New Music Review - Limit Zero

Time for something new. As well as reviewing the bigger bands who have their CDs in shops and a big fanbase, I'll also be reviewing up-and-coming artists from all around the world - If you have a band with an album or an EP recorded, let me know here or at our Facebook page and I'll put you down for a review. You'll have to send me your music too!

Today's band is Limit Zero, from India.
I'll let Shreyas, the brains and the guitar behind the operation, tell you more:

"Limit Zero started off as my solo project . But the main idea was to eventually form a stable line up and play shows. I met Sachin through a mutual friend and we hit it off pretty well as we had similar taste in music and both of us had an unexplainable fascination for space. The idea behind our music is to unify various genres and sounds to create an ambient-melodic soundscape with a hint of brutality. And our artwork reflects the concept that drives our music, SPACE. The atmosphere that we try to create in our music is merely our way of expressing what space is to us and as the name suggests, there’s a mathematical factor involved as well. Also, we might not be the most technical musicians, but we make sure there’s a lot of groove, and with groove comes a little bit of complexity and technicality."

The self-titled EP is 3 tracks long, weighing in at under 15 minutes long. It starts with a spacey, synth led intro which is definitely coherent with their vision and artwork, which eventually fades into a more recognisable metal-led groove; the screaming vocalist is passionately aggressive and reminds me a little of the singer from Between The Buried and Me. Definitely a strong starting point. 

There's a great balance of melody and brutal aggression here, and the production sounds fairly good for a self-released effort. The clean vocals leave a little to be desired, they carry little of the determined aggression, focus and attitude which the screaming so convincingly throws at you. I can definitely see the clean vocals adding a lot of dimension and contrast to the mix here, as the yin/yang effect of heavy metal and ambient textures is complimented by the human double-act of screaming vocals and clean vocals. Arguably they wouldn't be the first band to do this, but they're certainly doing it in their own way and it shows a lot of potential.

Its an interesting blend, heavy progressive riffs and the backdrop of clean, spacey effected guitars, almost like a more up-to-date Neurosis or Isis. Nevertheless its treading a blurry line between innovation and awkward juxtaposition - sometimes it works really well, sometimes it feels a little tacked-on. Its never an offensive juxtaposition and its certainly well arranged, there are just certain points where it feels a little less like a natural and inspired arrangement technique and more like a propsed gimmick.

The second track is definitely stronger in this respect, reminiscent of a heavier Karnivool mixed with a smattering of Blackfield's spooky laid back groove, whilst the third track has a hint towards Sikth's last album alongside everything else.

In fact, I think this EP's weakness is its muddled track-order; whilst the intro of the first track lays down a nice building texture, its clearly not the strongest track as listening through the EP reveals that the quality of the songwriting increases as you go along. In this case, for an attention-grabbing EP I would personally put the third track first, as it grabs you instantly and has more of those catchy hooks which keep you listening. Even the clean vocals seem to get stronger towards the end of the EP; whereas I was unimpressed when I first heard them on the first track, they really work in their placement on the third track, and are sung with a more conviction and power.

Despite its progressive leanings, Limit Zero's music is melodic enough to hook you in and has a hint of Meshuggah's hypnotic vibe without over-complicating things too much. The combination of spacey textured synths and heavy guitar riffs gives it a larger-than-life feel, and certainly captures the vision which they are aiming for with no troubles. A second listen is warranted, theres plenty of interesting layers and textures to pick up on each time you play through it.

As I mentioned earlier, I see a lot of potential here - I really enjoyed listening to this EP! The music and the songwriting is certainly of a high calibre, and the only things I cited as negatives are things which are not only common amongst newer bands, but also things which are easily straightened out as the band carries on, progresses and learns from experience. Definitely ones to watch - if you're fortunate enough to live in India and you love metal, you've definitely got to check these guys out.

 The Limit Zero EP is avaliable as a Free Download