by Ryan Christian

Created on: May 09, 2008

Well, this really is a hard article to write, since I'm sure I'm not alone in the fact that a wide array of musicians and bands have influenced me and made some kind of impact on my life. I listen to most types of music (rap and hip-hop excluded, sorry), and that is the chief factor that made it so hard to pinpoint my favorite band when I sat down, cracked my knuckles, and began to write again after losing an article to the ineptitude of my ISP. But that's beside the point.

After much deliberation, I have decided that my favorite band has to be Zao. It was tough because metal-core is usually not nearly versatile enough as a genre to warrant my interest and continued attention unless a truly innovative and genre-pushing offering is conveyed to the masses that truly redefines the way I listen to music. If this sounds like a high expectation, it probably is. It takes really good music to keep me listening even after many years, and the fact that a metal-core band, even the band that arguably pioneered the genre, can land the slot of my #1 favorite band of all time, is saying something.

Why do I love Zao? There are many reasons. Few metal bands today can truly display the technical and musical prowess that Zao has, although this is largely due to the nature of metal, being as narrow-vision as it is. Way back in the late 80's and early 90's, Zao was a fledgling, forming from members of other bands and slowly gaining recognition through their talent and dedication. One thing that distinguished Zao from a lot of other metal bands is the fact that they were a Christian band, at a time when Christian metal bands were still taboo. And despite this tabooed image and the general lack of acceptance by the mainstream music industry of Christian music of any genre, Zao persevered and went on to become one of the greatest influences in their style of music, effectively extending that influence into the secular sector (quite a feat during that time).

With guitarist Russ Cogdell's amazing guitar skills, skins man Jesse Smith's virtuosic drumming (Jesse Smith was and is such an influence that he is widely regarded as one of the greatest drummers in metal, period) and Daniel Weyandt's gravelly, lizard-man-with-an-attitude scream (harkening to the much-loved Carcass) and introspective, heartfelt lyrics, Zao was an icon that never got the recognition they deserved. I've never heard such aggressive riffing and awesome grooves. My favorite Zao album is probably Where Blood and Fire Bring

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