Andrew Danso

No, it's not a progenitor of SYL. And it's true, just because the trio consists of SYL members along with Townsend handling mixing and production duties, doesn't automatically point fingers at a smug comeback under a different heading. Zimmers Hole is known for its parodies of the genre, and combining them with semi-death metal, thrash and power elements (the power aspect is a subject of debate), and on that topic, it's all here, as you would expect. This album is actually somewhat masterful, authentic, and generally kicks ass.

It begins, carries and stops with usual SYL elements, so what's there to complain about immediately? Sure, the supposed comedic value of the album does not appeal to myself; (actually it's really not funny. If you read on iTunes supposedly this release is littered in satire; trust me, it's just not) but the album is packed complete of excellent musical features which exceeds the wasted silliness, and I believe that the records' most vocal points - regardless of my personal opinion on it's stance on metallic comedic value - are its musical content. The record is also paced excellently, but again, I wouldn't have expected anything less from the SYL members, and this is were I will differ with "Rock Reviews". It claims this album stands apart from the "plain bread-and-butter releases that crowd the market these days", but rather I believe that's where it certainly belongs. What's the record really deviating from? Not being funny? That’s almost certain. I'm also not attempting to criticise this record on the subject, because I really liked this one. If anything, to say that this record is doing a great deal different within the genre, is a clear misinterpretation or an impulse thought of giving it decent critical acclaim. To myself, this record appears to be more of a solidified metal record, combining typified SYL elements like song writing, song structure and perhaps even production. And here's the cleverest part that should end my, almost, contradiction of what I mentioned at the beginning; it won't remind you of a single SYL record. Of course, you're hearing the same group play, but it's ambiguity with similarity is incredible and this is another huge debt to the group, of what they're attempting to achieve.

ZH, you definitely don't rule the land, but you've certainly been ruling it for thirty days - 4/5.