Zao -- The Funeral of God

8/10

It's a whole new Zao! I waited a few months to buy 2004's The Funeral of God because I was still worn out from all of the band's "We're breaking up! Wait, we're not breaking up!" dramatics. When it finally seemed like the band was actually NOT breaking up, I picked up a copy of The Funeral of God. 

This is the first album without founding member and drummer, Jesse Smith, and correspondingy, the first Zao album not to feature a founding member. I haven't given my opinion of Jesse Smith yet. 

I met Jesse after Zao's Cornerstone 2002 performance, and he was incredibly nice. He also introduced me to Demon Hunter's Ryan Clark, who was hanging out backtent, and Clark was also incredibly nice. The next day, I noticed Jesse enjoying a pop-up mewithoutYou show on the side of a hill. When mewithoutYou singer, Aaron Weiss, suddenly said, "We suck. Nobody understands what we're trying to do," dropped the mic, walked over to a ditch, and got in the fetal position, Jesse ran over to him, and gave him what must have been one hell of a pep-talk, because at the end of it, Weiss nodded enthusiastically, ran back on stage, and finished the set. Every interview I've read or listened to of Smith has left me inspired. While I'm a fan of Zao's work after Smith left the band in '02-'03, the stuff he did with them in the late 90's and early 00's is my favorite Zao material, and some of my favorite music ever. Smith is an incredibly imaginative and emotional person, and that imagination and emotion helped drive Zao's seemingly limitless late 90's and early 00's creativity. Any version of Zao without Smith will be missing the unique feeling inherent in any art Smith creates. However, no version of Zao with Smith can continuously exist. The only way to have a continuously existant Zao is for Smith to not be a part of Zao. Zao have now existed for 17(!) years past Smith's departure, well over half their existence as a band, and their first album without him is one of the best of that run. 

The Funeral of God reunites guitarists, Scott Mellinger and Russ Cogdell, for the first time in a studio since 1999's stunner, Liberate Te Ex Inferis. These guys are clearly excited to be writing and playing together again. While Jesse Smith is one of my favorite drummers ever, it's also undeniable that the guitarists also seem to feel energized working with a new rhythm section. Stephen Peck, in his only Zao album appearance, brings propulsive, high energy drumming to the band's sound. Shawn Koschik, also in his only Zao album appearance, does the same. Vocalist, Dan Weyandt, never disappoints. If you enjoy his snake-like roar, and boy do I, you can always count on Weyandt bringing it. Frankly, he's one of my favorite all-time vocalists. 

This version of Zao is a bit of an oddity, in that this lineup, with this new rhythm section, only existed for this one album, and thus, the band only sounded this way once. Dare I say it, The Funeral of God, as dour as its subject matter is, might be Zao's funnest album.

The Funeral of God is a concept album about the Earth being abandoned and left to its own devices, which brings some terrifying, apocalyptic overtones to most of the record. However, the fast pace, nearly giddy gallop of the guitars and drums, along with some pretty catchy singing at select moments by Mellinger, gives this album a nearly 47-minute adrenaline kick. I say nearly, not because the album is 47-minutes long, but because, as enjoyable as it is, it does start to wear just a little, maybe 40-minutes in. Also, as much fist-pumping as Mellinger's vocals bring to the proceedings, there are a couple moments where he overreaches his abilities. However, these negative moments are the exception, and incredibly far from the rule. The Funeral of God proves that any version of Zao with Weyandt behind the mic and Mellinger strumming a guitar can not only work, but stand respectably next to anything the band made when they still featured a founding member.


2004 Ferret Records
1. Breath of the Black Muse 4:00
2. The Rising End (The First Prophecy) 3:27
3. The Last Revelation (The Last Prophecy) 3:56
4. The Last Song from Zion 4:47
5. Live... from the Funeral of God 4:11
6. The Lesser Lights of Heaven 4:15
7. In Times Gone Past 4:33
8. Praise the War Machine 4:06
9. Truly, Truly, This Is the End 4:22
10. I Lay Sleepless in My Grave 1:32
11. Psalm of the City of the Dead 8:09