Try Industrial Metal.

Klank is an artist that most will never listen to or give a chance; they too quickly get label him "Christian" and dismiss him off handedly. Reportedly, upon signing onto Tooth & Nails records in the late 90's, Klank signed the contract by cutting his hand open and dripping blood onto the dotted line. Christian in faith Klank may be, but this ain't the typical lovey-dovey, touchy-feely, positive, upbeat crap that runs rampant in Christian music. This is dark, heavy, hard hitting, pain and agnst ridden stuff. To give you an idea, Klank's sound has been compared to the likes of Fear Factory and White Zombie. In the past Klank has worked with Circle of Dust/Celldweller (he was the live guitarist for CoD, and CoD/Celldweller has done programming on Klank's albums and done a few remixes of Klank songs), AP2, and Argyle Park.

Klank did release a few new songs here on MP3.com years ago, which were lost when MP3.com shutdown in '03. He hasn't released anything new since then, but hasn't given up on making new music. I, for one, am eagerly and patiently waiting for the day he releases some new music.

Somehow, Klayton has managed to successfully combine several different styles and sounds into one, most noticably Industrial and Metal. For example, the song Last Firstborn easily and smoothly moves from music that would fit right in at a rave, to near overwhelming guitar riffs that would easily please anyone in a mosh pit. But it doesn't stop there; it then COMBINES (very well I might add) the two distinct sounds, which leaves you awestruck the first time you hear it. It really is a shame that Celldweller remains little known.

This album will grab a hold of your face and rip it off. But at the same time there is a suprising amount of depth to it. Of course that depth is hard to notice with the crushing guitars, screamed vocals that will leave your ears ringing, and the thunderous, crashing drums. This is the kind of cd that you crank despite the fact that you know it can, and probably will, cause hearing damage.

Zao certainly has an epic and haunting sound going on with this album, that, for all the discord, is strangely beautiful. That with the lyrics and the raspy vocals of Dan Weyandt is an incredible combination. The last song (Psalm of the City of the Dead) is without a doubt the most hauntingly beautiful thing I have ever come across. As amazing as this cd is, the depth of it will, sadly, be lost on most. A more creative and artistic album I have never heard.

Creative, artistic, jaw droppingly good. In my opinion this is Zao's second best album (second only to Funerl of God). It's dark (very dark), heavy, with some great playing (check out Man In Cage Jack Wilson in particular and listen to the drumming, truly great). Don't be fooled by the stupid genre's Zao's listed under on this site, there is NOTHING CCM about Zao. I have to respect them because despite all the crap they take from the mainstream for being Christian and from fellow Christians for "not being Christian enough", they keep going. They actually have more albums than are listed on here; they have a grand total of nine and have been around for ten years (they debuted in '95, not '96 like it says on here).