Chicago's Zoetrope (pronounced
e-trope) described themselves as "street metal" but in reality
were aggressive heavy speed metal bordering on thrash. By pure
coincidence I
added all three of their CDs to my collection within the same month.
Zöetrope - Amnesty (Century Media) 1985
1. "Indecent Obsessions"
(4:37)
2. "Kill the Enemy" (3:01)
3. "Mercenary" (3:21)
4. "Amnesty" (3:45)
5. "Member in a Gang" (2:44)
6. "Break Your Back" (3:24)
7. "Another Chance" (3:12)
8. "Creatures" (3:13)
9. "Trip Wires" (5:19)
BONUS TRACKS
10. "Kill the Enemy" (3:06)
11. "Speed Zone"(2:46)
12. "The Company Man" (5:03)
13. "Member in a Gang" (2:45)
14. "Death of a High School Narc" (3:54)
15. "She's Brain Dead" (2:53)
16. "Speed Zone" (2:58)
17. "Cops" [instrumental] (1:35)
If I am not mistaken, this Century Media re-issue is the first time this album has seen release on cd. My roomate in college use to own this on vinyl. Hearing it again after almost twelve years, I am thankful to Century Media for resurrecting an underground metal classic. The bonus tracks are taken from various demos. Tracks 10-13 are from the "Metal Log Vol. 1" demo. The last four songs are from another demo that severely lacked in sonics. Still cool to have all these extra tracks as a bonus. As usual with the Century Media re-issues, the booklet features extra liner notes, lyrics, and pictures.
The first bonus version of "Speed Zone" was also releasde on Metal Massacre IV.
Zöetrope - A Life of Crime (Century Media) 1987
1. "Detention"
(2:52)
2. "Seeking Asylum" (4:24)
3. "Promiscuity" (4:33)
4. "NASA" (4:07)
5. "Unbridled Energy" (3:15)
6. "Prohibition" (2:43)
7. "Company Man" (4:27)
8. "Pickpocket" (3:30)
9. "Hard to Survive" (4:17)
Excellent 1980's speed metal disc that once was nearly impossible to find but was reissued by Century Media in 1999. YA! Similar in style to the first album with slightly improved sonics. Must add that the packaging on this re-issue is cheap compared to many of the other Century Media/Combat reissues. Much of the liner notes inside the cover are unreadable without a magnifying glass.
Zöetrope - Mind over Splatter (Red Light) 1993
1. "Crack" (3:41)
2. "Million Ways to Die" (3:03)
3. "New World Order" (3:48)
4. "Guilt by Association" (3:48)
5. "Down and Out" (3:07)
6. "It's My Life" (2:50)
7. "New York Minute" (3:08)
8. "Acid Rain" (4:26)
9. "Deceased Corpsmen" (2:41)
10. "Splattered" (1:41)
11. "Spilling of Blood" (3:02)
12. "Tomorrow It's You" (4:31)
This CD came out several years after their first two albums and after the band had broken up. From first appearances it would seem that the band reformed, however upon close inspection, only guitarist/founder Kevin Michael remains. As would be expected with a completely new band and several years off, the band sounds different. I had been told that this album was total crap and that the band was playing some sort of modern garbage, but in reality, they are still playing "street metal," albeit a bit closer to thrash than their first two albums. So, despite what others say, I like this disc. I think sometimes when you are not expecting much and then it's a bit easier to beat your expectations. Perhaps if I had been expecting something more I would have been disappointed. Who knows! All I know is that this disc is a decent heavy metal platter. Not their finest, but certainly not crap either. The song "New World Order" is a Megadeth song, which wasn't even recorded by Megadeth until years later!! Their version was released on the Duke Nukem soundtrack. "It's My Life" is a punk-metal version of The Animals classic. This is the only Zöetrope disc to not see re-release and is now out of print.