every album, Zao puts their "legacy" on the line and the outcome is always not quite what you expect. I love all the past Zao albums, but i can say they have surprised me before with albums that don't make perfect sense the first time around (Parade of Chaos/ All Else Failed re-record). But with this album I knew immediately that it was amazing. Zao went the opposite direction of modern metal. The trend now is to tweak every digital nob in order to create a "perfect" sounding record. As you already know, Zao enlisted Steve Albini (or he enlisted them) to record this album. The results are incredible. Not only did Zao write some incredible music, but the analog recording style Albini is known for created an amazing album. And what perfect timing. I thought my head would explode if i heard another faux-metal emo chugga-chugga-eek-eek raaaaarrrr *emo croon* band. This album is done punk rock style in the spirit of bands like Motorhead, Venom and Slayer. The album is fast, brutal and insanely heavy. Just listen to "Physician Heal Thyself." Tech-thrash with a super sludgy ending and Dan's best pig squeeling yet. I'm not going to do a track by track analysis because it's not necessary. This album kills. There is no point to compare this to their other records. Just buy it and be amazed.

Oh man, this goes out to D. Cox "guitarmagic101"'s post, the production on this album is so freakin good, man I love it for that fact alone. Just goes to show its a matter of taste. I am not some uninformed newb either, I do lots of audio engineering/production. The lo-fi sound is so fierce and that kick drum is very thumpy. Unlike, all this cute/snappy/spikey/small weak drum production that is produced on %90 of rock albums.

FIERCE. Good album.

I must say that after Parade Of Chaos I wasn't too excited about Zao anymore. Funeral Of God didn't excite me but it grabbed my interest. The Fear That Keeps Us Here didn't do much more. Although their songwriting is as tight as ever I found myself being unable to tell the difference between songs. Everything seemed jumbled and chaotic, although that can be a good thing at times it wasn't in this case. I have been a long time fan of Zao (going on a decade now) but it seems that after Self-Titled Zao lost something. I still love this band to death (they put on one of the best live shows i've ever seen) but i'm hoping and praying they can rekindle the fire from their earlier days. And I must say this, Where Blood And Fire Bring Rest was and probably always will be Zao's best effort so it will take alot from them to get my jaw dropping again.

At first, I did realize the differences in the styles of recording compared to previous albums. I had to get used to how the vocals and drums sounded. However, watching the DVD helped put a lot in perspective for me. They say numerous times that this was supposed to be a record that wasn't like anything they've done before, and they also say that if Splinter Shard was Zao: Stage 1 and Blood And Fire-Funeral Of God was Zao: Stage 2, then this was the start of Zao: Stage 3. The new drummer, Jeff Gretz, is the fastest they've had and is open minded, not pig headed and egocentric like Jesse Smith, who managed to sty with the band up until 2004. Russ Cogdell is no longer a member due to knee surgery and needing more time with his family, but Scott does a hell of a job without him. The introduction to It's Hard Not To Shake... has one of the most, if not the most, impressive riffs in any Zao song. The majority of Cancer Eater and little parts of I think 2 other songs, are brilliant, clean, classical guitar riffs that never get old. Dan's new vocals sound exactly like he sounds live, or as he did on the Split EP with T.F.U. I enjoyed this change very much, but the old songs never fail to impress me still. As always, the lyrics on this album are examples of phenominal writing. Marty Lunn, the new bassist, doesn't seem to fit Zao physically, but musically he was the missing link to great, solid, song polishing bass lines. I love this album so get over yourself and stop complaining that they experimented a little bit.

This record is good! I really mean that in a great way. It is a grow on you record though, dont expect to love this right away. I got this last wednesday in the mail and i have listened to it about 10 times and i like it more each time. You just have to buy it if you like Zao or metal in general. It is Zao's "Jane Doe" in my opinion, much more raw and straight forward than their past stuff, but deeper and with more lasting power than some of their old stuff.

The recording is definately raw! The drums are huge, you can hear the bass clearly and there is a wall of guitar on every song. Dan's vocals are much more gnarly than they ever have been. His low and high vocals are heavily layered and sound pretty wicked, in a Behemoth "zos kia kultus" way. The songs are very sludgy and have more rock/hardcore tempos and structures. There are less typical breakdowns and alot more groove and much more tech and blasty parts than ANY of the older Zao stuff.

