Beehoover - Heavy Zooo Review
by Mark Hensch
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When it comes to the phrase "progressive rock," one treads a fine line. Such a fine line is between the two words – "rock" denotes balls-to-the-wall energy and "progressive" denotes musical innovation. Unfortunately, for most of musical history, the two have been mutually exclusive, especially in the world of heavy music.
Not so with Germany's Beehoover and their 2008 album Heavy Zooo. This wild and wooly affair is a veritable menagerie of exotic textures and dangerous sounds. Exhibits at this particular Zooo feature specimens from all over the globe, the likes of which range from Kyuss' stoner grooves to Tool's rhythmic tranquility to Faith No More's strangeness. Once the tour concludes, listeners are left with the lingering sensation that Zooo is familiar and foreign, progressive and rocking.
The reason for this lies in Zooo's wildly eclectic songs. Opening cut "Solitude in Bloom," for example, billows with caustic riffs straight out of the Smashing Pumpkins playbook while twisting and turning through all manner of frantic vocals. "Pain Power," meanwhile, grooves with hazy, angular riffs, the likes of which soon explode into nuclear fireballs of sound. "Esophagus Overdrive" is a stuttering monster which teeters between chaotic arrangements and harmonies that feel like the stabbing pierce of pure white light. "I Desert," for its part, grows out of lush ambient textures into a towering beast of a song. Last but not least is the monolithic "Stanislav Petrov," the likes of which recalls the best of Tool, Quicksand, and Helmet filtered through a bizarre stoner metal lens.
As unusual as the above sounds, Heavy Zooo is despite its various parts infinitely catchy and fun. The end result is an album both fresh and mundane, an album for those well-versed in the greats yet seeking something completely new. With this in mind, check out Heavy Zooo as there is bound to be at least one or two animals in the pack worth visiting.
Beehoover's Heavy Zooo
Solitude in Bloom
Heavy Zooo
Pain Power
Iron Horse
Esophagus Overdrive
Spirit and Crown
My Funeral Procession
I Desert
Dance Like a Volcano
Stanislav Petrov
CD Info and Links
Beehoover - Heavy Zooo Rating:8.0
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