zhOra – “Ruthless Bastards” (single) – Progressive Sludge from Ireland

zhOra – “Ruthless Bastards” (single)
Self-Released
21 July 2019
Digital

No great art comes without friction. zhOra have always been a band about displaying the uncomfortable innards of mental well-being. zhOra’s songs have a sense of immediacy and a frantic, confessional attitude, informed by their influences in Tool, Gojira and Mastodon among others. Since their inception in 2011, the four piece have quickly become one of the most recognisable names in the burgeoning Irish metal scene. Having played shows the length and breadth of the country and toured extensively through the UK and Europe, the band is fiercely committed to their craft and putting their name on everyone’s radar. No strangers to high profile slots, zhOra have supported and toured with bands such as The Ocean, Conan, The Faceless, Monolord, Coilguns and Dictated. Earning slots on the Headbanger Stage at Wacken Open Air 2016, and New Blood Stage at Bloodstock 2017 was the culmination of this time together and the commitment to creating an unrelenting sonic fingerprint and fearsome stage show. In their time together, the band has released one EP “Feet Nailed to the Ground” (2011) their debut LP “Almaz” (2013), both releases garnering huge praise within the scene and internationally. In 2017, the band released the next stage in their journey, “Ethos, Pathos, Logos”. On the back of the release, Metal Hammer profiled the group as their Band of the Week in December 2017, featuring them on New Noise Vol. 5, and rating the album a 7/10. Seeking to follow in the footsteps of their fellow Irishmen in Primordial and Altar of Plagues, zhOra are a band with plans to kick those who would listen, squarely in the throat – onto the path less travelled.

«This song actually started a little bit tongue in cheek. We decided after writing our last album, which was a long process, to take the writing less seriously. While we love “Ethos, Pathos, Logos” it was hard to pull it all together towards the end. Whatever was written next would have to be more enjoyable. The idea originally was to make the song go through three or four different sub-genres and try and write the most stock riff for the different sections – more as something fun to do, rather than a legitimate song. Pretty soon, it became clear that there was an idea worth putting a bit of focus behind, but the song was pretty much writing itself at that stage. Keeping it constrained to the few sub-genres definitely helped too. I think you can pick out the transitions it goes through fairly noticeably – Thrash, Doom, Deathcore, Death & Black and then back to the start. It’s a fun song. Great to play live, always gets a great reaction from any crowd. We got a great video recorded too by David Dockery, love the energy he captured during the shoot.»

Line-up:
Colin Bolger, Tom Woodlock, Alan Hanlon, Ian O’Meara

Country: Ireland
Genre: Progressive Sludge

Links:
https://www.zhorasludge.com
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2XNi6L9qC6jFwOO0Lf4ZBr?si=mssdOU8cS1WKnZ72uAx5aQ
https://www.instagram.com/zhoraireland/
https://www.facebook.com/zhOramusic/
http://zhora1.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/zhOramusic