Just go get this record! It will grow on you as it is growing on me.

4.5/5
Highlights: Everything You Love Will Soon Fly Away, Physician Heal Thyself, A Last Time for Everything
Lowlights: the emo-esque singing on Gun In Your Mouth, lack of variety

I've become a Zao fanatic. In half a year, I own all their records since Blood and Fire. I received this cd in the mail today, and it has turned out to be everything I was hoping for. Before I forget, props to Asterik studios for creating a killer companion booklet to compliment a killer record.

The cd begins with Cancer Eater, a beautifully crafted opener that transitions nicely into the first "real" song, Physician Heal Thyself. Dan's vocals are in fine form on this record, and it sounds like he's reaching deep into his bag of tricks to pull out some Self-Titled flavor on this album. It goes without saying that this is good news. After you pick yourself off the floor from Physician Heal Thyself you will be hit with one of the sweetest riffs you'll ever hear in your life courtesy of "Everything". Also noteworthy is the awesome breakdown that closes the album on A Last Time for everything. (A Pirate's Prayer anyone?)

Past incarnations of Zao have been acused (mostly unjustly) of riding too heavily on the whole electronic thing. But this Zao seeks to remove that entirely. There was 0 computer editing on this piece, keeping the essence of the songs very "raw". This is good for those of us who are beginning to have trouble seeing the "art" in music thats been freeze dried, canned, thawed, artificially preserved, and spit-shined to remove any character from the music (*cough* As I *cough* Lay Dying *cough*).

My complaints are minor and trivial. Overall, this album didn't have the catchy riffing that Blood and Fire had, and its lacking some of the variety that we have seen from Zao in the past. It would have been cool to have a few more useless acoustic interludes or some more whisper vocals. There's also a singing part on Gun In Your Mouth thats kinda...emo. The rest of the song's good enough to make up for it, but it shoulda been left out.

In conclusion, buy this record. Now! Do it! And do yourself a favor, get it without the cheesy dvd.

first off---this is the best zao record since "liberate". i've been a zao fan for roughly 10 years(makes me feel old, is 30 old?) and i ,like a lot of other zao fans, wasn't sure where they were going to go when jesse smith left and then came "funeral of god". don't get me wrong, "fog" isn't a bad record, it definitely has it's moments of genius, but it also sounds like every other metal band of the era and in time will sound just as dated as "splinter" does today. i had walked by "fear" a thousand times, picked it up many times, even made it as far as the cash register with it once ,listened to samples, read reviews, wanted to get it because of steve albini's involvement but i always ended up putting it back and going with something else or just leaving the record store empty handed(what does that tell you about our current musical climate). like a lot of other fans,i just figured zao's creativity had left with jesse. fast forward to yesterday, i find this used for 6 bucks so what the hell, everything else out there sucks right now so let's give zao another shot. it ends up that i actually regret all the times i passed over it. i was blown away with "fear". the sound on here is amazing, i'm a fan of live records anyway, be it live in studio or in concert, and this was in large part recorded that way or at least it's made to sound like it was. albini is a genius his willingness to completley avoid a lot of the modern technology that goes into recording gets him a lot of respect on my end. in a list of zao albums from best to worst "fear" is #3 right behind "blood & fire" and "liberate" so that's my two cents and to anybody who keeps walking by this stop, turn around, go back and pick it up, you'll thank me later.

in reviewing this, but I've been listening to a lot of this album lately and figured it was worth reviewing.

By far my favourite of Zao's releases, this is a great album on so many levels.
The issues tackled by Dan on this record have been addressed before, most of them anyway, but never with the lyrical intensity that he brings.

I love every song on this album, except "Physician Heal Thyself". Normally I'm not too impresed with lyrics, but writing about everything from zombies to the native american situation, Dan has crafted beautiful lyrics.

The music is amazing, the vocals are amazing, everything flows well on this album, which is something I don't always find on Zao's records.

A great great great album. There's a whole "feel" to this release, a lot like "The Funeral Of God", but very different mood/attitude.

Brutal.

this is my first introduction to zao, it was an impulse buy at my cd shop and i was instantly blown away by this cd...first off i love the vocals, being a fan of beneath the sky, but more importantly i love the intensity of the album while still maintaining good melody...this blows so much of the modern day metalcore crap out of the water...it combines the intensity of hardcore with nice melody...i will definately check out their other releases