ZOOL - s/t (8/10) - Sweden - 2002
METAL-OBSERVER.COM - Webzine - Germany
8 out of 10 points
ZOOL - a strange name... But then again, looking at some members' previous band MOAHNI MOAHNA not THAT strange…
Anyway, surrounded by runes the logo looks at us (and you can take that literally), and these runes hint at least on part of the lyrics: Vikings. "Burning Ice", "Balder (Son Of Odin)", "Throne Of Thor", got me?ZOOL are from Sweden and no, they play neither Death Metal nor Power Metal, but powerful stuff between Heavy Rock and Melodic Metal, which sounds pretty original somehow. Especially fronter Martin (who apparently cannot afford a family name) can score some plusses with his powerful, a bit deeper voice, he is able to carry the songs, to characterise them, something that unfortunately only few singers still can. That's the way we like it…
Musically, and in this case the info finally is correct, the heyday of acts like DIO or the epic Tony Martin-era BLACK SABBATH comes to mind, whe no symphonic frills or wild style-mixtures had been the dish of the day, but classy Heacy Rock with great melodies, gripping arrangements and not the usual senseless lyrics, but with really read-worthy ones.
Listen to stuff like "Valley Of The Witch", "Balder (Son Of Odin)", "Throne Of Thor" or the closing "Cross Of Greed", it's absolutely worth it!
By Alex
ZOOL "ZooL" (Lucretia, VME)
SWEDEN ROCK MAGAZINE - Sweden - October 2002
9 out of 10 points translated from Swedish
Back in 2000 I got a preview CD of the album, but due to earlier bad recordlabel-experiences there´s been lots of concideration made before a new contract got signed. The choice finally fell on Lucretia and with a remixed version, the album is now available in stores. Perhaps the name ZooL doesn´t say much - but hiding behind the name are guitarist Henrik Flyman and vocalist Martin Häggström. Both of them we know from before in the much too underrated band MOAHNI MOAHNA. When you listen to ZOOL you will without a doubt recognize yourself from the MM-era with the difference of now being more straight forward. It´s nothing short but 70-80´s hardrock where the household god is called Ronnie James Dio and where DIO, BLACK SABBATH, DEEP PURPLE and RAINBOW have been important influences. Good old heavy craftmanship hardrock with the plain kind of songstructure you can never get too much of. The songs are of uniform quality and high class and it´s not without saying that one has managed to gain some favourites. The heavy opening track "Snake Eyes" and "Holy Diver" spiritually allied "Balder (Son Of Odin) are two of them. Uptempo "Dragon Chaser", where Richard Andersson (ex- MAJESTIC) shows off his finger technique in brilliant keyboardplaying, and the wondrous beatiful "The Shepherd and the Lamb", which creates emotional feelings and gives you gooseflesh, are two others. The closing track "Cross Of Greed" is heavy as led and the doomfeeling a la CANDLEMASS is obvious. When the year is to be looked back upon I know an album to be found in the higher regions...
By Michael Svensson
Some comments on ZOOL "ZooL" from the "Leader of the Pack" page in SWEDEN ROCK MAGAZINE - Sweden - October 2002 translated from Swedish"The DIO-fans in Swedish ZOOL make all enthusiasts of their idols days in RAINBOW, BLACK SABBATH and early solocareer cheer in joy. Both musically and vocally very interesting"
By Frostenäs"Ascended from the ashes from the progmetalband MOAHNI MOAHNA they continue where RAINBOW with Ronnie James Dio left off. Incredible quality in both the musicians and the singer. I don´t quite get how they managed to achieve the sound which sounds like something from 1978..."
By Reckeweg"Finally the record is out in shops. With influences from DIO, BLACK SABBATH, DEEP PURPLE and RAINBOW you can´t do nothing else but enjoy this. Add to this a fantastic singer. Thumbs up for the craftmanship-hardrock"
By Svensson"From the ashes of now faded MOAHNI MOAHNA - ZOOL arises, with new pieces rooted in the 70´s and 80´s. Blackmore-touch in the guitarplaying and a clear style parallell to RAINBOW and DIO are of course doing just the trick. Skyhigh nostalgia."
