Gods
I See You Through Glass
6.8
So a few founding members of Zao decided to join a new band called Gods. Fortunately, the two bands do not sound alike, as that would be rather pointless. In fact, this new band, featuring the old throat Jesse and bassist Rob of Zao, actually strike me as a cross of Glassjaw, The Deftones, and maybe some noise/sludge with a dash of punk. It’s a hard sound to pin down, but they blend it all together coherently.
Jesse’s voice is dead on for those two bands cited. He sounds just like Chino Moreno with the droning, emotive singing. Other times he sings like Daryl of Glassjaw with a grating singing voice and weird enunciations on certain sounds. If you’ve heard Glassjaw you know just what I mean. The music is easily described as loud. Big drawn-out chords, combined with a noisy production with lots of sustain lead to parts that sound more intense than they really are. This is offset by more atmospheric verses where there is little happening behind the vocals, as well one song (“Love is a Blister”) that is slow, self-indulgent, and devoid of energy.
The first riff of the first song, “If the Bet is Love, I Fold” (cool title), gives the impression that this is a far different album than it turns out to be. A heavy metalcore riff leads right into a powerful chorus, and there is a customary breakdown at the end. If all the songs were as aggressive as this one, I’d be raving about these guys. “Ephedra” is more par for the course. Chord-composed riffs underpin a verse, then Jesse sings over a bassline and sound effects, after that, a tidy little screaming rant leads into comes a bombastic chorus. A few of the songs here (“Night of the Strawberry Ghost”, “The Reflex D and D”) could conceivably see airplay on the harder radio stations out there, as they are more in the hard-rock-with-groove vein.
On the whole there’s some talent on display here, and a collection of decent tunes with a couple of standouts. While I’m not crazy for this album, I can’t help but feel that it’s a solid album that will strike a chord with a range of music fans. Recommended for metalcore fans with a sense of adventure, and a tolerance for atypical clean vocals.
