Zu

Dark, muddy and heavy, Zu continue their reign as one of the most talented and genre-defying bands. The Italian trio make their debut on Ipecac with Carboniferous, after touring with label owner Mike Patton. Full of bowel-shaking bass lines, Jacopo Battaglia (drums) and Massimo Pupillo (bass) use the rhythm section to push forward like an unstoppable train, while Luca T. Mai finds (often unseen) holes to fill with his chest-crunching saxophone (best heard on "Beata Viscera"). With so many different styles employed (metal, punk, jazz, etc.) and ceaseless rhythm changes it's often hard to keep up with where Zu are heading. This is not an album to casually turn on while going to work. It's meant to be intently listened to. Otherwise it turns into loud, irrational background noise.