Let me start this off by saying Begin At Zero have balls…. great big balls of steel. This alone has garnered them more publicity and buzz than most bands we come across on a daily basis.
Their attitude and approach to pitching their music is what first caught our attention and led to this interview with the band members.
I need to get this out of the way then I’ll dive into this album. If we were shopping for liquor, Breathing Ash would be bottom shelf. Listening to this album is not an activity everyone will enjoy…
BUT, if you are into discovering new bands in their infancy; this is the perfect opportunity to invest some listening time. I will explain in more detail in a second.
Now that your curiosity is rising, let’s get into it. First, I have to quote a previous review of this album by the blog I Probably Hate Your Hand. Check it out below:
I am pretty amazed by how much of a piece of shit that this album here really is. It’s literally used a paintbrush tipped in baby-got-into-the-yoghurt-green to tick every box of shitness from cover to instruments to production. There’s nothing even somewhat listenable here or even visually interesting to distract you from the amateurish teen emo metal vomit that this really is.
This is pretty harsh but I think you get the picture the author is painting. I will agree that all the elements of this record need some work but since I’ve shared some not so favorable attention; allow me to tell what’s really going on here.
Begin At Zero started off like many other bands. A group of friends with a common unity in music who decided to see what would happen if they started a band and treated it as a career. Currently, the band is just 3 years old.
Breathing Ash is the sound of a band who is pushing themselves to the max (and then some) to create the best product they possibly can.
The entire record is a journey through exploration & discovery, genre bending, growth, maturation, and the beautiful essence of what it is to be a young band. Raw, uncut, unafraid, unaware, and not concerned with fitting into any particular box.
In other words, they have yet to be jaded by the music business… 🙂
Meshing elements of progressive, metal, screamo, punk, and all out garage rock, Begin At Zero are discovering themselves not only as songwriters and musicians, but as a cohesive unit. With their youth comes a wide range of possibilities for their future path.
Putting their first album out there for the media, bloggers, and music fans to rip apart and tear to shreds takes some guts but these guys are doing it with class.
Their song “Spectre In Mirror” was recently reviewed on Bret’s new live review show, Mid Tenn Listen Live 75. I believe my friend Dusty Bradshaw summed it up best when he made this statement,
“It’s like cumming in your pants before you get laid.”
I see a bright future for Begin At Zero and I guarantee that when their next album is unleashed it will be bigger, better, and badder than Breathing Ash. That’s what happens when you can handle a healthy dose of critical and sometimes harsh criticism.
Go check out the album then connect with the band on FB.
