The concept of a one-man band is something I’ve always been biased to like. I mean, what more chemistry could you get when it’s one mind behind all the instruments and composition, right? Well right in most cases, but it wasn’t bias or preference at all that made the hardcore punk track “Toxic Rob” resonate with me at all.
The way this track is mixed with multiple vocal tracks makes you feel like actual voices in your head are urging you to indulge in drinking and smoking. Zeta Zeroes delivers it pretty cleverly and gives us an insightful glimpse into the anxious urges that made him drink and smoke in his college days. I loved how the chorus begins with the same 2 lines every time:
“Why ever make a change
When I wake up every day and it’s exactly the same?”
But then the second two lines get changed.
The track is pretty straightforward verse-hook-verse with a spoken word interlude that’s followed by a loud screech and thunderous drums, and a final verse that’s all screamed and closes with a weeping/sobbing sound that adds to the overwhelming feeling of self-sabotage perfectly.
The influences that this mastermind cites go all the way from Blink-182 to Rise Against, as he was initially a metalhead but began to love punk music through his punk friends. Makes total sense if you ask me, because his screaming guitars and the high screams in the final verse feel like they pay homage to the likes of Hatebreed, Public Enemy, and just about every punk band that metalheads and punks alike enjoy.
Zeta Zeroes are set to release an album sometime this year that I’m eagerly waiting for, but hopefully anticipating it will include longer, slower, or more versatile kinds of tracks in there.
