Zhiva is a heavy metal & hard rock band from Sweden, formed in 2001 as Shiva, later changing their name to Zhiva. The band have released four albums to date – ‘Shiva’ (2002), ‘Desert Dreams’ (2004), ‘The Curse Of The Gift’ (2006), and ‘Into The Eye Of The Storm’, emerging in 2016.
Formed by guitarist Mats Edstrom and vocalist Anette Johansson, Zhiva deliver a hard-hitting blend of metal and rock with a slight symphonic metal edge. The ten new songs on offer run for forty-four very infectious minutes, ‘Into The Eye Of The Storm’ cutting loose with the fiery and in-your-face ‘Breaking The Chains’ – the smell of old school metal and rock rising high in the air. The band adopt the classic heavy metal stance by planting their collective feet on the monitor, delivering an absolute blinder of a chorus – catchy, anthemic and highly sing a long-able! What a sizzling hot opening salvo…
…the album just getting hotter and hotter, with the harder-hitting, highly melodious ‘Step Into The Fire’ – the band oozing majesty and elegance in abundance. I remember way back in err let me think, um, the early nineties, hearing Swiss rockers Gotthard for the first time (courtesy of a live performance supporting British stalwarts Magnum) – and listening to the band’s self-titled debut album (released in 1992). The energy, oomph and feel flowing outta that album, is exactly the same feel flowing from ‘Step Into The Fire’ – Zhiva are a hard-hitting powerhouse of metal and rock! A cracking opening one-two becomes a one-two-three with the even more melodious ‘Evelyn’ – coming at ya directly from the bridge between the genres of metal and rock. It’s really difficult to make up my mind which genre of music Zhiva sits in, so I refer you all to the “old days”, that glorious time during the eighties when almost every emerging band were labelled as metal, even the likes of AC/DC, Def Leppard, Kiss and Europe! So on that evidence alone, the Swedish six-piece from Jonkoping is metal – the album roaring on with the bombastic title song ‘Into The Eye Of The Storm’. Hitting the hardest out of all the songs heard so far, ‘Into The Eye Of The Storm’ (the song) features an almighty foot-stomping rhythm, the band pounding the ground so hard, that earthquakes are ripping through the earth’s surface!
And as the album marches on, the hard rock ambience just gets stronger and stronger, even though I’m now labelling the band as metal – ‘Autumn Sky’ a majestic melodic stroll straddling the border between metal and rock. A border, where it seems Zhiva have set up camp, the band delivering an infectious sonic assault to please every listener, fan and follower in the world. The intensity since the album began has been incredible, ‘Into The Eye Of The Storm’ (the album) turns in a “can’t stop listening” performance – ‘Broken’ the next intoxicating slab of metal comes rock, swaying from side to side as it slides on by. Every song heard so far has elegance and poise, the band’s melodic mastery shining through – why haven’t I heard this band before? Probably because there are just too many bands around to know ’em all! Well, I most definitely know ’em now, ‘Beyond Forever’ offering the mellowest moment the album has shown so far. Is it balladry? A hymn? Or an anthemic swagger? It’s all three – Zhiva perfectly melding together the styles of a ballad, a hymn, and the anthemic into one monolithic march of grandeur!
‘Into The Eye Of The Storm’ (the album) is turning in one helluva performance, definitely one of the surprises finds of the year – ‘Nothing Will Ever Remain’ boldly marching on with the most bombastic foot stomping attitude the album has to offer! Shuddering the ground as it passes by, ‘Nothing Will Ever Remain’ is a heavy hitter, knocking listeners flat on their backs with incredible force! And with a phenomenal surge of energy and oomph, the opening thirty seconds or so of ‘Last Tears’ are a bouncy barrage of emphatic metal come rock – ‘Last Tears’ a gear-changing, tempo-shifting swagger! And as the final song comes into view, ‘Into The Eye Of The Storm’ (the album) has been a non-stop roller coaster of endless catchy and engaging songs, the album coming to an end with a mellow and meaningful hymn – ‘Undeniable (song for Ukraine)’. And I think the title speaks for itself concerning the lyrical content, suffice to say ‘Undeniable (song for Ukraine)’ is a powerful and poignant moment of solidarity and reflection.
Overall, a bombastic barrage of heavy-hitting hard rock and metal, immensely melodic and a hundred per cent infectious.
TRACKLIST
Breaking The Chains
Step Into The Fire
Evelyn
Into The Eye Of The Storm
Autumn Sky
Broken
Beyond Forever
Nothing Will Ever Remain
Last Tears
Undeniable (song for Ukraine)
Zhiva: Facebook
Release Year: 2023
Label: Pride & Joy Music
Category: Album
Country: Sweden
Reviewed by Iron Mathew for Frenzy Fire and Metal-Roos.
