The Official Zu Thread.
 

Ok, some of us like them, so I thought a proper thread could be nicer than keeping on upping old threads with stuff non-coherent with the threads'titles.

Here's a little present to get things started, a couple live songs (Chtonian and Erinys ) from their gig @ Interzona club in Verona (Italy) from their latest tour, "small dvd" format:

3 parts, around 600mb total, dl them in the same folder, extract the first, should do the trick.

part 1
part 2
part 3

Please pay a visit to the youtube account of the guy who filmed this :

http://www.youtube.com/user/daimon0000

and thank him for his kindness.
check also his other videos, lots of interesting works beside the music-related stuff.

I might ask him for better infos on the equipment/software he used for you "completists" out there... you know who you are :D.

Awesome Nic.
Getting this right now. Thanks!

PS: Let me know if you find out what equipment our taper used! :D

this band fookin' rips.
amazing musicianship.
heavier than partchimp.

the new album rocks, one of the best i've heard this year

Just watched it. Great quality and really nice shot. Thanks again Nic.

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/node/149158

Zu:
Carboniferous

[Ipecac; 2009]
Rating: 8.0

• Buy it from Insound
• Download it from eMusic

Catching the attention of Ex-Faith No More honcho Mike Patton and being picked to join the ranks of his highly regarded Ipecac label in company with artists such as Melvins, Hella, and the Locust, would be one hell of a high point for the majority of heavy, avant-rock bands currently making music. Zu, one of the most progressive no-wave metal bands ever to come out of Italy, were recruited by Patton for the release of their 14th album, Carboniferous, and one cannot conceive a more fitting home for the trio.

Drummer Jacopo Battaglia, saxophonist Luca T. Mai, and bass player Massimo Pupillo, formed Zu in Rome 10 years ago. Since then, aside from releasing records at the rate of more than one per year, the band have toured the world relentlessly (their self-described Black Flag-esque work ethic has motivated them to play over 1,000 live shows), and collaborated with an impressive range of sterling artists such as Hamid Drake, the Ex, Han Bennink, Damo Suzuki, Alvin Curran, and the Stooges' saxophonist Steve MacKay. Given their predilection for ingenious improvisation, combined with the ability to absorb and incorporate an exhilarating variety of musical styles into their material, it is not surprising that Zu often sounds like a hundred bands in one, although the way they piece together their wild sonic jigsaw is unique to them alone.

Entirely instrumental except for Patton's guest vocals on "Soulympics", Carboniferous veers alternately from free jazz and punk, to sheer metal, math, and hair-raising noise. By the time the album reaches the finish line, there aren't many stones left unturned. It sounds as though Zu have wrung out every last drop from their musical cloth, yet one doubts whether their imagination can possibly run dry. Arguably the most aggressive album the band has ever recorded, Carboniferous is relentless in its volatile ferocity. Any brief moment of calm is torn from limb to limb by a monstrous tide of free jazz or Behemoth-style mania. On a song such as "Carbon", Mai's saxophone, the perfect melodic replacement for Zu's lack of vocals, sounds like it is fighting a battle as it screams and struggles against the rhythm section in an effort to set itself free. Other tracks take the listener inside the workings of an industrial factory. "Chthonian" and "Axion" are so forcefully precise and metallic sounding that it feels as though you are trapped in a steel foundry, narrowly escaping darts of sparks and rivers of molten metal.

At times the songs can sound cold, as though they want to keep their distance, refusing to shed any armor. Although this could be a handicap on other albums, it only serves to makes Carboniferous more intriguing. Not exactly an easy ride, it will undoubtedly be too dense, tough, and quite frankly deranged for some listeners to take in. For others, particularly fans of fellow Mediterranean math rockers Uzeda, John Zorn's Cobra improvisations, and all Patton-affiliated projects such as Fantômas and Mr. Bungle, Zu's massive accomplishment will be nothing short of breathtaking.

• MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/zuband

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/node/149158

Zu:
Carboniferous

[Ipecac; 2009]
Rating: 8.0

• Buy it from Insound
• Download it from eMusic

Catching the attention of Ex-Faith No More honcho Mike Patton and being picked to join the ranks of his highly regarded Ipecac label in company with artists such as Melvins, Hella, and the Locust, would be one hell of a high point for the majority of heavy, avant-rock bands currently making music. Zu, one of the most progressive no-wave metal bands ever to come out of Italy, were recruited by Patton for the release of their 14th album, Carboniferous, and one cannot conceive a more fitting home for the trio.

Drummer Jacopo Battaglia, saxophonist Luca T. Mai, and bass player Massimo Pupillo, formed Zu in Rome 10 years ago. Since then, aside from releasing records at the rate of more than one per year, the band have toured the world relentlessly (their self-described Black Flag-esque work ethic has motivated them to play over 1,000 live shows), and collaborated with an impressive range of sterling artists such as Hamid Drake, the Ex, Han Bennink, Damo Suzuki, Alvin Curran, and the Stooges' saxophonist Steve MacKay. Given their predilection for ingenious improvisation, combined with the ability to absorb and incorporate an exhilarating variety of musical styles into their material, it is not surprising that Zu often sounds like a hundred bands in one, although the way they piece together their wild sonic jigsaw is unique to them alone.

Entirely instrumental except for Patton's guest vocals on "Soulympics", Carboniferous veers alternately from free jazz and punk, to sheer metal, math, and hair-raising noise. By the time the album reaches the finish line, there aren't many stones left unturned. It sounds as though Zu have wrung out every last drop from their musical cloth, yet one doubts whether their imagination can possibly run dry. Arguably the most aggressive album the band has ever recorded, Carboniferous is relentless in its volatile ferocity. Any brief moment of calm is torn from limb to limb by a monstrous tide of free jazz or Behemoth-style mania. On a song such as "Carbon", Mai's saxophone, the perfect melodic replacement for Zu's lack of vocals, sounds like it is fighting a battle as it screams and struggles against the rhythm section in an effort to set itself free. Other tracks take the listener inside the workings of an industrial factory. "Chthonian" and "Axion" are so forcefully precise and metallic sounding that it feels as though you are trapped in a steel foundry, narrowly escaping darts of sparks and rivers of molten metal.

At times the songs can sound cold, as though they want to keep their distance, refusing to shed any armor. Although this could be a handicap on other albums, it only serves to makes Carboniferous more intriguing. Not exactly an easy ride, it will undoubtedly be too dense, tough, and quite frankly deranged for some listeners to take in. For others, particularly fans of fellow Mediterranean math rockers Uzeda, John Zorn's Cobra improvisations, and all Patton-affiliated projects such as Fantômas and Mr. Bungle, Zu's massive accomplishment will be nothing short of breathtaking.

• MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/zuband

Sometimes it's better to say things TWICE.
It's more efficient.

i know what you mean.

i know what you mean.

i'll see them in patronaat, haarlem together with KONG

These guys were awesome at ATP last December. I may be able to see them this time round in April - it will depend on money etc.

Trivia: the dog on that flyer is Massimo's Rottweiler, her name is Maria Iside.
Full name : Maria Iside Pupillo :).

Little info:
reading a sort of report of their tour dates seems like Zu + Sunno ))) will meet at a festival in Paris this winter, and there's a chance they might think about a collaboration..

I'll try to be there :)

i'll never forgive myself because i couldn't assist to their show in my country. :(

Lightning Bolt + Zu


Martedì 26 maggio @sPAZIO211, Torino

hell yeah!!!
damn I sure hope I can make it...

I had pleasure to see them a year ago at SKIF.

My ears!!!!!!!!!

Anyone attending their upcoming UK gigs?