Zero Poems

This is my all time favorite album, and has a special place in my heart; sadly, I don't think I can properly describe how much I love this album.

Examining the music:

Let's start with the vocals, which are, I believe, the main turnoff for many of the people that listen to this album. Most go in with Tobias Althammer's voice in mind, but are sorely disappointed when they hear Stefan Zörner sing on the title track. Honestly, though, even though Stefan does not possess the great vocal ability of most metal singers, he produces some amazing vocals. His work ranks among my favorite vocal performances. The best word to describe his vocals on Zero Poems would probably be "appropriate". My -one- complaint about the album is the fact that Stefan, being German, often mixes up the 'V' and 'W' sounds on English words, singing "wisioneer" instead of "visioneer", which sounds kind of goofy.

The second big turnoff is the use of a drum machine. My knowledge of drum machines is limited, so I'm can't go into specifics, but I will say, out of all of the music I've heard involving drum programming, this album by far contains the best percussion. The drum programming on this album puts many drummers to shame, putting out catchy, creative, and complex beats and patterns.

The guitars have an original tone, being fat, heavy, and loaded with a clear, static-like noise. But tone aside, the guitar work is fantastic! The title track has so many kickass guitar parts it baffles my mind. Sometimes while I listen to generic power metal, I wonder if there are only so many guitar riffs and solo styles out there, but those thoughts are destroyed when I listen to the song "Zero Poems". In summary, the guitar work is amazing; inspiring; heavy; and at times, symphonic -- yet always kickass. Did I mention the guitar tone?

The keyboard work of Stefan is what adds a lot of the bizarreness to this album. This album is loaded with keyboards, much like the band's later work, but the keyboards here are a lot different than what you would expect on a metal album. The keyboards are smooth and enhancing, and half of the time, the keyboards sit in the back and orchestrate the music, but at other times dictate the tune without sounding lame, and at even other times sound like classic rock keyboards, which is an odd inclusion. When the intricacies of this album reveal themselves to you, you will find that they are almost always keyboard parts. Finally, there are a lot of beautiful piano tunes on some of the songs, which I am a big fan of.

The lyrics are interesting, but don't make a whole lot of sense. Perhaps that is the way lyrics were meant to be, as these lyrics are engaging and poetic, and add another layer of depth to the overall "wtf" factor of this album. Seeing as the lyrics were written by the person singing them, they flow perfectly, while abstaining from overusing rhymes or relying of generic song structure to present themselves.

This album sounds like a dark, drunken circus combined with a mystical journey through space.

If you find you have enjoyed this album as much as I have, I suggest finding a way to order the album online. I had listened to the album for two years before I decided to shell out the dollars to have this album shipped to me (it is not a common or popular album, so it is somewhat expensive and hard to come across), and I'm glad I did. The artwork is neat, and the booklet that came with the CD contains all of the lyrics for the album, which are nearly impossible to come across online. The booklet also reveals the four concept tracks on the album and gives a brief explanation of the story that holds them together. For those that are curious, the four tracks are called "A Cosmic Drama", and are presented in reverse order on the album, starting with "Electric Storm, 2053 A.D.", then moving to "Enlil/Genesis", hitting the spoken interlude "Epilogue: June, 2054 A.D.", and finishing with "Eight Silent Chambers".

I suggest listening to this album at night through noise cancelling headphones while gazing up at the stars. This is how I first experienced the album; I was blown away, and I will never look back.

Everything considered, this album is a masterpiece. From the music itself to the booklet that comes with the CD, this album -exudes- passion. This is art. This is the way it should be.

If you enjoy this album, you should also download Lanfear's Towers, and the only other CD Stefan ever put out, Z Comes First by Zhorn, which luckily can still be purchased online.