Gods Anger (I Expire), the first track on Zillah’s debut album Substitute for A Catastrophe, comes screaming out at you with all the anger and brutality of something spawned in the depths of Hell. The staccato, jazz-like riff feels like a frenzied, stabbing attack from which there is no escape; building adrenaline fuelled frustration and anger within your soul that escalates to the same level of that which is being pumped into your senses. Suffice it to say that Substitute For A Catastrophe is not a CD you put on when you want to relax!

Zillah play some brutally heavy Death Metal but not quite as you know it. Within the technicality associated with this genre there is also an element of Progressiveness and Jazz that sets them apart from the herd. Guitarist/Vocalist Roddy Anderson writes and growls some venomous lyrics and along with Andy Yates play some of the most technical guitaring I’ve heard in some time. The punchiness of the stop/start riff in Creed As The Anti-Christ leaves you reeling; and, having heard them live a few times, I know the timing involved in creating this riff is not down to studio/ Pro-Tools trickery, this is technical precision guitaring at its best. Creating havoc from the drum stool, Bob Storie manages to keep the madness together with an amazing array of crazy stick and kick patterns, the speed of which will have you slack-jawed! Also keeping the beat, but throwing in a few riffs and licks of her own is Janet Brown on bass. (Janet has since left the band to be replaced by Pauric Logue). Zillah has also recently recruited Sons Of Slaughter guitarist Tim Rasmussen, so their next release will be a three guitarist heavyweight!

The anger of Zillah’s lyrics come from living in a city where they spend Squillions on the construction of a brand new building to house the Scottish Parliament while less than 500 metres away people live in abject poverty; where just round the corner from said building police move on homeless people from their shop doorway refuge. Yet the people that are housed in that building are blind to these situations – This is what fuels Zillah’s anger; and that anger is felt in every note in every song. I’ve known Roddy for some time and though quite a quiet guy, he takes seriously the injustices the ‘Haves’ mete out to the ‘Have Nots’ and he vents his wrath on the ‘Haves’ through Zillah; the same anti-establishment anger shown by early punks but with more venom, power and brutality.

I’ve mentioned the brutality of Zillah a few times and for Death Metal that is a must. However, Substitute For A Catastrophe has taken the brutal sound to a new level of ferocity. There is no finesse here, this is something more than a sledgehammer to crack a nut; this is a lifetime of anger released in a deluge of eight songs that is a must for anyone who needs a shot of balls to take on the world. You can check out a couple of songs and purchase the CD at their My Space or from their label - Retribute Records.