zeug – Grounded (2020)
Since getting a new line up at the end of April 2020, zeug is back with their three-track EP Grounded. Created from a collection of improvisations, the EP was recorded in the historic building of Wasserspeicher in the heart of Berlin. Recorded live without any mastering, the EP captures the essence of the band’s sound with all the noise and flair this entails.
The band now consists of Vladislav Overchuk, Benjamin Nash and Lorenzo Barbieri. Together they create a soundscape that offers both dreamy beauty and nightmarish chaos. While the EP is only three tracks long, it clocks in at almost an hour of exciting and stunningly arranged improvised rock.
Grounded opens with the longest track of the EP ‘Awe’ which is just under 24 minutes. The slow progressive opening has a dark dreamy feel like that sensation of knowing you are asleep but not quite understanding it. The soft creeping of the music builds with vibrating guitars that swell before dipping down only to have the guitars rise again from the depths. The coming and going of the guitar adds to the dreamy feeling of the song while the thrumming of the lower levels adds a darkness to it. The cymbals create an ominous creeping like the feeling of eyes on the back of your neck but turning to see no-one there. This all crashes later in the single with thrashing guitars that get your heart pounding.
The vibrating tones the close off ‘Awe’ slide through the opening of ‘Duende’ to connect the tracks. While they fly in the opening, as they reach into this track they seem to settle for a more grounded feeling. The vocals on this track bring a gothic horror to the song like something from Lovecraftian tales. This horror warbles to a more melodic line that moves away from the horror but retains a sense of darkness. The noise-rock aspects of this track thrash against your ears for a jarring dream that makes your heart race before dropping you off a sonic cliff. There is a lot going on in this track that you need to take the time to really digest.
The EP comes to a close with the racing sounds of ‘Toska’. The whispered vocals in the opening make you feel like you are being told a secret that could end badly for you. The pounding guitar that marches across your ears afterwards adds to this feeling. There is a very structured feeling to the pulse of the guitar like an imperial march bringing a sense of doom. The rock sounds that coat the march as it progresses adds a strange hard beauty to it like jagged rocks jutting out of the ocean. The guitar lines later in the track continue this sense of desolate beauty before the drums have you running along the soundscape.
Using their unique alternative noise rock sound, zeug takes you through nightmarish horrors before setting you adrift in desolate beauty with their EP Grounded. While only three tracks long, it is just on an hour of superb improvised rock that vibrates through your chest. With creeping horror and dark beauty, the band inundates you with emotions and tingling sensations.
Find out more about zeug on their Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
