2023-12-18 08:00:03
(c) Zone Six
26 years ago Dave Schmidt founded the improv collective Zone Six into life – rather by chance, as he mightn’t accept a concert offer from his band at the time, but with continued success. Since then, the German trio has been considered a top address for acid-heavy rock with space, psych, kraut and heaviness in huge quantities. Comparatively long years following their last regular album, apart from the little appetizer in between „Full Mental Jacket“ lots of noise once more.
The entire A-side belongs to a 20-minute track: “Slingshot” packs pretty much everything that defines Zone Six into one oversized XXL track. A short intro leads you on the wrong track, then a roasting heaviness spreads. The lead guitar undergoes many changes, duels with the effects devices, while the rhythm section flees forward with full vigor. What makes the track really exciting is the play with caesuras, which leads to a long, playful, whiny middle part. Almost unnoticed, the trio extends their elbows, frees themselves from the sudden constriction and takes off one last time – a precise landing.
With a playing time of around ten minutes each, the two tracks on the B-side are of course anything but radio-friendly. The title song “Full Mental Jacket” takes a while to get out of the rut, but there is an undeniable appeal in this delaying tactic. Finally, the action escalates with almost metallic noise loops. The long stretches of calm, stoic “Chrono Trigger” are really good. Kraut and Psych increasingly take the reins in their hands, let the surf strike boldly once more and once more and raise their fist towards the end – a rough splash of color, only consistent for this album.
The way Zone Six build their songs is always courageous, rides the surprise momentum with growing enthusiasm and gets to the heart of the improvisational character. The trio skilfully plays with expectations, adds an exciting extra layer of heaviness and constantly reins in the spacey acid horse from behind. In “Full Mental Jacket” you can lose yourself wonderfully and repeatedly discover new gripping subtleties with herbaceous psych madness that won’t let you go – a well-rounded thing from start to finish with a surprisingly high addictive factor.
Rating: 8/10
Available from: October 6th, 2023
Available via: Sulatron Records (Broken Silence)
Website: www.zonesix.de
Facebook: www.facebook.com/zonesixz6
Category: Magazin, Reviews
1702926007
#Zone #Full #Metal #Jacket