Zerokarma - "Mathematics" [2001]

Artist: Zerokarma

Title: Mathematics

Genre: Industrial Metal/Alt-Rock

Country: Russia
Year: 2001

Track List:

1. Lifedawn MMI
2. Waiting
3. Moral Holocaust
4. Hate/Negate
5. Adore You
6. Karmaphobia
7. Zerokarma
8. My Goddess' Charms
9. Freedom And Love
10. Fatal Submersion
11. Erebus Brine
12. Broken Pride
13. To Where Wander Eternally
14. Eternity (Metalbioindustry Version)
15. Солнышко (Демо cover)

First I heard this album shortly after it was released (around 2001- 2002), and it left a great impression on me. Back then I was a teenager listening to Rammstein and Oomph, and it was a revelation for me to find out that there's a band playing such kind of music in Russia (and, more surprisingly, not in St.Petersburg or Moscow, but in the Far East). Of course this album sounds naive by modern standards, but it was a major breakthrough back then. Despite obvious associations with Zeromancer (both the sound and the band names are similar), there's no plagiarism, I think - since nobody in Russia knew about Zeromancer back then. However, this comparison will give you a good idea of what you'll hear on this album.

What's interesting about it - I generally prefer ballads/love songs (such as "My Goddess' Charms") over more agressive tracks with political/social lyrics ("Hate/Negate"). Almost all songs are very catchy, except maybe for a couple of filler tracks close to the end. The last track is a cover of a very well-known Russian pop song of the late 90's, and it sounds completely hilarious. The band is still active today, and has 3 albums in their discography so far. While the first one, "Eternity" (1999) sounds mostly like "hey, look how we can play our instruments!" (but no, I'm not saying it's bad), the latest one, "The 7th Dimension" (2007) is quite similar to "Mathematics" in terms of sound. "Mathematics" is still the best album out of all 3, though.

 Zerokarma back in early 2000's:

Zerokarma now:

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