Search - Authority Zero :: 12:34

Awesome awesome awesome band

Nick Colosi | Chesterland, OH, USA | 06/05/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"So 2008 has really been the year where I've discovered a lot of really good bands. First I stumble on Time Again, and now I stumble on these guys. This band has become one of my fondest addition to the very vast CD collection that I have, as has this "12:34"



I guess I should get this out of the way now. No, this isn't as good as Andiamo, which blew me out of the water and into some area between the stratosphere and the mesosphere. I ordered their debut album over this website but it hasn't come yet, I assume since it's older material that it will also be better than this, so that would, in a sense, probably make this Authority Zero's weakest release. But I'm gonna be bold enough to say that AZ's worst is better than 90% of bands's best, so you're not taking too much of a hit when you pick up this record.



The major difference between this and "Andiamo" since that's the only thing I can really compare it to as of now, is that this CD comes together with one complete sound, where as "Andiamo" traveled all around the genres of punk, reggae, pop-punk, hardcore, etc, etc. Most of this CD could be clasified as somewhere between punk and pop-punk, and all the songs have a similar feel to them. If you're looking to sit back with a cold one and just chill with some friends and listen to music, this is a better bet than "Andiamo," but if you're pumped up or angry and want that raw energy, this CD is lacking.



Instrumentally, we have much less emphasis on bass than we did before. I was at first attributing this to the new bassist until I realized that he didn't join until after this was recorded, so shame on you Jeremy Wood. We have some good bass on songs like "No Regrets" and "Memory Lane" but for the most part this CD is driven by screaming guitars, and by screaming I mean a lot of power chords and not as much of the unique touch that we see on "Andiamo" I can't really say anything about Jason's voice other than that it's still perfect and a gem to listen to. I can, however, comment on his lyric writing capabilities and say that they are on this record at the best they have ever been with the exception of "Find Your Way" from the earlier CD.



So I guess I'll sum it up by saying what everybody else said. It's not the best work, but it's still amazing. Buy it, but don't buy it first. It is a must have but the other CDs are more of a must have for anyone new to this band. Also, I'd recomend seeing them live, because they are truly spectacular and have so much energy and charisma.



Highlight Tracks: "Drunken Sailor" "Sirens" "12:34" "On Edge""

Not their best, but pretty solid

Ryan Zeringue | Louisiana, La | 03/09/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is definatly not AZ's best work. After being so excited about this release for so long, I was actually a little disappointed when i first popped it in my cd player but it did grow on me after giving it a few real listens. They lost a lot of their diverse sound. It's more a staight punk album than either of the previous. In the songs where they do slow down and lay down some reggae, they lay it on thick and those songs jam. All of the faster songs are all just pretty average with the exception of a few (e.g. track 1). Worth picking up if you're an Auth Zero fan, but don't make it your first AZ album. Pick up one of the others instead."