Zero Cipher - 45 Minutes Of Fairy Tale Endings
2003 - Casket Records
By Philip Whitehouse
Go to the Zero Cipher website.
The UK mainstream rock press are already falling in love with Zero Cipher, and with the release of their debut full-length, it's about time I got to hear what all the fuss was about. I'm going to warn you all in advance, however - this review will feature the words 'emo', 'hardcore', 'nu metal' and even, Satan forbid, 'turntables'. There, all of you of a nervous disposition when it comes to stuff 'da kidz' would like can now rush off and hide.
Zero Cipher are an intriguing blend of furious emo/hardcore, nu-metal aggression and, at times, dance and ambient techno (the latter influence coming courtesy of the bands turntablist/sampler, DJ Force X). Oh, and this is all bound up in an (un)healthy dose of genuine insanity. Not the generally intense but fairly restricted anger mismanagement of the likes of Steve Austin, you understand, but the total, drooling, goggle-eyed lunacy rarely seen outside of the rubber-walled section of a mental asylum. I really do fear for the welfare of this band after hearing this album.
Take, for instance 'Beginning Of The End', which begins with some vaguely Matrix-esque club beats and ambient melodies, before spinning off into unhinged riffage and melodic touches that are then swirled and distorted to become a fractured, suffocating mess. Or the absolutely hilarious/terrifying (depending on your point of view) 'Oompa Loompa', which features Duncan Williams (guitar/vocals) and Will Pain (bass/vocals) screaming 'Oompa loompa stick it up your jumper' repeatedly in lung-bursting howls over a pounding drum beat. This then segues rapidly into a cover of Earthtone 9's 'Vitriolic HSF', which is admirably performed with its original mix of melody and fury intact.
The whole album, in fact, absolutely teems with the creativity that can probably only be borne from minds practically untethered from any practical or sensible consideration of reality. The album is presented as a concept of sorts - occasional, bizarre interludes tell a fairly generic fairy tale story in a twisted kind of way, complete with tongue-in-cheek narration by Bill Pain Snr, presumably the bassist's father!
Slight niggles do arise, however - the production of the guitars is rather annoyingly thin and buzzy, and the sound of them tends to scrape across the nerves somewhat. Also, the schizophrenic mix of high-pitched, melodic singing and utterly deranged screaming can be quite jarring. Couple that with the momentum-halting narrated segments and the occasional sense that the band should be taking themselves just a little bit more seriously, and it all adds up to an album you can either love for its intense lunacy or despise for its idiosyncratic weirdness.
Luckily, after an initial period of readjustment (necessitated by exposure to this album directly after an extended binge of listening to Katatonia's latest album - a pretty large jump by any standards), I fell into the former camp. Zero Cipher are almost fiercely independant and original, defying categorisation and, indeed, understanding as gleefully as they mess with the perceptions of what an album should be. And, since the album comes packaged with the rare-as-rocking-horse-shit EP, '45rpm', I heartily recommend anyone with an ear for something new to check these guys out.
7.5/10
2003 - Casket Records
By Philip Whitehouse
Go to the Zero Cipher website.
The UK mainstream rock press are already falling in love with Zero Cipher, and with the release of their debut full-length, it's about time I got to hear what all the fuss was about. I'm going to warn you all in advance, however - this review will feature the words 'emo', 'hardcore', 'nu metal' and even, Satan forbid, 'turntables'. There, all of you of a nervous disposition when it comes to stuff 'da kidz' would like can now rush off and hide.
Zero Cipher are an intriguing blend of furious emo/hardcore, nu-metal aggression and, at times, dance and ambient techno (the latter influence coming courtesy of the bands turntablist/sampler, DJ Force X). Oh, and this is all bound up in an (un)healthy dose of genuine insanity. Not the generally intense but fairly restricted anger mismanagement of the likes of Steve Austin, you understand, but the total, drooling, goggle-eyed lunacy rarely seen outside of the rubber-walled section of a mental asylum. I really do fear for the welfare of this band after hearing this album.
Take, for instance 'Beginning Of The End', which begins with some vaguely Matrix-esque club beats and ambient melodies, before spinning off into unhinged riffage and melodic touches that are then swirled and distorted to become a fractured, suffocating mess. Or the absolutely hilarious/terrifying (depending on your point of view) 'Oompa Loompa', which features Duncan Williams (guitar/vocals) and Will Pain (bass/vocals) screaming 'Oompa loompa stick it up your jumper' repeatedly in lung-bursting howls over a pounding drum beat. This then segues rapidly into a cover of Earthtone 9's 'Vitriolic HSF', which is admirably performed with its original mix of melody and fury intact.
The whole album, in fact, absolutely teems with the creativity that can probably only be borne from minds practically untethered from any practical or sensible consideration of reality. The album is presented as a concept of sorts - occasional, bizarre interludes tell a fairly generic fairy tale story in a twisted kind of way, complete with tongue-in-cheek narration by Bill Pain Snr, presumably the bassist's father!
Slight niggles do arise, however - the production of the guitars is rather annoyingly thin and buzzy, and the sound of them tends to scrape across the nerves somewhat. Also, the schizophrenic mix of high-pitched, melodic singing and utterly deranged screaming can be quite jarring. Couple that with the momentum-halting narrated segments and the occasional sense that the band should be taking themselves just a little bit more seriously, and it all adds up to an album you can either love for its intense lunacy or despise for its idiosyncratic weirdness.
Luckily, after an initial period of readjustment (necessitated by exposure to this album directly after an extended binge of listening to Katatonia's latest album - a pretty large jump by any standards), I fell into the former camp. Zero Cipher are almost fiercely independant and original, defying categorisation and, indeed, understanding as gleefully as they mess with the perceptions of what an album should be. And, since the album comes packaged with the rare-as-rocking-horse-shit EP, '45rpm', I heartily recommend anyone with an ear for something new to check these guys out.
7.5/10
Exelent review Mr Devil 
