Zao
To call Zao anything short of pioneering at this stage of their nearly 16-year career would be a travesty. Countless of the current wave of metal and hardcore bands owe a great deal of homage to this influential outfit. They remained one of the most compelling metal bands you will encounter – having survived and thrived through every successive incarnation of themselves, enduring member changes and internal chaos that has tended to overshadow their music at times. But now, with the release of Awake?, their 9th studio endeavor, they celebrate stability within their ranks, which has brought a calm that they have yet to encounter in all their years.
Still breaking new ground after all this time? Yes. Because that is what Zao does. And it shows in the new music... that they are, once again, here to push boundaries and go to new places seldom traveled. I spent some time chatting recently with Scott Mellinger, the band’s guitarist, to speak about longevity, spirituality, and sonics:
AS: As a band that has survived over a decade, what is your motivation to keep moving forward? Do you have goals you feel you have yet to accomplish, or if the band ended today would you be satisfied with your legacy?
Scott: If the band ended today, I would be totally happy. What keeps me motivated to continue forward is the thought of people listening to our music and liking it and the thought that they will be as excited by it as I am. But, even if nobody liked our music, I would still want to write and record, as music itself keeps me motivated. As far as Zao’s legacy, I would be satisfied with it. But as a musician, you are never really satisfied – you always want to achieve better. But instead of achieving within the realm of the industry’s standards, my definition of achievement is to get more broad and grow in different directions. And I’d like to see Zao’s legacy broadened in that sense.
It seems Zao has found a sense of peace with the current lineup, with this being the second consecutive record without any member changes. How does the mixture of the current members lend itself to this stability vs. past lineups?
As a band we are just in a good place where we all have the same goals. We’re having fun and we’re not overdoing things that would make us want to split up or stop.
What are the sonic and lyrical qualities that define Awake? as a unique record for you?
Sonically, we’ve taken everything we’ve always liked about other bands’ records, but were never able to do with a Zao album – guitar sounds, drum sounds, that type of thing. And I think the strength of the songs and the various parts made the album able to be recorded this way. There’s not a lot of mess going on, so the guitars and bass can breathe and the drums can sound nice and big.
What is the story behind the album title?
As people and a band, we feel that there are things that happen in reality that people aren’t aware of. Lyrically, this record deals with a lot of those topics. Awake? is about how people think they know what’s going on, but, do they really know? Because, I think if they really did, they wouldn’t be as apathetic as they are.
How would you describe the current incarnation of your live show?
Comfort. We know exactly what we want to be as a band, how we play together and what we want to show to the crowd. It’s hard to find that comfort-zone for a lot of bands, but we are all comfortable now.
What did Tim Lambesis and Daniel Castleman bring to the table with their involvement with the record?
Tim and Daniel brought a lot of good ideas in terms of the album’s overall sound. Daniel and Tim both have an ear for different tones and put in a little bit of that. We’ve been making Zao records for so long, mostly produced by ourselves. Those guys are fans enough of the band to understand exactly what we wanted to sound like and how we should sound and they achieved that with flying colors.
Talk to me about the story and influence of the recent death of your close friend had on the new record.
A mutual friend that was very close to me in high school decided that life was too unbearable to take. It brought a personal touch to the lyrics, similar to Where Blood & Fire Bring Rest, which opened up a wound for Dan, as most of that album was about similar circumstances. The fact that we have an outlet to be able to write about such a terrible situation is one of the reasons we continue to do this band. And one of the things that seems to make people feel connected to it.
As veterans of the the music industry, you have seen the ups and downs of record sales and touring over the past several years, having experienced both the “boom” of the early part of this decade, as well as the current economic bear market. How has this affected how you navigate playing music full-time? Do you supplement your living in the band with outside careers?
We all realized that as a band, playing the types of shows people expected us to play, it was financially impossible. We were opening for a lot of bands, a part of a lot of packages; but it just gets too hard, especially when you have a family. The record sales going up and down never bothered us, as we never gauged ourselves by that. Being a band that doesn’t tour right now, seeing the excitement online about our new album means everything for us. If two people care about our band, that’s better than no one caring. But we no longer tour full-time.
