Züül - Out of Time

Up from the recesses of Carbondale, Illinois comes Züül, a straight-away heavy metal outfit that seems to have tapped into that NWOBHM keg that seems to be making a small, yet discernable re-emergence of late. With Sweden’s Enforcer just issuing a monster of a NWOBHM-sounding release, the addition to my listening pleasure is always welcome. I relish remembering my roots and beginnings.

The band combines what sounds like a very serious mesh of Killers-era Maiden with some bulldozer guitar tones that make good use of the often overused and unnecessary drop-tuning. For the band’s first full-length, Out of Time is a fitting tribute to what I consider the best period of heavy metal history, hands down. It’s classic, simple metal that catches both your attention and the brilliance of that wonderful period. I’m not sure if that’s the sound the band was going for, but if it was just dumb luck then where are the pages of formula? Somehow I think this was hardly an accident.

Some thirty years late for the original party, Züül can be a part of something very special, and that could be the rise of the classic Angel Witch/Diamond Head sound of the late seventies and early eighties. The music here resounds so much like the tunes you’d hear on one of the odd seven-inch releases or some compilation of underground bands. “Warhammer” is a pounding track complete with chorus chant-a-long that doesn’t get redundant or annoying like Manowar or Hammerfall. The originality here might not be an issue for some of the fans too young to remember such a pivotal time for our music, so what might appear to be some solid doom can actually lead them backwards to this period. As I said, Züül can be a part of something heavy.

Out of Time possesses some very fine production worthy of such equally-fine music. The songs differ from each other nicely in style and riffing, even bordering on some punkish feel in tracks like “Backstreet Crawler,” which might as well have been left off a Lightning to the Nations or the first Iron Maiden offering. The time period is both viable for today’s fan and a wondrous step back for the older generation that recalls scavenging through record stores for that rare import of some undervalued British band. And what do you know? They’re from my neck of the woods! Finally, Illinois can be known for something positive and not just that insipidity of an Enuff Znuff! Thankfully we also have Trouble to round it all out, but Züül will be a band to watch for in the coming months and should be noted.

Check out the band’s MySpace page and see if you can find yourself settling into that familiar groove before tremolo picking and Frost-like drumming took over the masses. There’s nothing wrong with those advancements, but now and again it’s cool to slow down the pace a bit and just rock out hard! Züül is the band to watch!

*By clicking "Submit" you agree to the following Terms of Use. You agree not to post any material that is obscene, slanderous, or threatening, or that may violate any law of your country of origin or the United States or of international law. Should you wish to restrict viewing of your email address by third parties, you must select "Hide My Email." You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Metal Psalter from any claims, actions, suits, damages, or other costs arising out of any breach of these Terms of Use.

*Comments:

April 28, 2010

Reviewer: Chris

Release Date: January 25, 2010
Label: Planet Metal Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  Out of Time
2.  Warriors
3.  Executioner
4.  Air Raid
5.  Warhammer
6.  Backstreet Crawler
7.  Darkness on the Ice
8.  Ride Ride
9.  Return to Yagi

Total playing time:  39:14