Zao has been around for a while. For some, they are a top 5 metalcore band. For others, they aren’t. That’s usually how it works. But one thing is for sure: we are going to rank Zao’s albums, based on how good they are, relative to each other. Because that’s what we do here. We don’t do it for the glory, or the love of the game, we do it because someone kidnapped our family and they won’t set them free until we rank every band that’s ever existed.
11. Parade of Chaos (2002)
There are a few good songs on this mess of an album. If you know anything about the band, you know this album was hastily thrown together along with the ill-conceived re-recording of “All Else Failed” (which is not on this list due to it just being a redux) to finish their contractual obligations. And yeah, it sounds like that. And while you might not think that would be the most conducive environment for art, sometimes no-stakes creativity can help you make some wonderfully weird, out-of-the-box stuff. And that’s what happens here with something like the dope underwater part in “A Pirate’s Prayer.” Unfortunately, it also may produce something like “Angel Without Wings.” Don’t make “Angel Without Wings.”
Play it again: “A Pirate’s Prayer,” and “The Buzzing”
Skip it: “Angel Without Wings”
10/9. All Else Failed (1995) & The Splinter Shards the Birth of Separation (1997)
Nobody from this era of Zao is in the band anymore. Which is fine. But this isn’t a “is it really Morbid Angel without that one guy?” debate. This is a different band with a different sound than what Zao would become after these two albums. For what they are, these albums are fine. They’re a nice time capsule of the “spirit-filled hardcore” scene, which certainly had it’s time and place. Thankfully that time is a long time ago and the place is not here. Which is a thing. Again, they aren’t bad albums, and their weakness has more to do with the style and production at the time. But they really are a different band. When you wanna listen to Sugar Ray, you don’t put on “Lemonade and Brownies.” It might’ve been an important album for the band, but you wanna hear “Fly” or “ Every Morning” or maybe even “Falls Apart.” You don’t wanna hear “Rhyme Stealer.” Nobody does.
Play it again: “Times of Separation,” “Exchange,” “Resistance”
Skip it: “The Children Cry for Help”
8. Awake? (2009)
Barely.
Get it? Because the title? This album is the least-best album of the modern-era of the band, but still has some bangers. Its real problem is that for us it has become the album in Zao’s discography that is mostly likely to be referenced as “which album?” It is hands down better than the three albums listed before. By a long shot. But in the end, the album is overall pretty forgettable. Which is kinda surprising, because the band is killing it on this album and the production is good. But we just find ourselves wishing we were listening to a different one.
Play it again: “Human Cattle Masses Marching Forward,” “Awake?”
Skip it: “Romance of the Southern Spirit”
7. The Funeral of God (2003)
A great comeback album, The Funeral of God has somewhat diminishing returns as time goes on. Certain albums in the band’s discography have a distinctive time and place. So when we say “This album came out on Ferret Records in 2004 and sounds like it,” some of you know exactly what we mean and some of you don’t. But it’s the truth. This isn’t a bad thing, it just IS. A concept album whose concept seemed almost shocking at the time, it now is filed under “yeah, I liked that one.” A couple solid bangers, but we’re not sure anyone will ever be clamoring for “The Funeral of God Anniversary Tour!”
Play it again: “The Rising End,” “The Lesser Lights of Heaven”
Skip it: “I Lay Sleepless in my Grave” and “Psalm of the City of the Dead” aren’t bad, but they are a brutal way to end an album that already feels long.
6. Where Blood and Fire Bring Rest (1998)
And here is where we lose folks. For a lot of people this album is number one. Nostalgically it seems like the choice. This is in part because this album was groundbreaking for many when it came out. It’s still a great album. Some might say it’s the band’s sixth-best album. We’d say that, actually. But the thing is: bands can and do get better. And Zao gets better than this album. A lot better, actually. This album is classic, and if you grew up listening to “Lies of Serpents, River of Tears,” there’s a chance it’s etched in your brain as perfect. But it’s not. Good? Yes. Perfect? No. Nothing from your memory is. I mean, have you seen “Top Gun” lately? It’s good. Nobody is saying it’s not good, but honestly, “Top Gun: Maverick” is just a better movie.
