Monday, November 13, 2017

Zaraza - No Paradise to Lose (2003)


Ecuadorian experimental industrial doom. Synthetic guitars, queasy synths, pipe organ, pitch-shifted vocals, and programmed drums. No Paradise to Lose is a masterpiece of supremely warped, inhuman music -- it's like a sentient computer started a solo doom metal project.

Track listing:
1. Possessed by Skepticism
2. Nova Akropola [Laibach cover]
3. Mark of the Infidel
4. Infliction
5. Planetary Re-Install
6. Znikad Donikad
7. Przeklinaj Śmierć
8. Heart.ov.the.goat

Life is death postponed

You should also listen to:
Skin Chamber -
Wound (1991) + Trial (1993)
O.L.D. - The Musical Dimensions
of Sleastak
(1993) + Formula (1995)

2 comments:

  1. The band was born in Canada, but was relocated to Ecuador, great album, thanks.

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  2. Zaraza, another one of the obscure 90s hybrid death/doom bands that never quite lived up to their potential, much like Winter. For me, bands like Winter and Zaraza were a nice antidote to the over-melodic doom Peaceville and other record labels were pushing at the time. Anyway, if you can believe it, Zaraza actually re-formed in 2017, relocated to Houston, TX, and released a new album "Spasms of Rebirth" in 2018. IMO, it's very different from their earlier stuff. Has a more "organic feel" and the electronics are less prominent. Live drums have replaced the programmed drum machine, for instance. Now don't get me wrong, the scrapes, bangs, clangs, and whirrs are all present at times, a la Skin Chamber. The Skin Chamber, and to a lesser extent, the Laibach influence is still evident throughout the record. If you're like me, and have had your fill of contemporary uber-whiny, sadboi funeral doom, then I highly recommend checking out both Zaraza and Winter's (now called Goden) latest offerings.

    https://zaraza.bandcamp.com/album/spasms-of-rebirth
    https://goden-beyond-darkness.bandcamp.com/

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