Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Album Review: "World Builder" by Zirakzigil

World Builder
If there's one kind of music in this world that one either loves or hates, it's prog.

Progressive music is something that the most ardent fans will study to find the spot where the drummer plays the kick drum  just a hair off of the time and then debate for weeks whether or not that was intentional and what it means to the song.

More interesting than that bit of glaring hyperbole is the fact that more people love prog than admit to loving prog, especially in metal.

When the roots of metal are traced, all roads lead back to Black Sabbath. Anyone who's learned any of Sabbath tunes, Paranoid notwithstanding of course, will be able to tell you how many riffs there are in those tunes. The amount of musical movements and passages on those records is more than can be counted.

Metallica...even though they've never said it perse, Lars and James discussed their albums full of mini-epics ad nauseam when the Black Album came out full of short tunes.

First things first, Zirakzigil (which I cannot properly pronounce) has chosen to name themselves after a mountain from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

If that's not just perfect for a band that writes songs that clock in around 13 minutes, then there's nothing perfect in this world at all and we're all going to burn.

So, these songs aren't mini-epics like the sub-ten minute gems on Metallica's ...And Justice For All and aside from the long run times, there's nothing else in common here with Metallica of any era.

These songs feature passages, movements, full of melody and anxiety. Guitars harmonize with the bass guitar. The drums pop along with the riffs.

Anyone seeking long, self-indulgent solos, should look elsewhere. (I will confess myself slightly disappointed here.) This band is a team. There's a goal and they set about achieving it together.

The title of this album is one of the best I've heard in years. These songs slowly, languidly, and articulately create new worlds.

These songs are musical landscapes. See the birth, life, and death of the worlds they create.

Release: 6/10/16
Genre: Progressive Metal
Label: Prosthetic Records
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