By Jormelin
ZOOL - ZooL
METAL-GUIDE.COM - Webzine - Germany - July 2002
9 out of 10 points
This album is definitely one of the most pleasant surprises we had this month, since it represents a style that not many bands tend to follow these days, but has many fanatics all around the globe. The band is playing Classic Metal, something like a mix of Rainbow, Dio and sometimes Malmsteen of the 90's. The band exists for only a couple of years, but the more cautious listeners will recognize the vocals of Moahni Moahna here, along with the guitarist Henrik. Along with them are equally excellent musicians, and the result is an album full of melodies and 80's Metal, that make many of you wonder when this album was recorded. The vocals are great, the singer reminds of Dio many times, not in the vocals but in the way of singing, and is really one of the bigger advantages of the album. The rhythm section is also very good, and along with the keyboards are managing to create music that is both melodic, heavy and catchy. The songs are simple, and their structures are not very complicated. They are based on the strong melodies, and the catchy parts, and are very easy to get into and stick in your mind. The production is also moving on the same high quality levels as everything else in this release, and is making it an irresistible offer.
http://www.metal-guide.comZOOL - ZooL
URKRAFT - Webzine - Sweden - summer 2002
8/10
Two of my favourite rock albums of all time are Deep Purple's "Perfect Strangers" and Dio's "Holy Diver", so it's no wonder that I immediately fell for the new self-titled Zool album. Because that is just what "Zool" is - a perfect blend of the aforementioned albums. It's simplistic, yet not dull!, late 70's/early 80's hardrock with groovy riffs and emotional melodies. The passion these guys have for pure hard rocking music shines though so clearly and it further enhances the feel of the album. Rock music simply doesn't get much better than this! Zool includes two former Moahni Moahna members also so it's really no surprise this is a quality product, If this album would've been released in 1982-85 it would've sold by the thousands. Sadly the music climat of today isn't as bright as it was back then but I would sure not be surprised to see Zool reaching the absolute top of the scene like a rocket. Old-school in the house! Recommended songs if you're having a sneaklisten at the store: "Snake Eyes", "Valley Of The Witch" and "Throne Of Thor".
By Stefan Lejon
http://www.urkraft-webzine.net/reviews/reviewzool.html
ZOOL - ZooL
LORDS OF METAL - Webzine - Holland - June 2002 - 97 out of 100 points translated from DutchIt is not often that I have to agree with a band biography, but this time I do so wholeheartedly. ZooL is a band that picks up the loose ends left by the likes of Rainbow (‘Long Live Rock’n Roll’), Dio (‘Holy Diver’) and Black Sabbath (‘The Headless Cross’ and ‘Tyr’). Singer Martin Häggström has a great voice, and - in time - he will probably be added to the list of great singers. His partner in crime is guitarist Henrik Flyman, the two played together in the band Moahni Moahna, which released a couple of albums in the 90’s like ‘Face The Light’, ‘Temple Of Live’ and ‘Why’. Martin and Henrik wrote all the songs for ‘ZooL", and their love for 70s and 80s bands is pretty obvious. For the recordings of the album they have been assisted by three other top musicians to handle keyboard, bass and drum duties, plus a guest role for keyboard specialist Richard Andersson in the track ‘Dragon Chaser’.
Both musically and lyrically the band dives into the world of gods and legends of the Vikings. ‘Snake Eye’ is all about fear of death, which appears in the shape of a wolf, and Martin sounds a bit like Ian Gillan in this tune. After the up-tempo ‘Burning Ice’ it is time for ‘Valley Of The Witch’, a song in the typical Dio-style, if it was played somewhat heavier it could easily have peen put onto a Dio album. ‘Balder (Son Of Odin)’ takes you back to Black Sabbath, with great choir work to add some flavour, and the riffs Henrik’s producing are really Iommi originals, but in the solos one is able to detect enough originality. The harpsichord opening and fast keyboard-work special guest Andersson is playing in ‘Dragon Chaser’ creates kind of a Majestic sound, but not too much, so it does not get annoying. The sound of Dio returns in ‘Eye Of The Beast’, and with ‘The Rise Of The Evil Star’ we get a one minute guitar piece which ends with am ultra low tone (quite a cool test for your speakers, resounding all the way). Rainbow returns in the spherical ‘The Shepherd And The Lamb’, with great harmonic song-lines. The album ends with ‘Throne Of Thor’ en ‘Cross Of Greed’.
