ANDROMEDA

This is a little different from most of the Zeuhl I've been listening to. I'm sure a lot of that has to do with this band coming from Italy instead of France or even Japan. The synths add a different element as we get a spacey vibe to go along with a metal edge from the two guitarists. Not a lot in the way of guitar solos as they mostly grind away(as i put it) in the soundscape.The singer is powerful, recalling some of the great seventies Italian vocalists. He also sings in the Zeuhl style at times like Blasquiz from MAGMA. It's kind of cool actually to be listening to Zeuhl and hearing those Italian vocals, it's a great combination.

"Kontakt" opens with barely a whisper until after a minute when spacey synths and a dark undercurrent arrives.The song really kicks in at the 3 minute mark when drums, keys and guitars come in. The sound is powerful and heavy. Some scorching guitar 5 minutes in followed by vocals. There is a good driving beat to this song now. The vocals are quite powerful 10 minutes in with pounding drums and some fantastic guitar melodies. "Tempus Fugiens ?" features theatrical vocals with odd metered drumming. The song becomes full 1 1/2 minutes in. A powerful rhythm right here. Nice and heavy with great vocals. "Od..Ob.." is all about the vocals to begin with. Angular guitar melodies are just the icing on the cake to the amazing vocal display. A spacey section 4 minutes in with theatrical vocals. The vocal style (Blasquiz) is cool 6 minutes in with some fine bass lines. Guitars are back !

"Kadman Neso" has a bombastic intro as we then get this great beat with synths, drums and bass. The beat stops 4 1/2 minutes in as it turns spacey. Fragile vocals arrive and are contrasted with the uptempo passage with strong vocals. "Andros Medomai" is the final track. Drums dominate as the tempo and moods shift often. The synths really remind me of RUSH 3 minutes in. There is a drum / vocal melody 5 1/2 minutes in as the guitars grind away. Nice.

There is not much in the way of new Zeuhl these days but RUNAWAY TOTEM just put out a new album in 2007. So they are carrying the torch along with some fantastic Japanese bands. It's cool that they all have their own unique sound in this genre yet there is no mistaking that they are Zeuhl.