My surprise knew no bounds when, after my first listen to "The Seventh Dimension," I discovered that ZEROKARMA is actually a russian band based in Vladivostok! The musicians' professionalism and the quality of the mixing hadn't even given me such an inkling. That's what happens when you dive into the material without even glancing at the booklet first! And on top of that, it turned out that the project features exactly one person named Alex and his two clones — quite a peculiar trio.
I should say that the surprise is entirely positive in nature, because I hadn't heard such melodic and catchy material executed in the industrial metal style for quite some time — specifically, since the release of PAIN's album "Nothing Remains the Same" in 2002. After hearing such undeniable hits as "Latitude" with its unforgettable (and believe me, it truly is) guitar passage (of which there are quite a few on the album), the ballad "Just Love," and the "brief" closing instrumental "Spheres" clocking in at 16 minutes, it becomes clear that old man Tagtgren should retire — especially given the release this year of the uninspired "Psalms of Extinction."
I'll also mention that "The Seventh Dimension" is already ZEROKARMA's third album, released this time on Irond Ltd. The attractive booklet in green "Matrix-style Wachowski tones" with photos of the cloned Alexes, plus a bonus music video for the title track "The Seventh Dimension" on the media section of the licensed edition, will delight more than a few listeners.
As the saying goes, Vladivostok lives not by Mumiy Troll alone!