Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Zevious: Passing Through The Wall

10

Zevious: Passing Through The Wall

By

Sign in to view read count
Zevious: Passing Through The Wall
Here's a group that started out as a no-frills jazz guitar trio. They've become louder and more aggressive, incorporating Machiavellian- like chutzpah, tinted with a punkish 'tude, spanning hardcore jazz- fusion and vintage progressive rock mechanisms. With an in-your-face modus operandi, the band intimates a high metabolism rate through a punishing impetus. The musicians' literally bust out of the seams during these blitzing compositions, where stinging ostinato grooves with a few discreet inferences to vintage King Crimson and high-volume jazz fusion stand as a few underlying factors.

On pieces such as "Crime of Separate Action," guitarist Mike Eber delivers some blazing heat via torrid crunch chords and a reenergizing mode of operations, as he methodically builds layered themes in graduating stages. Here, Johnny DeBlase's steely edged bass lines generate an ominous substructure. Essentially, the band performs with a vengeance and a take no prisoners' mindset. On a side-note, none of these works are convoluted and solely designed with a vast array of tricky or needlessly complex time signatures, but when they do execute in this manner, it is framed on climactically oriented choruses and dynamics. However, the trio does intersperse elements of shock and awe into the grand schematic.

Mike Eber incorporates a twirling twang sound with his deft picking on "Passing Though the Wall" amid a slightly hidden melody and the group's odd-metered breakout. Moreover, the final track "Plying the Cold Trade," commences with a dark, metal groove including sustained guitar feedback and drummer Jeff Eber's massive beats as they exercise a calm-before-the storm scenario. Indeed, Zevious is a first-rate troupe, possessing an authentic deportment. From a high-impact perspective, Passing Through the Wall tenders a substitute for a shot of adrenaline.

Track Listing

Attend to Your Configuration; Was Solls; Pantocyclus; White Minus Red; Crime of Separate Action; Entanglement; A Tiller in a Tempest; Passing Through the Wall; This Could Be the End of the Line; Plying the Cold Trade.

Personnel

Zevious
band / ensemble / orchestra

Mike Eber: guitar; Johnny DeBlase: bass; Jeff Eber: drums.

Album information

Title: Passing Through The Wall | Year Released: 2014 | Record Label: Cuneiform Records

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.
View events near New York City
Jazz Near New York City
Events Guide | Venue Guide | Local Businesses | More...

More

Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris
Candid
Sunny Five
Inside Colours Live
Julie Sassoon

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.