Divided By Zero has been around for a long time. As soon as I saw the band name, I thought ‘oh yeah, I know this band.’ But once I put it in, it was clear I didn’t know much of anything. I don’t remember them being this good. I can’t imagine them always having been this good because I surely would have made note sooner, yes? It is neither here nor there. What’s important is what’s happening now, and what’s happening now is Divided By Zero’s new album The Black Sea is raping my brain.

After getting through the album one time, I couldn’t figure out why my face hurt so bad. Apparently I had been so confused by what I was hearing the furrowing of my brow through 15 tracks left my face rather sore. I relaxed by face and listened again, hoping to make sense of what I had been subjected to. In all my years of being a rock critic, pouring over the intricacies of every release and every up and coming artist, I can honestly say I have never heard anything like this. The blend of different influences both vocally and musically is pulled off with such precision and expertise it almost makes me wonder why no one has ever done it before. It seems so obvious. Like peanut butter and chocolate. Whoever dreamt up that combination was clearly a revolutionary, although today it is difficult to imagine a time when the two didn’t go together.

We aren’t talking about two genres colliding in regards to Divided By Zero. The various elements are so numerous, I could see myself spending a week with this album, day in and day out, trying to make note of each individual element and still not catching them all. Overall, I suppose you would call the album metal. Or maybe rock. Actually, alternative. Well, maybe pop, cause that fits too, but there is punk and reggae…now I have no idea what I’m talking about. The singer sounds like David Draiman from Disturbed…no wait… Justin Furstenfeld from Blue October…well, now he sounds like Mike Patton…I mean Ronnie Van Zant?

See my confusion? Everything about this album is unexpected. Moment to moment it’s just one curveball after another. And somehow, amidst all of this confusion and exploration, Divided By Zero have managed to create their own signature sound. Unlike some bands who take such drastic deviations from song to song, they don’t lose any of their signature sound or individual identity. Lyrically, I can’t say much about this album. I don’t like to read along while I listen. Great lyrics stand out and so do really bad ones. Lyrics didn’t really stand out that much through this album, except for a couple of clever phrases here and there matched with creative vocalizations.

They are the first release for the new independent label Sik World and they surely won’t be the last. This is a great debut from both the band and the label. You should check out the whole record, but my hands down favorite song is ‘Protection’. This would make a great single, in my opinion, although this album is not exactly at a shortage of radio material. Overall, The Black Sea is absolute genius and Divided By Zero are now on my radar as one of the upcoming great bands to keep an eye on. If you haven’t check this record out yet, do yourself a favor and pick it up immediately.