Zygote - "89-91"

Some reviewers have commented that Zygote didn't "do it for them." I believe these people were probably hoping for the second coming of The Amebix. Zygote was indeed 3/4 of Amebix and, although very different, their sound was a fairly predictable evolutionary step for these visionary musicians (Of course, they could have gone an even more metal route than Amebix, but I'm glad they didn't). A former member of The Smartpils joined Stig, Spider, and Smutpig in the late '80s to form this short lived project that left behind only one proper release: the "A Wind of Knives" LP/Cd (Epistrophy Records). Skuld Releases, during one of its most productive periods, decided to release the "89-91" LP to honor the band a few years after their break-up. This long-player featured Zygote's demo and five live tracks. Obviously, the sound quality is going to be inferior, but it doesn't seem to hinder the enjoyability of these tracks. What makes the demo side exciting is the fact that a couple of the songs were not released on "A Wind of Knives," and are by no means throwaways. For those who have never experienced Zygote, expect dark, psychedelic/psychotic guitar melodies, hypnotic guitar rhythms, and hoarse, semi-melodic vocals. Comparisons have been made to early Killing Joke, which is fair to a certain extent. Otherwise, I'm at a loss for any accurate comparisons (maybe The Smartpils...). The lyrics deal with all manners of mental derangement and existential loneliness, and are alternately bizarre, beautiful, haunting, and, at times, disturbing (see "Scarred"). So, Zygote does "do it for me." There is a certain "coldness" to their sound, and they aren't the ultra-crust gods some expected, but their small legacy is still excellent and one of a kind.

Skuld only pressed about 2000 of these, but you can still find a copy here and there. For now, enjoy the electronic version:

MP3's
Reposted Here