band - Modern Day Zero 5.10.07 review of "The Wait"

-Randy Mallett, BANNEDPROMOTIONS.com

Thanks to the band for hooking up us "media types" with the link to hear the new

Modern Day Zero cd "The Wait." I was lucky enough to preview the entire album

before it hits stores (on May 15th). Perks of the biz I guess......lol.

Modern Day Zero meets all the requirements of a cool band. They’re on an independent

label. They’ve toured with über acts including Guns 'n Roses, Disturbed, Velvet Revolver,

and Alice in Chains. They hail from one of the hippest US music cities, St. Louis, MO. And

in our world, where greatness is not measured by achievement, but by proximity to

celebrity, being able to namedrop an inevitably famous-yet little known band like Modern

Day Zero in casual conversation is the social aspiration of the entire pop rock cognoscenti.

Which is why being cool, as Gen X spokesman Chuck Klosterman has written, is exactly

why we need rock artists to exist.

Nevertheless, on their new album, "The Wait", MDZ refuses to flaunt their enviable status as young up-and-comers. The self-assured bombast and posturing that have become so commonplace among the many over-hyped bands dotting the musical landscape is notably absent from this record. Since this disc lacks the initial attention-grabbing power of self-importance, the casual listener might flippantly declare it a snoozer. Vocalist Scott Gertken's delivery is distinctive, but might not engage the most disdainful elitists throughout an entire album.

It is only on the second or third try that the attentive listener begins to be drawn in by the dense, churning guitars, driving drums, and Gertken's subtle social commentary deftly intermingled with hints of personal heartache. That’s when it becomes apparent that "cool" isn’t necessarily what this band is going for. Sure, they have a certain stylistic charm. Yet it would seem they’re trying to be about more than mere style. Rather than relying solely on fashion or gimmick, MDZ refreshingly prefer to mix their killer style with a genuine artistic depth. Even their name can be understood on these two levels, either pompously declaring that other bands must be judged by their greatness, or humbly suggesting that they stand as a symbol of something more important than themselves.

Check out the tracks Superhuman, Spit You Out, Everything, and Piss it All Away...my personal favorites.

( www.bannedpromotions.com/mdzreview )

For more info on ordering MDZ's second release, "The Wait", click on the album cover above.