Human Zoo
My Own God
Fastball Music
2016
Human Zoo is not exactly your run of the mill Rock/Metal band. They combine melodic rock with some attitude, but also pretty wild and out there ideas, including some rather extravagant saxophone passages… not the first time to encounter the instrument in rock or metal, but it’s still not exactly the most mainstream instrument that you’d expect to hear…
I actually remember their debut “Precious Time” (2006), which was mostly reviewed favorably and I think, if memory serves well, that I too liked it, albeit found it a bit unusual, without that being a good or bad thing…
“My Own God” is their fourth attempt and their idiosyncratic style is still evident, but they have progressively been getting heavier, to sound to my ears like a bizarre cross between TNT at their most prog, Gotthard, Firehouse, PC69 (a bit past their heyday) you sort of name it… a melodic rock band with great production values, a great singer and well a saxophone player. There are several quite decent tracks on the album ie “One Direction” (no not the band)… the sax heavy “Cry Baby Cry”, “4U”, “Solitaire” and even the ballad “Reminds Me of You” complete with some dueting female vox…
I’m only gonna moan about the potential use of “tuning” for “effect” in all probability to get a sort of “modern” sound… I’m not a big fan of that, fake pitch slides etc… I believe Human Zoo would probably sound a bit better with a bit drier and more old school production and instrumentation, but then again that might take away their “identity” so…
I actually remember their debut “Precious Time” (2006), which was mostly reviewed favorably and I think, if memory serves well, that I too liked it, albeit found it a bit unusual, without that being a good or bad thing…
“My Own God” is their fourth attempt and their idiosyncratic style is still evident, but they have progressively been getting heavier, to sound to my ears like a bizarre cross between TNT at their most prog, Gotthard, Firehouse, PC69 (a bit past their heyday) you sort of name it… a melodic rock band with great production values, a great singer and well a saxophone player. There are several quite decent tracks on the album ie “One Direction” (no not the band)… the sax heavy “Cry Baby Cry”, “4U”, “Solitaire” and even the ballad “Reminds Me of You” complete with some dueting female vox…
I’m only gonna moan about the potential use of “tuning” for “effect” in all probability to get a sort of “modern” sound… I’m not a big fan of that, fake pitch slides etc… I believe Human Zoo would probably sound a bit better with a bit drier and more old school production and instrumentation, but then again that might take away their “identity” so…