Review: CalatrilloZ – “Psalms of Zahyin”
Let’s start with a pile of honesty here: When I first looked at the photos of CalatrilloZ, the band 
looked like a group of men that couldn’t decide whether their image should reflect that of professional wrestlers, a Kiss cover band, or an enthusiastic circus troupe. Frankly, it almost kept me away from giving Psalms of Zahyin (out June 22) a chance. But after tapping the ‘play’ button, that whole idea of not judging a book by its cover quickly came to light.
The reality, beyond the face paint, is that CalatrilloZ is a proficient metal band that’s designed to fuck with the formula of the genre. While there is plenty of climbing-up-the-ladder riffs and speedy crunching ever present throughout Psalms of Zahyin, there is enough properly ambitious sonic qualities going on here that could make the London-based quintet an attractive new outlet for those who like bonus dimensions in their metal.
The vocals demonstrated by frontman Zahyin often slide into theatrical, dare we say, operatic territory, thus making his voice as crucial of an instrument for his band as those you plug in or smack.
At times (see the second track, “Lords of Misery”), CalatrilloZ become way too ambitious and over-the-top for easy digestion, while most of what’s heard on Psalms of Zahyin get close to that point, but fall back before a disconnected musical tangent gets going – thankfully.
For a debut album that’s come six years into a band’s existence, CalatrilloZ have made a strong first step toward the embrace of the often-critical and brutally honest metal community. Some may not get past the showiness of Zahyin and his mates, but here’s hoping many can – like me – move beyond that and appreciate the chops being demonstrated.
-Adam Grant
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