ZAIUS
THE BEAUTIFUL & DARK
20 illinoisentertainer . com january 2018
M
odern prog / post-metal instrumental music has never been stronger , especially in Chicago where bands such as Pelican , Electric Hawk , Russian Circles and Zaius all share abit of the spotlight . With plenty of venues in the city that welcome acts who play original material , it ’ s a blessing for a band like Zaius .
“ There is really a tight-knit community , and we all know each other ,” guitarist Dann Dolce says . “ Everyone welcomes other bands pretty well , and the promoters are really cool . There are so many great venues that have really great sound , like smaller venues that aren ’ t too big . [ We ] aren ’ t stuck playing in VFW halls on the floor , we ’ re playing on stages with sound guys . And there are [ also ] so many great Chicago bands out there , too .”
Dolce , along with fellow guitarist Ian McConnell , bassist Jeremy Bellen and drummer Mike Imbordino , didn ’ t initially plan on being strictly an all-instrumental band when they first formed in 2010 . “ We tried [ working with ] vocalists before , but it seemed like they had a hard time putting vocals to our music ,” Dolce explains . “ So we just thought it was cool [ not to have one ]. We like instrumental bands , so we just thought we ’ d keep it going .”
Zaius weaves meticulous melodies with technical precision on its debut album , Of Adoration . Throughout the eight expansive tracks , the foursome delivers instrumental bliss that relies on soaring guitar melodies and vibrant hooks , which act as a substitute in the place of vocals . There are fewer guitarshreds and instead more storytelling techniques throughout the song structures . “ We wanted it to feel like a song — we wanted to tell a story ,” says Dolce . “ Sometimes you have to go a little longer to get your point across with the writing , to give it some ups and downs and evoke emotions with hooks .”
The time and thoughts put into each track are easily noticeable . Compared to its two prior EPs ( All Your Friends Are Dead ( 2011 ), Divided By Tides ( 2013 )) the band spent more time concentrating on pre-production . “ We did do something different this time ,” says Dolce . “ With both of our EPs , we wrote most of our stuff straight live in the jam room , pushing each other to remember everything ; keeping things together manually like old school . [ With this album ] we discovered a computer and put some software online and did some pre-production to get ideas and riffs down . It was a little easier way to write . Then we ’ d go back to jamming and do a mix of the two . We definitely thought it out . We didn ’ t just throw things together in a day .”
Recently signed to Prosthetic Records , Zaius is eager to get its name out there . “ Being signed in the first place is always a privilege for a small band like us because it makes all this hard work worth it ,” Dolce continues . “ As a label , we ’ re hoping that they get our name out there . People like to hear this music that we ’ ve been working so hard on and hopefully enjoy it . That ’ s kind of what the biggest thing for us [ is ] and kind of what keeps us going . They ’ re doing promotion for us , and hopefully , we sell records , and it puts some money in their pocket .”
While holding a physical copy of the new album in your hands ( order it on vinyl ) it ’ s easy to be captivated by the stunning cover art created by Netherlands-based anthropomorphic artist , Marald Van Haasteren , who has also designed artwork for Baroness , High On Fire and Kylesa . “ Ian told me to check out Marald ' s artwork on Instagram , and his stuff was beautiful ,” Dolce says . “ It was a mix of pretty , realistic , gorgeous art . But it had a little bit of a dark side to it , kind of like our music . So the imagery fit in with the band . He ’ s such an excellent artist , and it was an honor to have his artwork on our album cover .”
Boasting exceptional production and decorated with crisp , pristine clarity , Of Adoration is a stellar package . “ We pretty much had these songs written before we decided to sign with Prosthetic Records ,” Dolce explains . “ If we had to self-release it , then that ’ s what it might have been . We recorded it with one of Ian ’ s friends in his home studio . It was comfortable because we could [ go ] over after work and on the weekends and split things up instead of paying big bucks for a studio . Then Chris Common mixed it . He was such a hardworker , and he busted his ass mixing it for us .”
When it comes to future endeavors , Dolce says the band has every intention of making album No . 2 sometime soon . In the meantime , Zaius appears at Reggies , Chicago on February 6 .
By Kelley Simms