NULL’O’ZERO – The Enemy Within review

NULL’O’ZERO – The Enemy Within

Rock Of Angels Records

http://nullozero.com/

In our days it is really impressive how quickly the bands are formed and release album. I think that it has to do with the quality of the musicians we have and the evolution of technology which has reduced the cost of the production of an album and in general has made the life of musicians easier. NULL’O’ZERO were formed in 2012 in Athens and after an EP in the same year, now they release their debut album with the title “The Enemy Within”.

THE COVER: The technique of the painting on the cover reminded me the covers of FIREWIND. It has this vague depiction of a human sculpture that looks like ascending on the stars. The statue on its left hand holds a lamp. Also he is penetrated by lava and another hand. On his back you can see a double moon that is set in flames. It is an impressive cover, but I really can’t find the connection it has with the lyrics.

MUSICAL STYLE: NULL’O’ZERO’s sound is a crossover between heavy and thrash metal I have to say. They combine leads and melodies taken from traditional metal and are influenced by such bands like IRON MAIDEN and JUDAS PRIEST and combine them with thrash metal riffs that reflect their bay area origin. Also the band uses a modern and down tuned sound that gives to the whole album more volume. Actually their sound can be described as modern heavy/thrash metal that emphasizes on the aggressive aspect. Perhaps because of this emphasis the album, from a point on, lacks in variety, since in my opinion they need to add more melodies that will give to the compositions more character. However, the album is not bad at all, since a lot of work has be done here and the lead and solo parts are really exceptional without ignoring the accurate and steady rhythm section which is the canvas upon the guitars “paint”. I think that this is a release that friends of groups like NEVERMORE, ICED EARTH and modern EXODUS will enjoy to listen to.

CONCLUSION: In their debut album NULL’O’ZERO prove to be a band that puts a lot of effort and soul on what they do, they have also shown an exaggeration on the aggressive part of their sound, although they can create some good melodies too. I think that if they try to give more space to melodies without losing the aggressive aspect, they will do wonders on their upcoming releases. This doesn’t mean that this album should be ignored, because it has plenty of good moments to offer to the listener.

Nick “Verkaim” Parastatidis