Customer Reviews

Zzyzx

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

 

 

This wasn't exactly what I expected from them, but this album is still quite a shock. They are actually doing alternative music? This is cool though....really cool.

It's also home to one of my favorite songs of all time, "Famous Last Words"

The music is surprising to someone who has been following them, but I always like it when bands to something different than the norm!

Besides my favorite song, there is also "Teenage Recoil" which is an excellent song. Again, this is different from their normal stuff. This is alternative stuff...but it's still good!

Comparing ZZYZX to Zeromancer's first two albums brings up many differences and many similarities - the biggest of these differences is that much lighter sound of ZZYZX - for the most part. It seems like the band is starting to depart from the childish 'Look how angsty we are!' appeal to a deeper, more intellectual style. The lyrics, for instance, are much more complex and deep then many of the songs on their first two cds. This CD is highly reccomended to everyone, especially those who are moving out of their uber-goth days and into something more deep - the band itself is doing the same thing.

I've been a fan of Zeromancer for a while now, since I heard their Rico Remix of Dr. Online, and have seen them play live here at The Metro in Chicago. They are an incredibly high-energy band and they give an amazing concert performance. Their signature hard rock and heavy drum beat are catchy and laid out well. I have all their CDs, and when ZZYZX came out overseas in Europe but not here, I braved www.amazon.de and dropped more than $30 for my (extremely heavily copy-protected) CD.

That said, ZZYZX left me with a bit of disappointment. Overall, the album is a lot slower, more mellow; the flagship track, "Famous Last Words", though beautiful, is so unlike most of ZMR's other songs that I wasn't sure what to make of it. A couple of the tracks are downright American pop sounding. Though the album as a whole is good, and each song is well done on its own, it's just not what I've come to expect from such awesome songs like "Clone Your Lover" and "Need You Like A Drug". It just wasn't Zeromancer enough for me.

If you're looking for pure Zeromancer, check out Eurotrash and Clone Your Lover, their first two albums.

I don't know why great bands think they have to change their style and turn emo, but it seems that so many of them are doing that these days. First to go was Apoptygma Berzerk, than Godhead, than Zeromancer, and more recently even Marilyn Manson slipped into this lame style of music. This album was sooooooo dissapointing. For a Zeromancer fan, words simply can not explain the emotional dammage I suffer. I feel entittled to a lawsuit against the band for bringing me back into depression. I hate it when bands sell out and try to appeal to the pop masses of floppy haired emo kids and silly little bubble gum teenagers who wouldn't know good music if it landed on their ears. This album royally sucks and it's not worth the price of butter. Don't even bother unless your into sappy indie music with little to no point. If your new to Zeromancer, start anywhere prior to this record and you'll be quite satisfied with some verry well done coldwave metal.

I loved Zeromancer since their first album Clone Your Lover, hi-octane dance music or techno/metal. Whatever they are, they seem to have become more gentle in this album. It sounds awesome though, ALMOST every song on here is a classic, they seem to have matured into the much deeper meaning and feeling of the music. The lyrics will hit you hard sometimes. My favorite song on here is Gone To Your Head, very awesome and love the way they mold the electronic ambience with the beats. I recommend this CD if you are a TRUE fan of Zeromancer, some are disappointed by the way they sound in this album. But I am glad that Zeromancer does the smart thing and evolve their music slowly, they will ALWAYS have the generic electronica in their music though, this album is true ZMR.

If you like Zeromancer and are into Experimental and Gothmusik
you should try and get your hands on some of the musik Zeromancer made before they changed some of their crew and the band name. Being a norwegian band they used to form a truly FANTASTIC band called Seigmen. I've been a huge fan for almost a decade and although they sing most of their lyrics on norwegian the music is truly worth checking out. Albums like Metropolis and Ameneon are great. So I would like to recomend SEIGMEN to anyone who like Zeromancer. Not quite as industrial, but great nonetheless.

If you can dismiss a band for amending or updating their sound then you should stop reading here. Yes this isn't the ZEROMANCER who released EUROTRASH or CLONE YOUR LOVER but on the other hand it isn't the latest tired nu-metal wannabe of the week either. What you have is a band that have taken a step forward and rather than just turned up the amps (a la ORGY's latest disc) have taken a more adult and introspective route. At times the band echo THE CURE (EROTIC SAINTS) and at others even RADIOHEAD or MANIC STREET PREACHERS (FAMOUS LAST WORDS). Of course there are nods back to the previous two albums (STOP THE NOISE) but generally this is a branch off into guitar driven alternative rock over the synth/industrial approach. At first this put me off as yes I too adored EUROTRASH and thought this CD would be more of the same. Which it is not but at the same time it is melodic and moving with the lyrical style still retaining the right dose of bitterness to veer it away from sentimentality that is all too evident in many alter rock bands these days. Also the fact that the US Version has two bonus tracks and is not copy protected like the European version is a plus in its favour. ZEROMANCER - changed but not forgotten.

The new Zeromancer album Zzyzx is very experimental. Comparative to their old sound but yet different. "Erotic Saints" delivers an acoustic sound never heard by Zeromancer before. While "Hollywood", and "Idiot Music" bring the old zeromancer sound. "Blood Music" almost has a Linkin Park feel to it. There seems to be a lot more heart put in to this album than their past albums. It seems the band has matured, you can tell on "Famous Last Words" that Zeromancer is a band that is growing together and with each day they become better friends and musicians. Great album. I reccomend it to anyone reguardless of what kind of music you like "Zzyzx" is an album worth a listen.

Key Songs - "Famous Last Words" "Blood Music" "Lamp Halo"

Highly recommended as a "first timer" to any Zeromancer listener. Not too hardcore and techno-ish. I highly enjoyed this CD.

This Zeromancer lacks the grit of their Eurotrash release. Teenage Recoil and Idiot Music still have some of that edge. Most of the songs are slower and more pop based. I'm reminded of Duran Duran a lot and would recommend their Red Carpet Massacre to you as well. Try Zeromancer's Eurotrash if you are looking for more industrial influences.