DIVISION BY ZERO

Stylistically the material on "Independent Harmony" is pretty much a continuation of the progressive metal style of "Tyranny of Therapy (2007)". So Division By Zero´s brand of progressive metal which features both technically challenging instrumetal sections, melancholic atmospheric parts, and the occasional death metal growl is intact. The band have grown as composers though, and they´ve also honed their already considerable playing/singing skills even more since the debut. Slawek Wierny has a strong voice and a convincing delivery, which isn´t far removed from the sound and style of Mariusz Duda (Riverside). His growling vocals are not as interesting, but they get the job done, when a more aggressive atmosphere is called for. Personally I think the album would have been stronger without them though.

"Independent Harmony" features 7 tracks and a full playing time of 44:03 minutes. The material is very well written. The tracks are generally complex in structure but still catchy and memorable, and the combination of atmosphere, technical wizardry, and heavy riffs and rhythms work really well. "Independent Harmony" also feautures a professional, clear, and detailed sound production which suits the material well, so upon conclusion it is a high quality release and a great sophomore album by Division By Zero. They aren´t necessarily the most unique sounding progressive metal act on the scene, but they deliver their music with great skill and conviction and a 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)

In regards to the material on this album the progressive metal term doesn´t mean progressive metal in the vein of Dream Theater and their ilk. Division By Zero are one of those eclectic progressive metal acts which also include extreme metal elements like occasional growling vocals and they are generally in the harder edged end of the progressive metal scale, although they certainly don´t shy away from melodic moments and more traditional progressive metal traits like tempo- and time signature changes and fast guitar/keyboard harmony runs. Sometimes they remind me of a very heavy version of Riverside.

They are obviously a skilled bunch of guys, who can handle their instruments and lead vocalist Slawek Wierny has a strong and pleasant clean vocal delivery. I´m not as impressed by his extreme vocals, but they get the job done. The material is adventurous and quite dynamic with both loud heavy parts and mellow atmospheric parts. While the song structures extent beyond the regular vers/chorus formula, the tracks are generally still accessible and memorable. So Division By Zero are the type of band who use technical playing and progressive ideas as a means to an end and not to show off or as the central part of their sound.

"Tyranny of Therapy" features a powerful, detailed, and well sounding production, which suits the music perfectly. So all in all it´s a high quality release by the band. Personally I could have done without the extreme metal vocals, when they aren´t more convincing than they are here, but it´s really a minor issue and probably an aquired taste too, so I´d say that a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is still deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)

Now, when it comes to that Independent Harmony is a failure. Instead of developing the elements that made them stand out above the pack, they removed them! Gone are the attractive Faith No More influences in the vocals, gone are most of the Gothic elements that made them challenge Evergrey at being the darkest power metal band. All that is left is a formulaic product that seems to come from a metal assembly line: featuring the required powerhouse sound, the expected gruff and emo vocals, the technical riff galore and rollercoaster tempos.

The songs are ok but there's little that makes them noteworthy, and a lot that makes them routine and commercial. So I have to agree entirely with Snobb before me. Good product but faceless, and at least one star less then the marvellous debut.

It is my first Division By Zero album, so I can't compare it with their other works. After very first album's song I was seriously worried - competent heavy metal, with some progressivity elements, great vocals ( a little bit a-la Bruce Dickinson), growling, but nothing original at all. One more quality clone?

Then things gone better. Less boring-to-death trashing, much more melodies, dark ,even atmospheric sound. Great drumming, competent guitars. Really better than average vocals.

For sure, they are not on the league of Riverside, but borrowed very melodic sound from former. Not too many elements of progressivity, but very competent sound for classic prog metal fans.

After few decades of my active interest to heavy metal/heavy prog music I became a bad critic of this genre - myriads of clones can kill everyone's interest to that music. So - I really like this music if there is something new in every new album and the music is played by excellent musicians. Unhappily such situation is extremely rare nowadays.

Division By Zero's new album is no exception. Some power metal influences and gothic-bombastic sound really didn't make their music better. So, a bit better than average prog metal album for me. But metalheadz could easily add one more star to evaluation.

1. Ignition - nice intro, "door" to the album

2. Independent Harmony - in my opinion the best DbZ's song in history. On the beginning you can hear great guitar riffs but after... Suddenly we have only piano with scary, acute growl "Chaos will come!". Such a great song! The best on the album - very climatic!

