ZUUL FX: "Live free or die"      zuul fx                       Equilibre Music  

		Here is pure Hatred Fight for the Cause Nobody knows French Kisses Hate me Bastard!!! 14 Years old Honey This Way Help me!!! I never forget 11. ... 12. ... Fuck them all!!!		Steve "Zuul": Vocals  Karim: Guitars Shag: Bass  Aurel: Drums

More rebels than pessimists. 

"By the Cross" was a very interesting album with many impressing, involving tracks of quality. And above all fresh, innovative enough. This "Live Free or die" is the logic successor. The French Zuul FX, considered by many as the metal revelation of the year 2005, confirm attitude , preparation, ability, aggressive mood and good musical ideas in the composition lines. Metal down to the bones, from Modern metal, Hardcore, post-grunge to Melodic Death, Zuul FX develop strength, develop manifestation of the obsession, of rebellion, adding some wounding melodies. Moreover Zuul FX definately have to be discovered by the American market, cause this music is the music of the new generations. The electronic/sample ingredient is very decent, properly fitting the anger.  In foreground there are the determination , the heaviness and the polymorphism of the guitars. More rebels than pessimists, although sometimes truly bitter and fractured, Zuul FX carry on action and reaction. . Zuul FX can offer some of the anxious self confrontation of breaking Benjamin's "Blow me away", together with some manic tension of Disturbed and Korn and Dry Kill Logic or some crushing groove  of Melodic Death and Hardcore. So the target is wide for Zuul FX, who, in spite the recent change of the guitarist in the line up, seem to be dressed for success and unstoppable in their ideas. To summarise, Zuul FX is the bomb of the French metal scene and The raucous vocals never stop the rage and the "live your life" philosophy.

If Nothing is real was for me the absolute highlight in By the Cross, now, in this new album, the paramount highlight is 14 Years old with its compelling rhythmic verse, immediately addictive refrain, with arpeggios and great aggressive guitar work in the finale. Honey follows and is another remarkable track where the initial melody evolves into a surreal angry doomy obsession: dark cadenced, melodic and harsh. The first two tracks are among the angriest and most anxious ones, where Here is pure Hatred has a touch of modern distorted thrash, with mightymachine-gun kicks. The second song, Fight for the Cause,  is a rasping raid to revolt, spiced up by a sense of melody. But the album takes off with the third track Nobody knows, where over-human and dramatic hostility paves the way to a refrain-chorus of intense catchiness and compositive value: really a good song and even better is the fourth French Kisses which shows a bleak , cathartic yet lively/ post-grunge refrain and hate-filled verses and bridge. On the contrary, what i personally don't like is the musical construction in  Hate me Bastard!!! , This Way and Help me. Fortunately another brilliant song is given at the station number 10: I never forget, marked by elastic vocals and by memorable haunting guitars that run after the hooky stormy motif.

Now, you should  fulfill 2 tasks: to listen  to all tracks on the band's official myspace page  and, secondly,  to buy the album also in order to " interpret", if possible,  the short mute tracks number eleven and twelve. Just let me know then. 

Rating: 8,9/10