Los Angeles-based Zeistencroix recently dropped an EP, called Gemini. Zeistencroix is made up of Orlando Draven on vocals, guitars and programming; and Santi Rivillas, who sits in the pocket.
Concerning title of the EP, Draven says, "Gemini, as its name states, is a dual state, a combination of 2 sides of the same coin; life and death, black and white, good an evil. In this album I'm showcasing two very opposite styles from the same band. It's a combination of two entities living under the same organism and somehow coexisting without one surpassing the other but complementing the other."
Zeistencroix’s sound blends industrial rock with electronica, punctuated by unorthodox syncopated drums and Draven’s unique ability to produce vocal sound vibrations via throat singing.
Gemini comprises five tracks. “I Need You Tonight” rides an industrial-flavored electronic melody not unlike goosed up electronic dance music. Dark synths pump out streams of opaque sonic colors as the rhythm travels on the bassline and tight drums. There’s an urgent, trenchant energy to the tune that’s hypnotic.
“Valley of Death” delivers a crunching groove. The industrialized melody surges with murky radiance from the synths. Resonant guitars add jangling sparkling accents. When the harmonics come together, the music swells with a glowing wall of sound.
“Saturated” begins with thick heavy guitar riffs of pummeling power. The stuttering drums rumble and chew with the intensity of a ravenous dinosaur. Draven’s throat singing injects the lyrics with an eerie quivering warble. The beefy guitars provide an overwhelming sense of brute force. “Dantes” amalgamates rampaging industrial rock with thrash metal. The music discharges pure, unadulterated primal energy.
“Rage” begins with staggering drums followed by frenetically throbbing guitars exuding compact waves of sound. The melody blends elements of industrial rock and gut-wrenching heavy metal. “Rage” is reminiscent of Rob Zombie, only darker and more extravagantly formidable, thrumming with pulsating dynamism.
“I Need You Tonight” and “Valley of Death” are my favorite tunes on the EP, followed closely by “Saturated.” This trio of songs exhibits a sophisticated innovative sensibility missing from the final two songs, “Dantes” and “Rage,” which rely on raw monstrous weight that rolls over listeners without mercy. The first three tunes contain a filament of delicate edginess, giving them an abstract contagious spirit.
Gemini is darn good. The industrial melodies ooze complex sonic hues, while the pulsating rhythms discharge nuclear groundswells of momentum. If you’re into dominating industrial rock, you definitely need to listen to Gemini.