Wisconsin-based, scream-laden hardcore crossover hooligans, ZEBRAS – who features within their ranks members of Those Poor Bastards and Call Me Lightning (French Kiss/Revelation Records) — will release their brand new full-length next month via Secret Records.
Titled The City Of Sun, the follow-up to their self-titled debut, which Heavy Mental dubbed, “a mindless moment of bravery; psycho,” and Sonic Abuse crowned, “irredeemably, spectacularly horrid,” was recorded at Howl Street Recordings in Milwaukee, Wisconsin by drummer Shane Hochstetler (Call Me Lightning, Multiple Truths, Haymarket Riot, Enabler), mastered by Carl Saff (Pencil, Lustre King, Windmills By The Ocean) in Chicago, Illinois and boasts ten sordid tracks of raucous, battering, stripped down punk-infused metal made of huge drums, huger amps, bowel shaking bass, chainsaw guitars, and head exploding screams. Backed by the twisted tales of the occult, ancient texts, and lesser known military operations, The City Of Sun is both sonically and thematically terrorizing. In an advance review of the record, Pig Squeals And Breakdowns hails the trio noting, “these three musicians know how to write angry pissed off songs…,” further elaborating, “‘Levitation’ is a pretty deranged, maniacal song; definitely not for the lightest of hearts. ‘Solomon’ has some of the nastiest, elephant riffs; it punches.”
Sample opening punisher, “Hollow Earth“, at THIS LOCATION.
The City Of Sun Track Listing:
1. Hollow Earth
2. The Turning Of The Bones
3. My Apocalypse
4. The Bell
5. Baalbek
6. The Garden
7. Levitation
8. Solomon
9. Vitrified
10. Filled With Fire
ZEBRAS was forged in 2007 and often likened to Dead Kennedys, Lardhound, and various Am Rep bands before forging their own perverse brand of heaviness. Since pairing with Shane Hochstetler, the band has shelved all prior material, had a complete gear overhaul, and considers themselves an entirely new outfit. Their self-titled LP was a mix of newer songs with older, now abandoned numbers and reaped praise from underground outlets both stateside and abroad. Their latest offering finds the new and improved ZEBRAS completely emerged into all things heavy and sounds miles away from where they left off in 2012. ZEBRAS has shared bills with the likes of Jello Biafra & The Guantanamo School Of Medicine, High On Fire, Negative Approach, Black Flag, Goatwhore, Die Kreuzen, Melt Banana, Poison Idea, Atlas Moth, Northless, Lo-Pan, DRI, and will return to the stage later this month alongside Melt Banana, Torche, and Hot Nerds. In September, the band will open shows with Old Man Gloom and Mare in Chicago, and DRI and Population Control in Madison, Wisconsin with future live abrasions to be announced in the weeks to come. Stand by.
ZEBRAS Live Abrasions:
7/14/2015 The High Noon Saloon – Madison, WI w/ Melt Banana, Torche, Hot Nerds.
9/06/2015 The Empty Bottle – Chicago, IL w/ Old Man Gloom, Mare
9/23/2015 The Frequency – Madison, WI w/ DRI, Population Control
ZEBRAS Personnel:
Vincent Presley – guitars/vocals
Shane Hochstetler – drums
Lacey Smith – analog synths
The City Of Sun will be released on CD and digitally on July 14th, 2015 and on limited edition vinyl September 22nd, 2015. The wax version will come in two color variants: 400 black vinyl copies and 100 special hand-numbered preorder copies on color vinyl plus downloads.
