I Hate has the honor of presenting ZAUM, a new two-piece from Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. Kyle Alexander McDonald (frontman of the 3-bassed doom band Shevil) is the vocalist and plays bass via a monolithic custom stereo FX creation layered with sitar textures and synth, while Christopher Lewis (frontman of Canadian stoner rock legends Iron Giant) plays drums and percussion.
ZAUM caught the ear of I Hate with a truly impressive sound that (to us at least) combines the foreboding darkness of The Wounded Kings, with the meditative, oriental disposition of Om and Bong - thickly entwined in singular aural mysticism and creativity that stimulates the imagination at all times.
Spiritually residing in antiquity, the debut album 'Oracles' is conceptually driven by a deep-seated fascination with the ancient Middle East (ca 300 BC - 600 AD) and its history of bloodshed influenced by religious motives and divinity. But there's nothing stereotypical about it. The overall presentation of ZAUM sustains a demand for deeper reflection and allows the listener to experience this world in the distant past through a lens of astute perception and a fervor for the subject matter as effulgent and scorching as the desert sun. With this in mind, it's only natural and appropriate that ZAUM dubbed their music style 'Middle Eastern mantra doom'.