This is indeed an album I will give a lot of spins in the time to come, the only thing that could have been better is the production. Maybe a tat heavier, to emphasise the long, cold Viking winters and general atmosphere of the album. Otherwise, nothing but compliments and stuff for this talented bunch of musicians.
By Jack the Jester
http://www.lordsofmetal.nl/rubrieken/reviewsjuni/ZooL%20-%20ZooL.php
ZOOL "ZOOL"
Monster of Metal - Webzine - June 2002
6 out of 10 points
When the original artists one grows up with still live and simply aren’t making their walls vibrate anymore, sometimes those amateurs grow up and decide to do something about it. This moment Lucretia Records have temporarily fallen astray from their swing and jump onto this 80’s hard rock resurgence bandwagon with Zool and a recording line up (the live line up will change in the bass and drumming department) consisting of vocalist Martin and guitarist Henrik Flyman from (Moahni Moahna), ex- Moahni Moahna bassist Stefan Edstrom, keyboardist Andreas Lindahl and the bashings of rising Mind’s Eye drummer Daniel Flores. Everyone combines forces to bring us something off their usual genres. You can honestly swear Rainbow and previous Black Sabbath-“The Headless Cross” & “Tyr” eras have been brought back to life. Down to the very last element the self-titled effort spells old school hard rock so many of bands today can pay thanks too. The Ritchie Blackmore tones to the witches and wizards stories, the purposely done 70s production sounds bring back that classic Ronnie James Dio hard/heavy rock/prog mysticism within (The Eye Of The Beast). Well, there is a twist so to speak as the Swedish tags implemented with Zool’s like of Nordic mythology. If the production persists on giving you a hard time forming a pleasurable opinion, then you might want to be grabbed by the addictiveness found with the opener “Snake Eyes”, “Burning Eyes” or “Dragon Chaser”. Pull out the “the good old days” comment during the ‘Temple Of The King’ epic moments of “The Shepherd And The Lamb”, the evil darkness of Beyond Twilight scopes, the melodic key signatures of “Balder (son of Odin)”madness or the vocal drama of “Throne Of Thor”. The debut of Zool comes across as something for everyone, particularly inclined to show the new how the old was. It takes time to swallow it with a few plays and don’t be so hard on the ‘Lets Test this’ idea. Matter of fact that’s what it is but then again you can’t go wrong with this… after all you cant go wrong with Swedish metal right? Especially when you have abilities from a wide range of bands including Royal Hunt and Majestic.
http://www.monstersworldofmetal.com/
ZOOL - ZOOL
Power & Prog Pages - Webzine - Denmark - May 2002
85 out of 100 points
ZooL arose from the ashes of Swedish cult power metal band: Moahni Moahna. But ZooL is taking another direction playing classic hard rock with a lot of energy. 3 names come to mind when listening to ZooL: Rainbow (melodic guitar riffs), Dio (Martin's vocal is very inspired by the master himself) and Black Sabbath (the "Tyr" and "The Headless Cross" period has had a huge influence on them). This is real TRUE METAL in it's true sense, high energy, great melodic guitars, a really tight rhythm section and a great singer with a very powerful vocal. I really dig this cool piece of Scandinavian metal, so if you are in search of good old melodic hard rock, then ZooL (strange name!) is THE band to check out, the musical skills in this band is outstanding and it shows.... One of the best classic hard rock albums since "The Headless Cross" in my opinion. Great production, good clean vocals, supurb guitar riffs and soli and an overall convincing album!
By Kenn Jensen
ZOOL - Bright Eyes Magazine, Sweden, Fall 2000
8½ out of 10 point translated from Swedish
Out of the Moahni Moahna ashes Zool arises.
