Band:	Zico Chain
Album:	Food
Style:	Post-Grunge, Alternative metal, Hard rock
Release date:	October 15, 2007
A review by:	jupitreas

01. Pretty Pictures
02. Where Would You Rather Be?
03. Last Weeks Genius
04. Junk
05. Roll Over
06. Preach
07. No Hoper Boy
08. Your Favorite Client
09. Nihilism
10. All Eyes On Me
11. Anaemia

Kurt, is that you?
Although they will probably deny it, the whole concept behind Zico Chain is to revive the seminal and hungry sound of the best grunge from the early 90s, but with an element of gritty hard rock (Skid Row) thrown in. Although not devoid of problems, their latest album "Food" actually nails this formula right on the head and is a supremely enjoyable listen. Nevertheless, ironically I think that the best way to describe why I like this album is by pointing out what is wrong with it:

Ever heard of this little known, underground band called Nirvana? Well, Zico Chain seem to hope that you haven't, since otherwise everybody would notice just how much they sound like them. The stop-go dynamics, the damaged but lithe vocals, the punk inspired riffs - it's all here. Sadly, Chris Glithero doesn't have the same knack for memorable lyrics that Kurt did. The song writing, while reasonably memorable and powerful, also is no match for the big N... Other outright quotations from bands such as Alice In Chains and Queens Of The Stone Age are also present on this album. There is nothing wrong with being influenced by great bands but inevitably, if you sound a lot like your heroes, you'll end up being compared to them.

Nevertheless, none of this ultimately matters. Zico Chain is still one of the best post-grunge bands around right now. Unlike the radio friendly purveyors of the style (think uh, Nickelback and Staind), there is not a hint of commercialism in Zico Chain's sound. It's all attitude and the performance shows it. "Food" is essentially an onslaught from beginning till the end. The intensity never falters and what's more, it's all catchy as hell!

This is one of those albums that feature one long string of excellent songs, making it useless to point any of them out over the others. Just hear the whole album, it's not that long and the experience will not be a waste of your time.