Zā Lä Thü - The Ritual of the Abyss (2012)

With very cool cover art, we got fooled into thinking this was a Black Metal or Psychedelic/Occult Rock release, but we were pleased to find out this demo contained 3 tracks of catchy and engaging Industrial Metal. Being a remix of the original version, we have to say that this demo sounds very professional and its crystal clear compared to other lesser quality releases we get.

Opening with futuristic “The Opening of the Portal”, we got a certain Dol Ammad / The Project Hate MCMXCIX vibe from it. This track serves as a great atmospheric piece with some spoken word samples thrown into the madness. In a very Industrial Metal fashion, “Into the Void Beyond the Sun” keeps things rolling with crunchy guitars and crazy vocals. Not to piss on the band’s parade, but at times they manage to sound like a more Industrial version of Static X thanks to the catchiness of their music.

Stepping things up a notch, “One Star in Sight” features harsh vocals and a more intricate riffing structure. As the song progresses, the musical landscape changes into brilliant melodic passages, making the track quite appealing and engaging.

“The Ritual of the Abyss” features three very engaging tracks that while the riffs are very typical of an Industrial/Grove Metal release, the band compensates with weird antics to keep the listener engaged. Coming from the USA, Zā Lä Thü is a band that is doing something that not a lot of bands are doing here, and we have to recognize their effort for doing so. Pick up a copy of their demos at their website so you can also be amused.

Label: Self-Released

Release: 2012

Genre: Industrial Metal

Country: USA