To put it short, this is guitarist Henrik Flyman and vocalist Martin's new band. It is definitely more straight than what Moahni Moahna created, but you can nevertheless hear some influences from the MM-era. Typical 70's/80's hard rock that you can compare to the big heroes Dio, Black Sabbath, Rainbow and Deep Purple. Heavy, but without losing an ounce of the melodies, and with Martin's powerful voice you can do nothing, but to love what comes out of your loud-speakers. to say that Dio has been a great source of inspiration is very evident. Especially in "Balder (son of odin)", that reminds me of "Holy Diver". The most cool song of them all in my opinion is "Dragon Chaser" in which Richard Andersson (Majestic) performs a keyboard solo that really shreds. Look out for this very interesting release, which will be out in the stores very soon.
By Michael Svensson
ZOOL-ZOOL (Intromental/Lucretia Records)
(Strutter'zine - Points: 8.0 out of 10)
The debut CD of the Swedish band ZOOL is a high quality release that combines elements of 70s Classic HardRock with today's melodic progressive metal. The band is clearly mixing influences from bands like RAINBOW, DEEP PURPLE, MALMSTEEN, URIAH HEEP with a lead singer (Martin) who reminds me of a mix between Joe Lynn Turner, Ronnie James Dio and Glenn Hughes. The bandmembers all played in several well-known acts such as ROYAL HUNT, MOAHNI MOAHNA, MANTICORA, WUTHERING HEIGHTS, MIND'S EYE and MAJESTIC. There are 10 tracks on the album, and right from the start you can hear that the music of ZOOL is from a very high level, up there with RAINBOW, WHITESNAKE and the 80s records of DIO. Highlights are "Snake eyes" (midtempo melodic heavy rocker, RAINBOW meets WHITESNAKE), "Dragonchaser" (nice keyboardwork by MAJESTIC keyboardplayer Richard Andersson), "The eye of the beast" (great melodic prog metal), "The shepherd and the lamb" (slow epic melodic semi ballad, like RAINBOW with Joe Lynn Turner on vocals) and closing track "Cross of greed" (great semi ballad). This is a must for fans of mentioned bands, especially since those bands do not release such records anymore like ZOOL now has done!
By Gabor Kleinbloesem
http://www.strutter.8m.com/
ZOOL - ZOOL
Metal Realm - Webzine - Greece - May 2002
7½ out of 10 points
ZooL were born from the two members of Moahni Moahna, Martin and Henrik Flyman. Their new project, which's debut album I have the pleasure to review, is based on the so-called "Epic Hard Rock", a genre very difficult to be found these days. Their distinguishing characteristics include their powerful way of performing, loud rock synths as well as Martin's scratchy vocals. The whole attitude can be described as "dark", but not in the modern way. What ZooL offer with both hands is dark but at the same time groovy and heavy music! A perfect example is "Valley Of The Witch" where this trademark sound is to be found. To help songs achieve this groovy character, Daniel Flores from Mind's Eye was called, as a drummer, and Stefan Edstrom takes up the bass. In other songs, "Dragon Chaser" will introduce you to the more speedy aspects of the band, while the next track "The Eye Of The Beast" will land you back to slow, epic hard rock moments. As for the album's undoubtedly best song, the absolut hymn "The Shepherd And The Lamb", the only thing I can say with absolute secureness is that it will keep the album around my cd player for a long time! There is a very successful traditiona feeling in this song, although there are no acoustic parts in it and it's surely a hard rock piece. This one, I really loved it! Take your chances with ZooL, although I cannot promise that you will like their strange approach to epic music. Maybe I can help you decide it if I tell you that some of the songs deal with Northern Mythology?? What goes for sure is that this band has something to give - and this will show in the future!
