ZUD/A Wilderness Left Untamed/2017 Full Length Review

  ZUD  are  a  band  from  Maine  that  has  been  featured  before in  this  zine  and  plays  black  metal  with  elements  of  blues,  classic  rock  and  NWOBHM  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self released  2017  album  "A  Wilderness  Left  Untamed"  which  will  be  released  on September  15th.

  Nature  sounds  and  spoken  word  parts  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  raw  musical  direction  which  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  tremolo  picking  while  also  using  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  mid  70's-early  80's  traditional  metal  elements  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sound  very  powerful.

  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  black  metal  screams  while  influences  of  classic  rock  are  also  utilized  at  times  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  adding  in  a  touch  of  first  wave  black  metal  while  on  other  tracks  they  also  add  in  touches  of  blues  rock   and  as  the  album  progresses  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  briefly  on  a  couple  of  songs  as  well  as  two  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length,  on  the  instrumental  Asian  style  folk  instruments  are  added  into  the  music.

  ZUD  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  original  style  of  black'n'roll  that  was  established  on  their  previous  release,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  death,  stairs,  insanity,  travelling  and  dream  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  ZUD  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black'n'roll,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Thundercats  Don't  Play  Dead"  "Off  The  Map"  and  "Chasing  The  Dragon's  Tail".  8  out  of  10.

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ZUD Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?
Zud has had gone through two very distinct "phases," if that's the right word. The first was just me playing an octave mandolin and recording material in places with lots of natural reverb, then adding vocals and other layers of sound over that. It was a slow process but not because it was difficult or anything. There just wasn't any intent with it, but eventually there was enough material for an EP, which I released in 2011 with a very limited run of CD-R's. I may have it properly mastered some day and pressed for real. "The Good, the Bad and the Damned," was recorded with a normal "metal" line-up which I assembled last year. Those with their ears tuned properly should be able to hear the loyalties which both "phases" have to each other, while they are both very different at the same time. These two releases form, in my mind, a pretty limitless foundation for Zud.

2. How would you describe your musical sound and also do you feel that with your recording's that a new genre of metal might evolve out of them?
"The Good, the Bad and the Damned," is best described as sleazy 'n cheesy, bluesy, rockin' black metal. I don't think a new genre will be born or anything like that, being that all of those elements have existed for over 30 years and some go WAY back before that. Any asshole can play the blues through a HM2 although to be fair, there are a lot of places one can go with that, even though most just do the same thing over and over.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Mostly things based from real life experience mixed with dreams or intuitive feelings. Most of these in turn have something in relation to death and how it is always nearby as we "evolve" throughout this journey that is life; while always searching for ways to go about things on as close to ones own terms as possible in this bizarre and hilarious, shit-hole of a world.

4. I know that the band name comes from the Mongolian language, what was the decision behind using it as a band name?
When I saw the word and read what it meant, I knew that was the name. I think it serves as a perfect moniker for both phases the band has gone through so far and I believe that it will continue to do so for however long the band might exist.

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?
There have only been four shows as I write this and each were very cool for different reasons. The fourth was probably the overall best. The second show was very interesting...

6. Do you have any touring plans for the future?
Yes, but only in the US for now and I doubt we'll be going much further south than NYC or Philly until the spring.

7. Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or received any interest?
No, but if offers come in, we will sort through them accordingly.

8. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black and underground metal?
Though it only been out for a minute, feedback for "The Good, the Bad and the Damned," so far has been very positive. For the "Fevered Dreams" EP there was never any feedback because I only shared it with friends, though everyone I shared it with seemed to enjoy it.

9. What is going on with the other musical projects these days?
Both Zak and Greg are in a thrash band called Stone Tools, which I would say has a shit load of potential and could probably take over the entire "modern thrash" genre if they play their cards right. Greg has a very interesting band which has been in the works for a long time. It doesn't sound like anything I've every heard, but fans of Negative Plane and Arizmenda would likely be very interested in it. Stay tuned...

10. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases.
That is a secret, but I don't think it's very hard to figure out...

11. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Our influences are pretty broad. Apart from Bathory, Mayhem and a few others, there isn't too much to look to for in musical influences for Zud in the black metal genre. A lot of the shit that was on the classic rock radio stations in the late 80's/earlier 90's when I was 1st discovering the world of rock 'n roll has a HUGE presence in Zud's sound. Stuff from the late 70's/early 80's, plus the basic NWOBHM stuff of course. Lot's of really cheesy and sappy stuff like W.A.S.P., Van Halen and even Heart. Also a lot of Roky Erickson and some fairly obscure older shit like Aphrodite's Child and the Message which I didn't discover until more recently. Another big one of course is Ennio Morricone, whose stuff has been saturated in my head since I was a little kid. I think Zud comes out with such a "blackened" sound because of who we are and how we go about things, not because we "wanted to play in a black metal band," or anything. I think that later approach is where most metal bands make their first big mistake usually. It is not an attempt to put on an act or an imitation. It is just Zud and it is from the fucking heart. It's up to the listener to take it or leave it.

12. Outside of music what are some of your interests?
They are never ending. Many are very obscure and most do not go hand in hand with any of the others at all. I have a lot of goals in life, as do the other members of Zud. Some of them have already been accomplished. Some of them may never happen, but a lot of them will.

13. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
Stay tuned and Beware...

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ZUD/The Good,The Bad And The Damned/2013 Full Length Review

  ZUD  are  a  band  from  Portland,  Maine  that  plays  black  metal  mixed  in  with  some  blues, classic  rock  and  NWOBHM  influences  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  2013  album  "The Good,  The  Bad  And  The  Damned".

  Song  one  "Portal  To  Infinity"  starts  of  with  some  spoken  word  elements  and  distorted  parts  along  with  some  female  vocals  and  spoken  word  parts  which  is  also  a  perfect  intro to  the  album.

  Song  two  "Skull  Shaped  Hell"  starts  off  with  some  acoustic  guitars  before  heading  into  a  heavy  blues  rock  guitar  solo  before  going  into  a  more  primitive  black  metal  direction  with  some  grim  sounding  screams  and  deep  death  metal  growls  making  their  appearance  along  with  some  catchy  riffing  before  switching  into  some  NWOBHM  influenced  black  metal  along  with  some  thrash  elements  then  the  song  goes  into  a  more  classic  rock  direction  with  some  powerful  bass  riffing  and  old  school  rock  style  drumming  along  with  some  southern  rock  style  guitar  solos  which  remain  that  will  for  a  long  time  before  closing  the  song  with  a  blast  beat  from  the  drums.

  Song  Three  "Blood  and  Twilight"  starts  of  with  a  punk  rock  style  black  metal  riff  before  going  into  a  more  proto  metal  direction  with  the  guitar  solo,  then  the  grim  screams  start  kicking  in  with  the  music  shifting  more  towards  black'n'roll  while  retaining  the  classic  rock  elements  before  shifting  into  some  acoustic  guitars  which  use  finger  picking  and  full  chords  then  back  to  the  primitive  black  metal  riffs  which  utilize  some  powerful  drumming  in  those  areas  while  also  bringing  back  the  southern  rock  style  guitar  solos  which  adds  to  the  originality  of  the  music  while  the  song  closes  with  some  drunken  spoken  word  parts.

  Song  four  "The  Junction"  starts  off  with  a  very  old  school  sounding  melodic  black  metal  riffs  with  a  very  cold  atmosphere,  before  the  blast  beat,  and  grim  vocals  kick  in  making  this  the  most  black  metal  sounding  song  on  the  album  along  with  some  dark  lyrics  before  switching  to  some  spoken  word  parts  and  blues  rock  guitar  leads  while  style  retaining  the  grim  black  metal  approach, then  the  song  starts  going  for  a  more  a  more  catchy  black/thrash  mode  along  with  some  powerful  drumming  and  blast  beats  as  well  as  some  heavy  bass  riffs  combined  with  some  classic  rock/metal  guitar  solos.

  Song  five  "Dendrite  Fumes"  starts  off  with  some  spoken  word  parts  and  psychedelic  sounding  acoustic  guitar  riffs  which  combine  finger  picking  with  full  chords  while  the  electric  guitar  in  the  background  a  classic  rock  feeling  into  the  song  and  the  heavier  riffs  along  with  the  black  metal  screams  kick  in,  which  leads  up  to  the  mid  paced  riffing  and  melodic  guitar  leads,  shortly  after that  the  drums  and  guitars  start  getting  faster  with  some  blast  beats  before  the  song  goes  more  into rock'n'roll  direction  along  with  the  return  of  the  spoken  word  parts  which  stay  that  way  for  a  few  minutes  before  closing  the  album  and  song  with  some  clean  playing.

  In  my  opinion  Zud  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  black  metal  and  blues  rock  along  with  a  great  production  for  a  self  released  recording  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments,  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  BUY.


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