The track is taken from their critically acclaimed eleventh album, ‘The Well-Intentioned Virus’, which was self-released by the band last year.

Check out the video below.

The album is being self-released by the band on December 9th through their Observed/Observer imprint. It is available to pre-order now via Holy Mountain.

We recently caught up with Zao to discuss their new album, as well as the future of the band, and you can listen to ‘The Well-Intentioned Virus’ via the link below.

Zao stream ‘The Well-Intentioned Virus’ via NPR

The track was originally released last year, and has been re-recorded for their ferocious new album, ‘The Well-Intentioned Virus’, which is released on December 2nd.

Pre-orders for the album are available now, and you can hear the new version of ‘Xenophobe’ via the link below.

Zao premiere ‘Xenophobe’ via Alt Press.

‘The Well-Intentioned Virus’ is an album many of us never thought would see the light of day. Zao’s entire history has been littered with extended hiatuses, turbulent line-up shifts and bitter breakups, so the notion of any new music from the band is always (and rightfully) met with intense appreciation and excitement, as it’s never really clear if this might be the last we ever hear of them. Zao surprised many last year by appearing out of the void with the ‘Xenophobe/Fear Itself’ 7”, the first release from the band’s new self-run label, Observed/Observer. Those two songs were the first we’d heard from the band since 2009’s ‘Awake?’, both immediately quelling any fears that Zao might have lost their touch in the years since they parted. The mere existence of the single immediately started furious whispers of a new full length record from the band, and here we are a little under a year and a half later with the fruit of those whispers.

Not only is this the first Zao album in 7 years, it’s also the first since 2004’s groundbreaking ‘The Funeral Of God’ to feature long-time guitar player Russ Cogdell, back in his rightful place alongside the line-up that wrote and recorded both ‘Awake?’ and 2006’s ‘The Fear Is What Keeps Us Here’ – longtime members Dan Weyandt (vocals) and Scott Mellinger (guitar), along with Marty Lunn (bass) and Jeff Gretz (also of From Autumn To Ashes) on drums. It’s clear from the very first track, ‘The Weeping Vessel’, that Cogdell has slipped back into the band seamlessly, its ominous guitar intro giving way to rolling waves of colossal riffs that sit among some of the band’s best. Though the band’s last two records were strong and certainly worthy entries into their discography, Zao work better as a two-guitar band, Cogdell and Mellinger weaving around each other to create a dense tapestry of atmospherics that was lost a little with Mellinger as the sole six-stringer. Songs like ‘Jinba Ittai’ display scorching examples of the pair’s harmonic interplay, riffs stacking on top of each other to create powerful walls of sonic fury.

Arguably Zao’s strongest asset though has always been Daniel Weyandt, a man whose thoughtful and poetic lyrics moved the band gradually further and further away from their Christian ministry-based roots and into something much darker and more personal, and whose emotional intensity is only matched by the thunderous rasp of his voice. Whilst most hardcore singers were still barking like angry dogs, Weyandt brought an almost death metal-tinged scream that completely changed not only Zao’s sound, but in many ways metalcore as a genre. It gave them a dark and menacing edge that was devastating in 1998, and in 2016 is still a force of nature. ‘The Well-Intentioned Virus’ is Weyandt’s album in many ways, his lyrics and performance elevating everything around it, its jagged edges making the most serrated of riffs seem even more savage.

‘The Well-Intentioned Virus’ is also arguably the nastiest and most vicious sounding record of Zao’s career. Whilst some acts return after extended breaks with a mellowed attitude, Zao appear to have only embraced their anger even more, crafting a sometimes frighteningly intense listening experience, even down to the production work. Sonically it sits somewhere between the relative polish of ‘The Funeral Of God’ and the stripped-down roughness of ‘The Fear Is What Keeps Us Here’. Whilst never sounding quite as raw as Steve Albini’s work on the latter, it retains that album’s nervous buzz, which only acts to heighten the furious bite of tracks like ‘A Well-Intentioned Virus’ and a slightly reworked version of ‘Xenophobe’.

Up until 18 months ago the world thought it had heard the last of Zao, though we could all rest easy knowing that they disappeared having left behind a sometimes flawed but always intriguing discography that would ensure they’d be forever remembered as one of the greatest and most important metal/hardcore bands of all time. Today, Zao have proven that they are no mere nostalgia act, and that they have as much to say both verbally and musically today as they did twenty years ago. ‘The Well-Intentioned Virus’ is miraculous simply for existing, so for it to be this heart-stoppingly good is more than we deserve, and for that Zao deserve our praise. Truly, truly, let’s hope this is not the end.

JAMES LEE

The track is latest to be released from their forthcoming album, ‘The Well-Intentioned Virus’, which is released on December 9th via their own Observed/Observer Recordings.

Pre-orders for the album are available now, and you can listen to ‘Haunting Pools’ via the link below.

Zao stream ‘Haunting Pools’ via MetalSucks. 

The track was recorded during the sessions for their new album, ‘The Well-Intentioned Virus’, which is released on December 9th via Observed/Observer Recordings.

Take a listen to ‘Drifting Shadows In Walking Dreams’ below.

It marks their first full-length release since their 2009 album, ‘Awake’, and will arrive on December 9th. Pre-orders and song premieres are set to follow in the comings months.

Zao officially returned after a period of inactivity last year with their two track EP, ‘Xenophobe’, which you can hear below.

Minor Crisis are premiering their first single, ‘Stomp The Page’, from the upcoming full-length album ‘Temple’. The album will be available to order from Autumn & Colour on February 18, 2014.

The band, seemingly going heavily down the electronica route, features members of The Chariot and the ever awesome ZAO. Have a listen to the track over on the label’s website now.

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