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REVIEW: Zebedy spring onto stereos

Published date: 02 August 2011 |
Published by: David Waddington


 

THE word Zebedy may conjure images of a spring-bound, moustachioed menace from The Magic Roundabout, but it will be audiences jumping around uncontrollably to Conwy's own Zebedy - a four-piece rock/metal band set to cause stereos across the country to bust into flames with their adrenaline-fuelled release Exist.

From the ear-busting - but tempered - riffs of the intro, it is clear this is hard-hitting but accessible rock for both seasoned metal-heads and those unfamiliar with the genre looking for soft verses nestled between roughly melodious choruses.

They'll Speak Of Us For Years sets the tone for the album, as crossing-over vocals meld metal sensibilities with infectious rock melodies.

But rather than shying away from being pigeon-holed to a single genre by drastically shifting styles, Zebedy instead draw in an eclectic range of sources to keep the album fresh.

Whether it's gentle intros bursting into life in the early-Finch styled Existing, or the Hell Is For Heroes alike This Is My City; the band hint at their pool of influences while maintaining a deeply individual sound.

Musical skill is at the heart of the quartet - symptomatic of their jamming-band beginnings - which is no more obvious than on instrumental half-way track Traffic, which fades off into the drum-led intro of For All... with its anthemic chorus, or the (relatively) gentle Through The Trees.

From the mind-blowing guitar work of Jonny Harding-Smith and Ben Chamberlain, to the rampant bass work of Dave Harding-Smith and thrusting drums of Tom Dyson; each member appears to verge on the inhuman as impossible sounds are coaxed, yanked and ripped out of their instruments.

The second half of the release continues the diversity, culminating in crowd-pleaser of a track Change (Part I) which offers a Futureheads/Biffy Clyro-esque chorus and tasty harmonies, but keeps its dark metal edge.

But it doesn't end there.

Despite being 10, beautifully formed and stunningly performed tracks, Exist includes not one, not two, but four bonus tracks too.

The haunting Change (Part II) sees a smoother reimagining of the first instalment, but with Amy Harding-Smith taking vocal duties, with further sing-a-long offerings in The Fallen and strong fuzzed riffs to rock to with Pandemonium.

Certainly not music to calm the soul, Zebedy's Exist is not a growling, thrashing heap of noise either.
With their sterling musicanship, diverse song structure, and meticulously executed sound, Zebedy are a band at home on the iPod, but really worth experiencing live. 

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  1. Posted by: rattersHBT at 09:08 on 04 August 2011 Report

    "to the rampant bass work of Dave Harding-Smith"

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