Shazu by Shazu

A great power emerging out of the earth takes form; it shifts in clouds of fog, slowly taking an ill-defined shape. At first the shape is still but just as the lines become defined it starts to move. It is driven forward towards an unsuspecting world, where it will seize the minds of passers-by and force them to follow.

This power is Champaign-Urbana's newest post-metal/sludge band SHAZU. The three piece's debut EP is what you've been waiting for all these years, even though you had no idea it was coming. Shazu layers stoner and psychedelic qualities over an aggressive and unrelenting foundation of sludge riffs and abrasive textures.

You will come to Shazu for the heavy bass tone, the unabating torrent of the drums, and the guitar work that sucks you in only to strike you from point-blank range; but you will keep coming back for the finer details: the lyrics that call attention to "those who chose the shadows," the air the band lets hang artfully between heavy blasts of sound, and the thoughtful tone the album carries with it; inviting you to sit and chew on the ideas being presented, to listen until you fully understand what it is that makes Shazu so powerful.

FFO: ISIS, Yob, Deftones, Russian Circles, Zozobra, Om, Old Man Gloom, SUMAC

Tapes available at: http://sonicdust.storenvy.com/