If you consider yourself a Death Metal fan, you should definitely follow The Zenith Passage. This is a destructive metal force hailing from Los Angeles, CA intent on devouring your mind. In little over a year, they've managed to create one big time proposition for the Death Metal world and have built a small army of followers in the process. In short, the potential for this band and their music is through the roof.
The Zenith Passage released their debut EP "Cosmic Dissonance" both independently and via Total Deathcore back in the end of January. We're gonna be taking a gander at that release today. And one helluva release it is.
This band writes / plays what they've dubbed as "Death Metal From Space". Yes, I know this may sound boring and played out. Probably because of the abundance of groups playing "Space Metal" who probably couldn't even name all the planets, let alone create any concept that's remotely interesting in regards to the vastness of space. The Zenith Passage is one of those bands that does it right. Just to give you an idea, if I had to compare this EP to any other release in existence, it would be the space-related epic "Planetary Duality" from The Faceless.
The music itself on this EP is razor sharp, packing in very tight technical elements with a massive, heavy edge. Add this with the ridiculous amount of talent the band embellishes every song with and you have a winning combination. Chances are tracks like "Xenith" and "Tombs of Trepidation" will end up lodged in your head. Segments of "Kaleidoscopic Tendencies" have been in mine all day. The point is every song here has something special and brutal to deliver listeners.
My criticisms here are few and far between. Two in particular spring to mind. First off, the production is essentially good but it could definitely be much better in sports. Second, the music on this EP isn't always the most original... but damn is it good! And it really points to this band's extreme potential. Seriously, if The Zenith Passage just works a bit on developing their own original sound they will likely be at the forefront of Death Metal in a few years. Everything else is already in place.
To sum things up, LISTEN TO THE ZENITH PASSAGE! My work here is done.
