Album Review: "No Limit To The Evil" by Zero Down

No Limit To The Evil

Today we consider Seattle based traditional metallers, Zero Down.

This is another one of those times when I'm first hearing a band as I listen to their record for review.

Before really going further, let's discuss the term traditional metal. What precisely does that mean?

When I was growing up, I'd have called this album metal. In the end it's not overly fast, so it's not Thrash/Speed Metal. It's not hyper brutal, played at 1,000 MPH, and not overflowing with blast beats or growls, so it's not death metal.

They don't sing about fantastical worlds and cram in 100 guitar solos, so it's not power metal. No growling, anti-church themes propped up by a keyboard, so it's not Black Metal.

Zero Down

So, now that we've discussed what this is album is not, let's discuss what it is.

It's truly an old school heavy metal album, with some serious nods to Judas Priest.

Mostly, the drums are heavily played rock beats.

Mostly, the guitars are thick and full of serious over driven gain instead of  hyper distortion.

Mostly, the vocals are up in the higher register.

Mostly, the guitars aren't sweep picking solos trying to be crowned the fastest player who knows the most scales.

Completely, this is a bad ass heavy metal record that harkens back to the days of Judas Priest and Motorhead. Full of punk attitude and headbanger heart.

This record and band is good enough to start a trend, the second wave of Judas Priest, like how Stoner/Doom metal is the second wave of Black Sabbath.

Release: 12/15/14
Genre: Metal
Label: Minotauro Records
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