Customer Reviews

Silencer

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I discovered Zed at the end of last year when I spent 2 1/2 months in New Zealand. They seemed to be everywhere; "Renegade Fighter," "Come On Down" and "Glorifilia" were all over the radio, at the same time! I instantly got hooked.

I own the original release (the one with the pacifier on the CD cover), so I can't say how the bonus tracks are. Bonus tracks or not, however, this CD is awesome. I can listen to "Silencer" time and again and still not get sick of it.

The tunes are catchy without being irritating. The melodies vary from song to song -- some dark, some soft, some fast, some mellow. But what really gets me are the lyrics. They are thought-provoking and interesting -- not like the silly fluff put out by other pop bands nowadays. And some lyrics are just fun -- such as "What do you expect from someone named after a cow? Go figure!" (from "Oh! Daisy").

My favorite songs are "Don't You Sometimes Wish?" -- beautiful guitar playing on that one -- and "Renegade Fighter." But honestly, all of the songs are so good that there really isn't a song on "Silencer" that I don't like. It's more a matter of which song I like best.

Zed are very talented both as musicians (Nathan King has one of the best voices out there, and Andy Lynch won NZ's "Guitarist of the Year" award ) and as songwriters. I look forward to when their music gets picked up by American DJs, as I think my fellow yanks will become as hooked as I am!

(Now, if I could only be sure that people won't assume Zed is an Australian band, like they did with Crowded House...)

Until very recently, there was a huge cringe factor associated with New Zealand music. It received little airplay, and we considered that if music wasn't huge overseas then it didn't deserve to be huge here.

However, Bic Runga's (from Christchurch, NZ ...she was responsible for the hit 'Sway' on the first American Pie movie) debut was so undeniably good that radio stations nationwide took pride in playing her songs. With the successful debut of The Feelers (also from Christchurch) following, a big shift in New Zealand happened. Suddenly we could take pride in listening to homegrown music, without having to make excuses for it. Zed's (from Christchurch!) album 'Silencer' came out soon after The Feelers', and dominated the airwaves.

It is not hard to see why. The first track, Renegade Fighter, is a radio-friendly hit right up there with the best on offer from any overseas bands. The other twelve tracks alternate between ballads and pop-rock numbers such as the excellent 'I'm Cold.'

However, this is not a great album just because it's full of radio hits. What makes this album a pleasure to listen to is the fact that it has such an unusual feel. This is not a band trying to sound like an American one; this is a suburban band making their own, distinctive style of music. Their songs are invariably cheerful, but not in the major-key/repeat chorus/up a key way that some bands have. It's the enthusiasm behind them more than anything that creates this feel. Personality is not masked by expensive production. If I was to place this album in a genre of music, I'd put it in the Brit-rock one. 'In My Mind' certainly is reminiscent of bands like Oasis, and not only because of the singing. Likewise, 'Oh! Daisy' is a super-catchy and amusing song that would have been right at home on the British charts a few years ago.

Perhaps given a different location and an earlier release, this album may have found more overseas success. Perhaps it's for the best though, for this album is one that you can buy and delight in the fact that you're the only person who knows about this amazing album.

Cool stuff, really enyoy this CD. Still in my CD player after 3 months.

Fellow Kiwis are all too aware that New Zealand musicians, incredible as they are, rarely achieve international recognition. However, Zed have, and we are all very proud of them. Stand out tracks on this album include "Come On Down", "Renegade Fighter", "Glorifillia" and "Oh! Daisy". This album is fantastic, from a fantastic band from a fantastic country. It's about time New Zealand got some musical recognition and the Zed quartet are certainly going the right way in acheiving this feat. Congratulations, boys...buy this album readers!

Silencer is the excellent first album from New Zealand rock group Zed. Zed have a unique sound, combining catchy melodies with original lyrics. I was impressed by the variety and diversity between songs, from the soulful ballad 'Come on Down', to the more up-tempo 'Driver's Side'. Zed would appeal to anyone who loves melodic guitar rock, in the vein of Coldplay or Pearl Jam. Silencer has quickly become one of my favorite albums of all time. Highly recommended.

Combining the likes of Creed and Pearl Jam, comes the new album by ZED. A relatively new band, there new up themes, excited me cos im in to this sort of music. But that slow ock, that gets the message across, will thrill you and make you want to buy this perfect peice of slow rock!

One of the best acts from New Zealand. This album is absolutely brilliant. Also check out their new album "This Little Empire". Their new album is fantastic especially the remake of the song "Don't Worry Baby" - I think their version is better than the original.

I have both editions of Silencer, and play them constantly. Zed have been my favourite band for almost four years now. They're huge here in NZ, and about to get even bigger with a new album out on October 24th (2003). You have to listen to Silencer, it's the best album I've ever heard. All their songs are different, and the entire sound of their music is so unique. My favourite songs are Goodman, In my mind and S.P.S. The lyrics in all of their songs are so cleverly written, sorry to sound sappy, but they sound like poetry. But they're sung in such a rocky way, love it. Some of the songs are about the typical subject of love, but the lyrics are so clever, and so different. The bonus disk has live versions of their biggest songs, and some remixes. Plus there's two great songs not featured on the original Silencer; Cavalier and Leaving me. The song Americans are more likely to have heard is Starlight, which was actually written by Weezer. In my opinion this song is not as good as the songs by Zed on the Silencer album, and don't judge them by that song because it's so not what Zed are about. Everyone should have a copy of Silencer, whether they're into pop music or rock, because it caters for all tastes. Silencer went triple platinum in NZ, which means that almost 1/3 of NZ people have the album in their CD rack!!! Buy the album today, and become part of the statistic!!! http://www.geocities.com/andy_addict/

Ok, firstly, I would like to stress that this is NOT an Australian band, it is oh so definately from New Zealand, you know,that tiny country in the southern hemisphere filled with sheep and hobbits.....?

Well anyway, Zed is awesome, I got this album before Cd's became big, while I only had a casette player, and I'm still addicted to every single song,and my only regret is that I left it behind when I came to the States. This band deserves more than anything to be recognised internationally. They released a new song recently, called starlight, which is more poppy than I like, but anyway, silencer is awesome. Buy it.

This cd is one of the best ones I have heard, I had actually bought it, because of what one of the previous reviews had said, and Silencer is seriously a great cd to listen to... In my opinion it sort of sounds like The White Stripes mixed with something else that I can't put my finger on ... but if you willing, this is seriously a great cd..!