“It’s a long way down and I’m falling.”
Zebrahead is a band that I’ve always been aware of, but never gave a try. It’s no surprise that I was aware of them, since they’ve been around for the better part of 3 decades now, forming in California in 1996. Since then, they’ve naturally put out a large collection of material including 13 studio albums. I wish I had the time to dive into their entire discography in preparation for this review, but unfortunately that is not practical (though I did do a bit of listening homework.) However, III seems like a good starting point for new fans. This is the first release without long time guitarist and backing vocalist, Matty Lewis. Filling in for both of those roles is newcomer Adrian Estrella, thus leading to a new dynamic on this project with Ali Tabatabaee.
Despite that, this EP is very much Zebrahead. It’s hard to say whether the influences I’m hearing are truly influences, since the inception of the band predates a lot of said influences, but the core sound is taken from the same sources. I’m hearing lots of My Chemical Romance in the fast paced, theatric guitar leads. The vocals are very much pop-punk, bringing to mind Set It Off. This is especially prevalent during opener “A Long Way Down” which is a song that does not do anything incredibly effectively, but it brings a nice energy to the opening of this EP. Although the rap verses scattered throughout this album have a cadence similar to that of Linkin Park, the ones on “A Long Way Down” sound more like something off of Hellion’s latest record, which seems to be a staple of Estrella’s style.
“Homesick for Hope” is a fairly cringe song title and to be honest, that doesn’t end with the title. There are lyrics here that seem to condemn “cancel culture” which should at least be expanded upon if lyrics like that are going to pop up. I can certainly sympathize expressing the struggles of a pandemic and quarantine, however. The middle of the track has a pseudo breakdown that doesn’t really bring a nice change-up in rhythm, but more so abruptly ruins flow while leading to a generic rock riff.
“Lay Me To Rest” is likely my favorite of this selection of songs. They go full punk with this one and each vocalist is full of energy during their respective deliveries. The riffage during the verses leave a bit to be desired, which is honestly the case for the majority of their instrumental passages, but they certainly do not distract from producing a catchy track that Zebrahead lovers can cling onto.
The EP ends pretty unspectacularly with both “Out of Time” and “Russian Roulette is for Lovers”. The latter has a nice display screamed vocals from Adrian as he belts out “false god!” which contrasts nicely to Ali’s background refrain. The former, “Out of Time” strikes me as a rip off of Linkin Park’s “What I’ve Done”, but that automatically makes it a decent song. Although I think these songs, as well as the album as a whole, are “unspectacular”, I attribute that more to my tastes than representative of the band in general. I think the variety of sounds that Zebrahead can pull from, including punk, emo, ska, and rap, makes for some catchy tunes and fun song writing. The core of their sound, that classic rock sound, makes a lot of their material less engaging than it could be. Definitely check out III, and if you like what you hear, there’s a whole lot of Zebrahead to dive into.
You can pre-order the EP here, out this Friday. For more reviews, news, and interviews, check back with Boolin Tunes.
6/10