Züül joins countless other American bands on the quest to
revive the glory of the heavy metal of the 80’s, and they manage to stack up
quite well against their competition. One thing you’ll notice immediately on
“To The Frontlines” is that Züül takes a very different approach from the other
current bands of the day. The production is thinner, and far less clear than
bands like White Wizzard and Enforcer, but the sound comes off as more
authentic. The aforementioned bands are great, but it’s quite clear that
they’re from this decade, whereas Züül’s music sounds as if it were recorded in
the 80’s. This is a major plus for those of you who don’t like metal to be polished,
because “To The Frontlines” is actually quite a raw heavy metal record. I’m
actually reminded of great NWOBHM bands like Jaguar and Diamond Head in the
sheer energy and tenacity of the vocals, riffs, and solos.
As is often the focus with newer traditional heavy metal
bands, I’ll start with the singer. Vocalist Brett Batteau is one of those guys
who gets by on his aggressive performance. He doesn’t have the range of Bruce
Dickinson or Rob Halford, but he has the attitude of somebody like Paul Di’anno,
and for this sound, it works perfectly. The guitar playing on the album is
another strong point. The Maiden-like leads are prominent and there are some
interesting solos; however, the band definitely does not go overboard in this
respect. Züül definitely seems to prefer the old-school approach of “less is
more” when it comes to guitar solos. Finally, I have to talk about the
songwriting. Simply put, it’s quite inspiring. Not every song is a masterpiece,
but when the band writes a great song, they knock it out of the park. The last
part of the record is the perfect example. After the somber track, "Of The Fallen", come the
two epics of the album. “Bounty Hunter” is a mid-paced galloping adventure that
would make Steve Harris proud. In addition, it has by far the catchiest chorus
of the record. Surprisingly, it shows the singer at his most melodic at
possibly any point on this album. The song slows down and gets more
atmospheric in the middle before finally erupting into a high-speed number that
eventually reverts to the original gallop. I won’t give you a play-by-play of
the next track, but I can assure you it’s almost as epic as this one! In
addition, there are a few other gems on this record: “Show No Mercy”, “Guillotine”,
and “Smoldering Nights” come to mind.
Ultimately, Züül have come out with quite a unique record
for the sound they are creating. If you don’t like how the bigger new bands are
representing traditional heavy metal, give this album a shot. Despite what
I’ve described, it isn’t musically all that different from these bands, but it
is presented in an extremely unique manner. This is one band that is going to
be gaining some serious momentum soon, and if they can make every track as epic
as the last couple of songs, they’ll immediately jump to the forefront of metal
in my mind!
Be sure to check out and like Züül on Facebook!
Highlights
"Show No Mercy"
"Bounty Land"
"Waste of Time"
Final Rating
4.4/5 or 88%.
Written by Scott