With twelve albums under its collective belt, Tokyo-based Zeni Geva is still as virile and potent-sounding as it was when it first birthed its exclusive brand of Jap-noize terror. With the band's debut release for Neurot Recordings, Zeni Geva continues to apply its piercing guitars and nihilist English lyrics, updating its sonic fury with a more linear approach that still incorporates the band's notorious, trauma-inducing oppressiveness.
While Zeni Geva has an impressive musical resume, including early-day work experience with The Hanatarashi and The Boredoms, as well as a list of collaborative references ranges from Steve Albini to Fred Frith, there's no need to spend any time calling peers and former employers. The Japanese workhorse has the uncanny ability to integrate its past commitment to noisy consistency with progressive musical evolution, creating a hybrid sound that transcends the band's own historical timeline. Trading its brow-bludgeoning beats for a more poised and striding Neurosis-flavored flow, Zeni Geva strips out riff-heavy bass vibrations, turning 10,000 Light Years into a dexterous display of fretboard fingerings and bruising, tempo changing buffets.
10,000 Light Years is a large cohesive unit. Each track plays a part in shaping the disc's mood, creating a Japanese monster that breathes fiery noise and destroys the feeble and musically confused in one fell swoop. Singling out particular tunes is like dissecting a living creature, compartmentalizing its energy into accessible subsections. To best interface with Zeni Geva, you must face the band head-on and witness the awesome power of 10,000 Light Years in a single sitting. However, if you must sample this experiment, the intricate guitar interaction of "Hazchem" will heap notable sheets of perilous distortion upon your ears. "Auto-Fuck" trades sensory deprivation for a vicious assault of speed and cavernous vocals, preoccupied with issuing destitute feedback and a whirling collage of maddening brute-force guitar empowerment upon anyone within aural range.
For some, time deadens the spirit and calms the aggression that brews inside. After many years in recording studios and on the worldwide touring path, Zeni Geva's K.K. Null can still probe his soul, awakening a dark beast of raging retribution and focused fury and sending shockwaves of harsh reality through the underground music community. More importantly, Null has the expertise to deliver this acerbity as controlled output that disrupts the monotony that surrounds us all. Strap in and submerge yourself into 10,000 Light Years -- it's a world of torment and anger-management, and some of the best work Null and Zeni Geva have done in years.
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