By Menelaos Megariotis
ZOOL (LUCRETIA / ITALIEN-IMPORT)
Obliveon Heavy Metal and Gothic Magazin
6/10
Zool bedeutet: tiefe Verbeugungen vor Ritchie Blackmore und Ronnie James Dio. Sie lieben die frühen Rainbow-Werke sicherlich heiß und innig und auch Dio´s erste Solo-Alben lassen sich auf dem Debüt-Album der Schweden als Ideenquelle vernehmen. Sound und Songwriting aus der klassischen Regenbogen-Hardrockschule (einige Riffs kommen mir sehr vertraut vor), die Keyboardsequenzen scheinen dieser Ära ebenso zu entstammen wie die Fantasy-Lyrics mit urtypischer Thematik (Crystal Ball, Black Magic, Run With The Wolves, Valley Of The Witch, Snake Eyes; Songtitel und Textfragmente scheinen direkt aus dem begrenzten lyrischen Dio-Fundus zu stammen). Sänger Martin besitzt eine markante Hardrock-Röhre, was er schon bei seiner Vorgänger-Truppe Moahni Moahna unter Beweis gestellt hat und bei einem Track wie "Cross Of Greed" (hätte auch gut auf "Dehumanizer" oder "Tyr" gepasst) weiß der Mann wirklich zu glänzen. Im Vergleich mit den flachen letzten Dio-Alben oder der immer gleichen, substanzlosen Veröffentlichung eines leicht peinlichen Blackmore-Jünglings aus dem Ruhrgebiet geht das dänische Quartett als eindeutiger Sieger hervor, am Thron ihrer Vorbilder können sie aber logischerweise nicht kratzen, denn die Originale regieren. Dio-Fans respektive Rainbow-Supporter machen sich hier zoolig, um nicht zu sagen kundig: http://www.intromental.com/zool oder http://www.zool.nu
By Chris Lücker
http://193.25.23.148/pn-om/modules.php?op=modload&name=tplcdimport&file=
index&req=showcontent&id=1457
ZOOL - ZOOL
Heavy Metal Universe - Webzine - France - May 2002
4 out of 6 points
Here is a brand new band coming from Sweden. "Once again" you will tell me... yes, but this time it sounds completely different from traditionnal swedish metal. I mean no death metal, no heavy speed, power or anything like that... "Zool" presents an old school heavy rock that can already be compared to bands such as "Black Sabbath", "Dio" or "Rainbow" ! Nothing really new, that's right, except that bands playing that kind of music aren't much numerous nowadays... so that's why "Zool" sounds pretty uncommon to me. Moreover, this opus is very pleasant and interesting because of the musician's quality, the really great singer (Martin) and the fact that they are playing with a lot of conviction. The 10 tracks are excellent and pretty different from each other : "Snake eyes" sounds a bit oriental, "Valley of the witch" reminds me "ZZ Top", "Burning ice" could have been a "Black Sabbath" song, "Throne of Thor" is not far from the Viking metal played by
"Einherjer" on their album "Odin owns ye all", and "Cross of greed" sounds much more like old-swedish "Candlemass-like" doom metal. In short this opus is a really good album with some really great songs ("Balder" for example), and it seems that it's better each time I listen to it. Excellent !
By Sebastien Castelbou
ZOOL!! ZOOL!! frackin' ZOOL!!!..
2002-05-15
(Perpetual Motion Board)
I had the privilege to meet Henrik Flyman from Zool over the weekend at the Intromental but unfortunately it was only AFTER meeting him I got to hear the Zool album courtesy of Claus and I have to say I am very excited about this cd. In a nutshell, this is like a modernised version of Dio era Rainbow
with an anwesome singer in Martin and a wonderful, expressive guitarist and songwriter in Henrik Flyman. This cd has been a long time coming and it must be 2 years ago by now that the name of Zool is floating around. Anybody who knows me is aware I am very vocally driven, and Martin is just the perfect powerhouse vocalist and his delivery is full of passion and a sense of the theatrical. This cd is out NOW and anyone (like me) into well crafted, supremely melodic, and passionate metal music with many layers should check out Zool... NOW!!
By Niall (Prizak)
ZooL : "Zool"
2001-05-08
(Perpetual Motion Board)
Zool S/T: This is basically a new Moahanni Moahanna album. The vibe is pretty much the same, although not quite as eclectic as the MM releases and a bit darker as well. This is definitely a different type of sound from the rest of the recent releases I've heard. If you are suffering from progmetal or other metal burn-out, give Zool a try. I think you'll find it refreshing. If you liked Moahanni Moahanna, this is a buy or die.
By Scott B.
http://www.tpom.com/pmboard/wwwbb_arch_msg.php?m=13478