What is the one piece of advice you could offer to up-and-coming bands in heavy music?
Do something different! Come up with a sound that hasn’t been tried or popularized. Do whatever you feel like you want to do and be happy with what you’re doing and you’ll never be disappointed. In this industry, disappointment is rampant. Everyday is a disappointment if you let it worry you. So don’t!
The band has taken a greater role in the production duties this time around, with you recording a large part of the instruments yourselves. Does this present greater challenges or more freedom in the process?
Extremely more freedom! Way more freedom. The challenge for me was listening to someone tell me how to play the song that I wrote. It’s more freedom, more comfort and I can be as picky as I need to be, because I’m the one that writes the damn song and I’m the one that should be able to tell if it’s good or bad! I’ve been part of enough recording situations at this point to know my way around, so I wasn’t intimidated to take most of it on by myself.
In the early days of Zao, a perception was built through touring, lyrical content, and association with Tooth and Nail that the band had some very specific spiritual leanings. How would you say, both personally, and in the band as a whole, the spiritual element of the band influences what you do today?
Yes, at first – especially in the splinter days – Zao was a ministry band first and foremost. But, in 1997, when Dan joined, I think he took the spirituality of the band in a new direction. I know they considered themselves Christians, but they rallied against organized religion; which, to me, is strange, because Christianity is a religion, so it always confused me. After joining, though, I started understanding what they were going for. I think all of us can agree that the church is not where it should be and they felt that. I think that spirituality is still something all of us think isn’t a bad thing at all. Me, personally, I feel that life is spirituality and I look at every day with amazement. But, is it something that we use as our main focus in the band? No.
Speaking of lyrics, what songs (and the stories/ideas in those songs) do you think the kids will connect with the most and why?
I think this record will definitely raise eyebrows lyrically. We delve into topics that aren’t exactly the norm and we raise questions that might open up people’s minds somewhere they don’t want to be opened to. There are some very personal songs, also, that deal with a friend’s suicide, love lost and the epidemic of apathy in our culture. It’s hard to say what fans will connect with, because everyone likes different things. I hope they read the lyrics and find something interesting. People need to start thinking for themselves and researching what is going on around them, that is what I hope people connect with.
What makes your sound, your show, and your imagery continue to be compelling?
We are very humble and the fact that people have any interest astounds me. I think the main thing that keeps us around is the fact that we stay real. We are no different than the people that come see us and buy our records. It saddens me to see all these bands act like they’re so depressed and dark; and when you come up to them, they snub you like you’re a peasant. We know what it’s like to struggle and have dark moments, and that is what grounds us. Everyone is the same and we are all connected, so we need to start realizing that; or we’re in trouble. I think what is compelling about us is that people find out we are like them and they get connected to us in a way that can’t be faked.
Scott, speak about your views on theism vs. atheism:
Ahh, the question to end them all. Well, let me start off by saying in no means am I an atheist. Atheism is no different than religion; only that their belief is that they know without a shadow of doubt that there is nothing. That is just another simplistic way to deal with life. Zao is a collective of different views and beliefs that come together with respect for each other. I do not claim to know anything. I hate the arrogant mentality that any religious belief gives you. Faith doesn’t give people the right to tell you that you are wrong. I think the funniest thing about Christians is the fact that everyone talks a good game, but no one follows the actual teachings of Jesus. Why is there so much judgement from people? Isn’t that like putting yourself in God’s shoes? I thought that was His job. Life is beautiful and we should cherish it no matter where it came from. Religion is another control tactic that rips people apart, and puts out in the open our differences. There is no difference, all life is the same. Everyone deserves eternity no matter Christian, Muslim, Buddhist or Atheist.
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Zao - Finish this feature by Andrew Schwab in the new HM Magazine. Available now, Issue 137 can be found at select stores or for a reduced subscription rate.
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