Zodiac: One of my All-Time Favorites!
Joe White | Layton, Utah United States | 06/12/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Zodiac is a concept album that has one song for each of the twelve signs of the zodiac. Every song has its moments, but my favorites include the powerful and aggressive "Aries", the sprawling epic "Libra" (it's only four minutes long but it feels epic) and the engaging, melodic "Leo". These are just some of the highlights as every song on Zodiac is good, even the campy "Cancer". Yes, camp is an element present on Zodiac but the songwriting is so strong--balancing pop metal vocal melodies with aggressive Iron Maiden-type riffs--the campy lyrics can easily be overlooked. In the end, the combination of catchy melodies and heavy metal crunch makes Zodiac one of my all-time favorite albums.Vocalist/songwriter Keith Sudano is one of the best prog metal vocalists ever, in my opinion. It is difficult to compare Mr. Sudano to other vocalists and Zodiac isn't quite his best work vocally (all the vocals were recorded in one day), but Sudano's voice falls somewhere along the lines of an aggressive James LaBrie (Dream Theater) or a rougher Geoff Tate (Queensryche). As for bassist Zeek, he is clearly from the Steve Harris (Iron Maiden) school of bass guitarists and lead guitarist Kevin Riepl sounds like a mix of Eddie Van Halen and Maiden's classic guitar duo of Dave Murray and Adrian Smith.If you want an album that combines fun, melody and aggression, pick up Zodiac. Iron Maiden and 80s pop metal fans may get a kick out of this one. If you're afraid of the pop metal comparisons I keep making, don't worry. Zodiac is heavy metal--even heavier than Iron Maiden--so you need not worry. It just so happens Zodiac is extremely catchy in the vocal melody department. And that makes Zodiac one of my all-time favorites."
