People who know me – and readers of my site – know that I have always been a big fan of Zinny Zan. Ever since I more or less by accident turned on the telly and saw him perform with his then band Easy Action back in 1985, I have loved his stage presence, voice and attitude. Attitude yes, if you could bottle that up and sell it, Zinny would be a millionaire today. So I have followed him through his days with Shotgun Messiah, Zan Clan and of lately, his solo career singing in his native tongue under the Stagman – his real surname – moniker where he went more pop-rock-singer-songwriter ish than the usual Hard Rock. I love those records, all three of them even though they didn’t sound like the way I was used to.
To be honest, when the Stagman career took off I really thought Zinny was over the Hard Rock thing, that this was what he was going to continue doing. No matter how much I love those albums it still was really good news to me when he announced that he was going back to rocking out hard again. Back in 2002, Zinny released his first solo album City Boy Blues, an album that was released without much promotion at all, even I missed out on that album back then and I still haven’t found a physical copy of it. It’s a damn good album, though. 20 years later Zinny’s back with another album bearing his name but this time it’s a band even though they cover only shows a picture of Zinny and with him he has his new partner in crime, Stefan Bergström (Skintrade) on guitars and co-writing and bass player Hogge Calmroth – and boy was I eager to sink my teeth into this one keeping my fingers crossed that it would be as good as I was hoping for.
Album opener “Heartbreak City” and also the lead-off single that preceded the record didn’t exactly lower my expectations for the record. The song is Zinny Zan inside-out, a full-blown Hard Rock blaster, sleazy, dirty and raw, Easy Action, Shotgun Messiah and Zan Clan all in one without going on repeat. The riff chugs and rips, the rhythm section hits hard and the 70’s meets 80’s kick-ass rock ‘n’ roll is perfect for the stage while chorus has a direct hook. It’s perfect for the party but don’t drive while listening if you don’t want to put your driver’s license in jeopardy. Killer.
“Bombs Away” is a damn groovy, swinging rocker with a 70’s Aerosmith influence. It’s raw-edged, the beat is chunky and the whole thing reeks with attitude and balls even though the lyrics holds a more serious matter – Zinny’s health-issues and getting a second chance in life. The bluesy yet sleazy licks are all crispy and the vocal-melodies are stunning with another bang-on-target refrain, catchy as hell yet completely sugarless. Great.
Also released as a single prior to the album is the cover of Depeche Mode’s “It’s No Good”, a choice that came as a bit of a shock, to be honest. It’s darker, slower in pace and Zinny sings in his lower register which fits him really well. The somewhat spacey atmosphere and the rolling rhythms creates some terrific contrasts and the band has stayed true to the original melodies while Zinnied it up. I was never a fan of Depeche Mode at all but the song is pretty good in its original form. This cover, however, beats the original by a country mile. Well done.
Next up is the latest single, the acoustic guitar driven ballad “Heal The Pain”, a deep, emotional and for Zinny cathartic tune. It’s a Classic Rock ballad with a 70’s vibe – a bit Zeppelin-esque here, a bit Aerosmith-esque there with slightly folky moments. It’s low-key and stripped and holds a saddening atmosphere but it also feels both uplifting and positive at the same time. The orchestration makes the soundscape bigger and Zinny’s brittle vocals frames the tune splendidly. It’s an amazing ballad completely free from any power ballad syrup. It’s groundy with a contagious memorability. Awesome!
Even though “Nobody Gets Out Of Here Alive” comes in a slower, mid-tempo pace, it’s still a crunchy rocker with smoother vocal-melodies and a floating soundscape. The song is carried by a solid rhythm and the guitar riffs away with a robust crunchiness and the chorus catches on right off the bat without being the least pop-sugary. Good one. The kicking rocker “Welcome To The Show” blends early Kiss with 70’s Aerosmith and an 80’s raw, sleaze-metal vibe with a heavy and hard-hitting drum-pattern, thunderous bass-lines and smoking guitars, very direct and live-friendly. This is a Classic Rock kidney-punch, folks. A future live-opener, maybe. Awesome!
With “Let It Rock” Zan & co. goes into some fat, Aerosmith funky grooves which brings on a rhythmic stomp and together with some crunchy riffage the tune is set up for a major party-vibe. It’s a dirty, sleazy Classic Rock stomper with a raunchy, raw vibe yet still very melodic and another chorus that brings a smile to my face. I’d love to see this live. Brilliant. Another ballad, “Goodbye To Yesterday”, is more of an acoustic laden pop-rock ballad, heavily orchestrated with a dreamy atmosphere with a sweeping rhythm and a spacey arrangement. More 70’s laden than 80’s, the tune holds a gorgeous vocal-melody and some beautiful arrangements throughout the song. Unexpected and awesome.
If you think that the left-turns are over then get ready for the closing track “The One”. This one’s a slow-burner, dark and heavy with a draggling rhythm where Zinny at times reminds me of none other than Ozzy Osbourne. It’s a gritty and slightly gothic sounding number with some eerie early Alice Cooper twists thrown in for good measure. It’s a somewhat held-back affair, groundy and organic yet with some edgy guitars and a damn memorable melody-hook. Again, this is totally unexpected in style but nevertheless a brilliant tune.
When I first heard the news that Zinny was getting back to Hard Rock I thought he/they were going to give us a straight ahead, fist-in-face, balls to the wall, sleazy Hard Rock screecher and if that would’ve been the case, that would’ve been great too. But in all honesty, what we got is so much better because this is a very varied affair. This is actually a challenging record. Sure, we do get the dirty, raunchy Hard Rock that was more or less expected but there’s so much more to this album – it’s clear that there’s been a lot of thought behind the songs and arrangements here. The only thing that’s lacking is maybe a couple of more songs – when the album’s over there’s a slight “is this it?” feeling but thinking about it, that’s really a compliment as that feeling comes from nine killer tunes making you want more.
So while it’s easier to throw out a high score when the track list is shorter – a few songs more maybe would’ve been the fillers – that doesn’t take away anything from the fact that Zinny Zan the band has passed every filler to the trash bin – nine killers are better than nine killers plus three fillers, right? And that’s what we’re getting here: nine killers, a solid production, unpredictability and splendid musical performances. Zinny Zan rarely disappoints me musically (well, Citizen Of Wasteland by Zan Clan wasn’t that much to write home about) but this is actually even better than I had expected!
9/10
Tracklist:
1. Heartbreak City
2. Bombs Away
3. It’s No Good
4. Heal The Pain
5. Nobody Gets Out Of Here Alive
6. Welcome To The Show
7. Let It Rock
8. Goodbye To Yesterday
9. The One
CD & Festival reviews 