3. Wake Me Up - there are some sober moments, there are some heavy moments (death metal). Good song for the gigs.

4. Glass Face - great lyrics, beautiful, emotional solo about 5:10

5. Not for Play - for me - surprise! I've never expected that DbZ can play short, sad ballads! Song isn't very original but on the other hand "Not for Play" is dulcet.

6. Jin & Jang - nice, instrumental song, but weaker than for example Wake me Up or Glass Face, there are some experimental sounds (you can hear some Japanese inspirations)

7. Don't Ask Me - what a great song! Great lyrics, great bass line. Chorus is awesome! Is the song about the conversation between God and death.

8. Intruder - the weakest song on the album, for me: very annoying! You can find in "Intruder" some good moments but... the chorus is maddening! Lyrics are just a bit comic, singer's voice here is like in cabaret. On the background we have woman's voice - new band's idea!

Summary: if you are progressive metal fan you MUST to listen to "Independent Harmony". It's solid, progressive metal album with some death metal influences, singer's voice is brilliant, music is very compact. One of the best strength of this LP are... drums!

Sorry for mistakes ;)

Welcome to one of the best debuts of 2007. Division By Zero is an obscure progressive metal band from Poland that equally deserves every inch of praise that is now solely bestowed on their fellow country men from Riverside.

Before I start throwing references to other bands at you, I can assure you that this band has a very mature and personal sound. They have accomplished the task to assimilate their influences very well indeed. If you have read any reviews about them, you will have seen names like Opeth, Pain of Salvation and Riverside. All of those are true.

From Riverside they got the feel for melody, the clean sound and the emotive melancholy. From POS and Opeth in particular, they got the ambitious song structures with alternating gruff and clean vocals. Of course, every metal band does that now and it has become as annoying as it is predictable and worn-out. With Division By Zero it works very well though. The singer's gruff voice is very similar to Akerfelt's low register and only used sparingly. The prominent clean vocals are exceptionally strong and have a huge Mike Patton calibre.

Yes indeed, I need to add another reference here. And to me it's the most obvious reference of all: Faith No More. Let's take the 6th track Deadline Meeting as an example, right from the start it screams "Real Thing" Faith No More at you: the dead-catchy thrash metal riffs, the epic keyboards in the background, the adventurous song structures and, as I've come to mention, especially Slawek Wierny's exceptional vocals. Just listen, 2 minutes into the song, how he bends his voice around the metal riffs. You can't get more Patton then that.

To conclude the list of influences I must add that Division By Zero throws in occasional touches of gothic rock to their Faith No More meets Opeth stew. The dark feel of the album brings Evergrey to mind, and given the spooky short spoken interludes, especially the album In Search Of Truth.

I know I may be a bit biased (in the positive sense) to this mix of heartfelt progressive metal with a slightly gothic flavour, so a big 4 stars will be their share. If you are into the 4 bands in bold here, chances are big that Division By Zero might be a band for you.

I so much hope they can confirm and break through to wider audiences with a next album. Let's also hope they find a more inspired album cover artist. I think we've seen this artwork at least a dozen times before. And it doesn't fit the music at all.

Tyranny of Therapy is the debut LP from the polish prog metal act DIVISION BY ZERO. Music on this album is rather intense and agressive and may be labelled as progressive death metal. There are some influences of bands like Opeth, Pain Of Salvation or Riverside but there's also a touch of original style of Division By Zero.

Tyranny Of Therapy is a concept album with indeed a twisted story. It reflects mental state of a man in extremely helpless situation. He spends a night on self-contemplation. Lyrics written by band's vocalist Sławek Wierny have intellectual depth, there are many ambiguous symbols which makes interpretation very difficult. Album is divided into three parts, represented by intro and two interludes (Evening - Night - Morning).

Album contains 40 minutes of dark, intense progressive metal on a very high quality level. In my opinion there are two outstanding tracks: Self Control (what a riff! Just imagine what must happen on DBZ concerts when they play this track...) and True Peak but the other tracks are also very good. Sławek Wierny is a fantastic vocalist, he can easily sing clear and use death metal growlings, his voice timbre may resemble Mariusz Duda's vocals. Other musicians are also very good, particularly the keyboard player does his job in his own, great way. There are many memorable melodies, great riffs and it's highly recommended to the fans of progressive metal.

Great, intense album. 4.5 stars.