Flower of Zeus

Diamond Rings EP

When I put Diamond Rings - the debut EP of Flower Of Zeus – on, I had the impression I was back in the 70s, probably at a Led Zeppelin gig.

The first track Diamond Rings is somewhat of a mixture of heavy guitar riffs, punk lyrics and screams, hard drumming and synths effects. The kind of thing which would fall under the category of Stadium Rock.

The single Glad I’m Dead comes up as second track on the EP, and continues the trend of old school rock anthems mixed with more modern effects. I love the quieter bass and vocals part which then leads to the explosion of drums, guitar and louder vocals – a liberation. The riff part with the heavy guitar and drums at times remind me of the early System Of A Down, whereas the finale with the guitar solo accompanied by the drums is very much 80s old school rock.

Awake The Lion is pretty much a hard core track, heavy all the way through, something that Iron Maiden fans will definitely appreciate.

Motorcycle, the final track, is an epic 6 minutes long tune. The heavy guitar riff is clamed down by the bells touch and softer vocals, it then turns epic half way though with the “church” style chorus (a touch of 80s again), a good idea to keep your attention on the tune. I also liked the talk bit towards the end of the song, nice touch.

Not for everyone, but it is impressive that the duo (yes, a duo!) manages to create such a complex sound: it may not be your type of music, but you gotta give them credit for being amazing musicians! - AAA Musichttp://www.aaamusic.co.uk/reviews.asp?id=2941

http://prod1.cmj.com/articles/display_article.php?id=176548188

London duo Flower Of Zeus is so glad to be dead that it has written a song about it. It also sells t-shirts emblazoned with its "Glad I'm Dead" motto spelled out in thick black letters. But while the pair's rock smolders like it comes from the fiery depths of hell, something tells us that this isn't entirely true. After all, with only the Diamond Rings EP, which was released earlier this year, to its name, there is still far too much work for Pritpal Soor (vocals/guitar) and Gregg Braden (vocals/drums) to do in this lifetime for it to be over already. The band still needs to spread its gospel—a half-yelled, half-sung, power-driven, Led Zep-style gospel—to the masses.

It’s hard to believe that the balls-to-the-wall, speed-set-to-heart-attack music of Flower Of Zeus is created by only two people. Somehow Soor and Braden manage to sound like a crew of at least twice as many people, throwing in heavy walls of noisy guitar and punk-inspired drums. But it’s not just its thick wad of beefy sound that's appealing; the boys appear to have a sense of humor as well. The band includes what sounds like a xylophone or glockenspiel amongst its metal riffs on the track "Motorcycle," along with other small touches that suggest that Flower Of Zeus, though serious about its music, doesn't take itself too seriously. - CMJ.com

Diamond Rings EP 9/10

I must admit, I've never wondered what Led Zeppelin would sound like if they'd been caged, force fed tornadoes and made to play The Doors' Roadhouse Blues in the style of Slayer, but apparently, had I pondered this, the answer would lie in Flower of Zeus. Their PR guys reckon they're new rock legends. Now, I know I'm being slightly pedantic here, but doesn't someone need to have actually heard of a band before they can be considered legendary? Moreover, proclaiming a band - actually, a duo - to be legends on the eve of their debut release is perhaps a little premature.

Still, the comparisons aren't a million miles off the mark, and Flower of Zeus do produce an unholy and quite preposterous high-octane brand of rock 'n' roll that powers along solidly, amps cranked up to eleven to create wall-to-wall guitar excess.

'Awake the Lion' is a particularly mammoth din of distorted monster riffage and pulverising percission. Make no mistake, these guys can definitely rock. Not entirely serious and revelling in the cliches of rock music from the last forty years, these four tracks are unpretentious and entertaining - not to mention supremely kick-ass. - http://www.whisperinandhollerin.com/reviews/review.asp?id=6914

The amazing fact about Flower Of Zeus is that there are only two members which leaves you in disbelief at how they can make so much NOISE? Is someone playing mind games or what, your guess is as good as any. The title track 'Diamond Rings' kicks things off and it's pure guitar and drums. There are actually people out there that can actually play their instruments with anger but fall short on the final product but these guys produce a monster of a track that leaves you wondering how it would sound live; a thought that makes you feel out of breathe listening to it.

'Glad I'm Dead' starts off sounding like a jamming session but then boom the amps are cranked up and Flower Of Zeus carry on to not flatter or deceive. 'Awake The Lion' should be renamed make the lion jump out of its skin. Just when you thought things couldn't get any louder they just did, the drums being smashed to hell and distorted vocals. Noise noise noise is it the future or is it the fact that when you turn the radio all you hear is the same old playlists, anything is nice change from that!


The final curtain call of 'Diamond Rings' is 'Motorcycle' which vocally has a James Dean Bradfield feel to it, again no holding back on producing as much noise that is humanly possible, and yet this is probably the least loudest of the tracks but has the best guitar solo on it, it's fantastic.

'Diamond Rings' is an EP encapsulated and filled of pure noise and energy, there is excitement around this record and the excitement will only increase with the anticipation of the new album. This collective are one to be one that have a close eye on them.

Mark Moore

8/10 - ContactMusic.com