Play it Again: “Lies of Serpents, A River of Tears,” “Ravage Ritual,” and “To Think of You Is to Treasure and Absent Memory”
Skip it: “The Latter Rain,” and “Violet”
5. Self-Titled (2001)
While the band was apparently a mess at this point (and maybe not even really a band?) the chaos hadn’t fully affected the songwriting as much as it would for “A Parade of Chaos.” This album sees the Zao experimenting with different sounds, drums triggers (controversial for the time), and an overall vibe that just felt new for the band. What can we say? It was the year 2000. Everybody what doing wacky shit. The follow-up to the incredible “Liberate Te Ex Inferis” could’ve been a real disappointment. But instead, it produced one of the band’s more interesting albums. There’s an almost black metal feel to “A Tool to Scream” and the “burn it down a walk away” ending of “5 Year Winter” is a legendary breakdown that has seen many a windmill kick, which is really the only unit of measurement that matters. It’s their most experimental album and this time the experimenting pays off.
Play it Again: “5 Year Winter,” “A Tool to Scream,” and “At Zero (Simmeon Simmons”
Skip it: We appreciate that they were trying new things with “FJL”, but no. Just… no.
4. The Fear is What Keeps Us Here (2006)
On any given day, this album could be closer to number one. Hell, it could BE number one. It is an absolute experience. It is the Zao version of falling down some stairs while carrying a laundry basket full of cinder blocks: It starts. it’s total chaos and pain. it’s over. You’re not sure what you really remember about it, but you’re glad you made it out. Recorded live to tape, Albini’s production is exactly what you think it’s gonna be. And that’s why the album can’t be number one. At times, this is the Zao you wanna hear. But this album will never be THE Zao album. It’s too much.
Play it again: “Physician Heal Thyself,” “There is No Such Thing as Paranoia”
Skip it: It’s not really a “skip it” album. You put it on, have a panic attack, and it ends.
3. The Well-Intentioned Virus (2016)
We love it when a band’s newer stuff actually beats out their “classic” albums. For one, it pisses readers off, which is actually the only reason Hard Times exists: to anger YOU specifically. But more importantly, this album shreds. Although at this point, the album is getting close to a decade old. So, soon it too will be a classic. Because Tom Cruise looks great for his age, but he still looks his age. He doesn’t look like he’s trying to come off younger than he is. Jennifer Connolly also looks fantastic and the two of them genuinely have chemistry. The age gap is there, but it’s not distractingly large. And then obviously Miles Teller and Glen Powell bring a new energy to the franchise that skeptics were unsure about. But they were wrong. The bottom line? “Top Gun: Maverick” is awesome and Zao is at the top of their game.
Play it again: “Xenophobe,” “The Sun Orbits Around Flat Earth Witch Trials,” and “The Weeping Vessel”
Skip it: No skips
2. Liberate Te Ex Inferis (1999)
The best album from the “classic” Zao era. Great concept, great sound. In this album, Dan’s vocals move from “So I guess Zao is doing Carcass-worship?” to “This is Zao and it rules.” The movie clips, the production, and the overall feeling of dread on the album. It’s great. When this album was released, it sounded like we were listening to a horror movie. And that vibe pretty much holds up today. While “Where Blood and Fire…” introduced this version of Zao to the world, this album let everyone know they weren’t fucking around. Granted, in the next 25 years of the band there would be a lot of fucking around. But in 1999, Zao was eating everyone’s lunch.
Play it again: “Savannah,” “Skin Like Winter,” and “Ghost Psalm”
Skip it: “Man in the Cage Jack Wilson”
1. The Crimson Corridor (2021)
It’s easy to shit on a band’s newest efforts, especially when they’ve been around as long as Zao. Often nobody wants to hear the new stuff. Just play the hits. But Zao is doing a great job of putting out quality in their later years. The progressive elements make sense. The slow plodding nature of the album feels intentional and moody. While it was not on our bingo cards, Zao is somehow one of the only metalcore bands from the ‘90s that neither abandoned their classic sound nor refused to mature and evolve. They have expertly threaded that needle. Sure would be nice if they shared the secret with everyone else. Instead, we gotta keep going to all these anniversary shows where the band slips in shit off their new albums, like we won’t notice. WE’RE HERE FOR NOSTALGIA, YOU DORKS. Unless you’re Zao. Then we’re here for it all.
Play it again: Front to back.
Skip it: None. Even the instrumental track works. Who knew?