One of the more exciting bands to have surfaced over the past couple of years has been the LA based industrial metal outfit Zero Theorem. After making an instant impact on the genre with their debut EP back in 2018 the band ramped things up again with the release of The Killing I just last year. Just twelve months later the band are back with The Killing II and this masterpiece outdoes anything they have released in the past.
The Killing II grabs you from the very opening track. Translucent is the absolute epitome of what modern day industrial metal should sound like. It has the right mix of electronic and metal while the deep, meaningful lyrics sum up the world that we live in today. Lead vocalist Caesar sounds a hell of a lot like Ozzy Osbourne on the track as well… and that could very well come from the fact that album has been produced by Kane Churko who has also worked with Osbourne over the years.
While “Joke” does start off with a more electronic opening the band show that they are more than just that as the track goes on and the work of guitarists Roy Lev-Ari and Max Georgiev kick in. This track is the perfect ear worm helped along by the fact that the lyrics ‘the joke is on you’ is just dying to get embedded in your brain.
The talent of Zero Theorem is on show throughout the album. There is a darker theatrical vibe to “The Future” while the more extreme “Swarm” smashes its listener with a wall of sound that hits with real intensity. The track relies more on the instrumental side of things than some of the other tracks on the album, but that just goes to showcase more of what the band are capable of doing.
The album then closes with the very 80s sounding “Waiting” which again is made up of thought provoking lyrics while the track itself is lifted to a whole new level by the amazing vocals of Caesar. It is tracs like these that make you wonder just how good Zero Theorem are going to become over the next few years.
The Killing II is an amazing EP from a talented band that I feel is going to make a real stamp on the genre. This is the perfect example of just how good industrial metal can be and I can’t wait for these guys to hit our shores one day for a tour.
