ZODIAC — A Bit of Devil (review)

ZODIAC — A Bit of Devil album cover Album · 2012 · Hard Rock Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
UMUR
"A Bit of Devil" is the debut full-length studio album by German hard rock act Zodiac. The album was released through Prosthetic Records in October 2012.

The band play a retro sounding heavy blues based hard rock with a great warm and organic touch. Not completely unlike their Swedish contemporaries in Graveyard. I hear quite a few nods toward Thin Lizzy too. The dual lead guitar attack especially points in that direction. There is a healthy dose of Led Zeppelin worship going on too, so all in all a band that knows their "classics". Lead vocalist/guitarist Nick Van Delft has a pleasant voice (sort of like a rough John Mayer) and he is able to both sound raw and a little more laid back and cool, when that is needed. The rythm section of drummer Janosch Rathmer and bassist/organist Ruben Claro are energetic and deliver a really strong performance that brings just the right organic touch to the music. I´ve long admired the former´s work with Long Distance Calling, so it´s interesting to hear him play in another constellation. He is a really skilled drummer so I´m not surprised to hear that he pulls it off with conviction.

While based in simple heavy bluesy hard rock, the material on "A Bit of Devil" is varied enough to be entertaining for the duration of the album. The band skillfully add details and variations to their tracks, but also variation between tracks. Take for instance the title track album opener, which is an energetic rocker and compare it to the slow blues of the ZZ Top cover track "Blue Jean Blues". A track like "Assembly Line" also deserves a mention as a highlight. Great track with a number of brilliant guitar solos.

The band are generally very well playing, the sound production is warm and organic and the songwriting strong, so "A Bit of Devil" is overall a very entertaining release by Zodiac. A 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved.
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