A brand new album release from Zealotrous hits with a series of punk tonalities that come through with color, edginess, catchiness, and a bit of aggression but what really grabs me is that it blends these different subgenres and approaches of punk and rock into one record, and also takes elements of personal and political lyrics and puts it all out there into one fat record that hits hard but in a tasteful way.
The Quid Pro Status Quo album is massive and wastes no time coming right in with thrashing combinations of skate and pop punk, but some of the stuff feels a little guttural and I like that too. There's that element of greediness in its undertone even though the album is really sort of polished and pristine.
One of the things I love about the record is how it does, indeed, get pretty personal and how lyrically there's very little being held back and is put out there with fewer boundaries than you may be used to.
This, of course, is a classic punk rock style of any genre in punk music. Just words without filters. Saying what you mean whether it's personal or political.
This blend of those two factors works super well here.
The thing about this record is the energy is addictive and electric. It feels almost like some of the songs or maybe even all of them, were recorded live on the floor to an extent. It just feels like everyone involved was feeding off each other the entire time and those energies made the songs just hit super hard with this crazy vivaciousness.
Listening to the record makes you want to go see them live simply because if this kind of energy is captured on record so well and seeing them live must be awesome.
The guitar work on the record is ridiculous. There is more than just punk on this record of course. There's metal, alternative rock, hard rock, and more that are into that and mixed in throughout this record.
There's lead guitar work, super memorable riffs, inventive approaches, and just ridiculous guitar tone the entire time and so for me, this is a very guitar-driven record, and I feel like that is the instrument that pushes this whole thing forward to a certain extent.
Now, don't get me wrong. Every element about this record pushes the next and all of them together is what lets the album push the envelope.
The drumming is intense and crazy as most punk and metal drumming is. But this is super solid, in the pocket, but there are also some great fills, and I feel like the drumming is what gives it a certain kind of drive as well.
There are surprises around the corners like acoustic or clean guitar tracks that have a certain quirkiness and an animated factor about them. The vocals do an amazing job of bringing that stuff to life. The vocals conform to the song's sentiment, topic, or even musical soundscape. The vocalist of this band really knows how to change characters and that is quite an incredible thing to hear.
At times there are these, sorts of, lush vocal harmonies, and other times you get more of a gritty, attitude-driven approach. But no matter what it is, it works perfectly with the song and the music.
There are elements of progressive rock happening, and one of the more Progressive and Atmospheric tracks features Neil deGrasse Tyson doing his thing and if you know who that is, you'll know what his thing is.
I'm not going to get too deep into it, but it's a really cool thing to have someone like that on your track and these guys somehow made it work out.
This is an album that you listen to from beginning to end because the songs have purposes, meanings, bits of emotional drive, or messages that need to be said out loud.
This is a record with a bit more purpose, layers that can be peeled back, and surprises around the corners that are killer.
There's also a connectivity between some of the songs. I'm not completely sure that this is, 100% a concept record but it feels, at times, like it is.
It is an album you should listen to carefully in terms of the lyrics though.
If you do that than the record can actually make you think, and I love any kind of music that makes you think or feel anything.
The other reason you should listen to this record in full is because, if you just check out one or two tracks then you may get a little gist of what you can expect, but you won't get the full spectrum of what the album has to offer as a whole.
Again, there is definitely a lot to offer here as a full record. It's a bit of an escape and it's a good 35 minutes long so there's a lot to soak in and these guys really crushed a lot of it.
Check this album out as soon as you can and listen to it loud or with headphones on.
For some reason, I feel like listening to it with headphones really adds to the energy and lets you soak in a lot of the stuff that floats through some of the ethers of the songs as well.
Remember where you heard it first.
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