Zolle - Self Titled [Supernatural Cat - 2013] | Zolle is a new Italian duo comprised of Marcello (Morkobot) and Stefano. With other great Italian duos coming before them (Augustus and Agrippa, spaghetti and meatballs, Monica Bellucci's boobs, etc), Zolle is in good company. Having Marcello on guitars and Stefano on drums, their hands are a bit full, so pals Urlo (Ufomammut) and Roberto Rizzo (Quasiviri/Runi) help out with some synth action. The resulting combination leads to a fun, heavy, although somewhat lacking album. Zolle's eponymous debut is a sludgy, riff fueled groovefest. The heavy, down tuned guitars and stomping drums are used in a pretty playful fashion on this record. Instead of inspiring one to mosh, they almost beg one to get up and dance. That's not to say that this is some form of disco metal, though. The riffs are all metal, but just played in an interesting way. Songs like "LeeQuame," "Mayale," and "Moongitruce" all feature lilting riffs that really add dimension to the groove. Zolle embraces the straight forward chug as well, and this can be seen in "Man Ja To Ja!" and "Melicow." I got a strong Sepultura - Chaos A.D. vibe from a lot of this, notably "LeeQuame," "Mayale," "Man Ja To Ja!," and "Trynchatowak." The latter features a pretty Dimebag-esque guitar in the breakdown. The duo grooves and chugs along really well, but get some synth help on a few tracks. It's all background action used to add flavor and color (Kitchen Bouquet?), whether it's bass synth drops ("LeeQuame"), synth drones ("Forko"), or buzzing synth oscillations ("Heavy Letam" and "Moongitruce"). Highlights for me are "Mayale," "Weetellah," and "Moongitruce." "Mayale" has a really interesting, lilting riff and tone. At times, it almost sounds like their take on Forbidden Forest. The middle chugs along and then it breaks into a heavy groove with pounding bass drums at the end. "Weetellah," for the most part, could have been on Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger. It's a really excellent groove and the change in tone separates it from the pack. The final and longest track, "Moongitruce," is slower and drawn out. The riffs proceed while cool grooves get thrown in. A quickly oscillating synth swell fills the rest during this playful and thoughtful groove. The guitar fades and we're left with the synth buzz, tribal drumming, and synth noodling. There's a total psychedelic vibe going on, and it's a great way to drift out. The album is short. It's under a half hour long, and other than "Moongitruce," no song is over three minutes. This length works well, because of the similar composition of tracks, the songs run dangerously close to combining into one big lump. Also, as much as I enjoy these tracks, there seems to be something missing. I can give or take vocals, so it's not that it's instrumental. Maybe it's due to nearly every sound being in the same, low area. A second, higher guitar or synth or something chasing in back, doing harmonies, springboarding off into rad directions...I don't know. The debut from Zolle is inspiring. If these two cats could come up with this fun of an album in two months, what would they make with more time? This album makes me want to check out Morkobot and other releases on Supernatural Cat. Well, what else is there to say but, check this out, play it loud, eat your pasta, and get footloose. Paul Casey
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