The real heyday for luscious, crescendo-lobbing post-rock, when a degree in graphic design, a tidily coiffured beard and a clutch of Isis records could get you a hell of a long way, probably ended sometime around 2010. No one, however, has seemingly told this to Chicago outfit Zaius. Not that there’s anything wrong with wringing the most out of gradually building, ponderous Pelican-isms, bristling, Russian Circles-like sonic filigrees and Isis-ish tidal waves of guitars – in fact the instrumental quartet excel at all three. And therein lies the problem with Of Adoration: for all the cleverly wrought layers of guitars and finely honed post-rock tropes, there is an unshakable feeling of familiarity throughout. From the juddering, brute force of Echelon, through the epic, fret-tapping bliss of Sheepdog and the plucking-heavy closer Colin, nothing quite truly grabs your full attention.
Zaius - Of Adoration album review
Chicago post-rockers set sail after the wind’s died down

You can trust Louder Our experienced team has worked for some of the biggest brands in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our experts aim to create reviews you can trust. Find out more about how we review.
More about metal hammer

I asked a death metal supergroup to name the most brutal death metal albums of all time – this is what they came up with

"Ramones perfectly represent and encapsulate the essence of the underground." Napalm Death, Thurston Moore, Wayne Kramer, Ihsahn and members of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Rammstein, Gogol Bordello and more to appear on two forthcoming Ramones tribute albums