:: Authority Zero - Stories Of Survival

Authority Zero

It’s been a long three years since we last heard anything studio-wise from Arizona based punk/reggae veterans Authority Zero, with their last studio release ‘12:34’ released as far back as 2007. But after a lengthy stint of heavy touring in support of their last album, and time spent on various other outside projects, Authority Zero are back with a new line-up, a new label home and a new album in ‘Stories Of Survival’. Following the departure of both guitarist/backing vocalist Bill Marcks and bassist/backing vocalist Dean ‘DJ’ Farmer, the remaining members of Authority Zero welcome long time friend guitarist Zach Vogel into the fold, as well as reuniting with original bassist Jeremy Wood after a long absence. With three quarters of the original line-up back together, the band were chosen as the first signing to Viking Funeral Records (An imprint label founded by Pennywise guitarist Fletcher Dragge, Ken Seaton of Hardline Entertainment and Suburban Noize Records), with the band’s fourth album the first release for the newly founded label. After a brief sample of a Winston Churchill speech, Authority Zero get the album underway in a fast paced fashion with ‘The New Pollution’. After a string of releases to their name, and more than a decade of experience, you would hardly expect the band to be all that inspired or bursting out of the seams with energy and drive. But perhaps due in part to the band’s recent shake-up in members, ‘The New Pollution’ is quite literally a powerful opening track, and one of the band’s stronger and more melodically inclined tracks in a long time. As hinted at with the opener, the remainder of the album turns out to be every bit as strong and memorable as the opener, with songs such as ‘A Day To Remember’, ‘Brick In The Wave’, ‘Get It Right’, ‘Crashland’ and the fast paced closer ‘No Way Home’ the definite pick of Authority Zero’s punk rock styled efforts. The band’s reggae influences seemed to be a little more toned down than usual for ‘Stories Of Survival’, but not entirely absent. Despite being limited and sparingly heard within the excellent ‘Big Bad World’, ‘Movement’ and ‘The Remedy’, the said influence does have a profound impact on the songs themselves, and in a good way. Authority Zero’s output hasn’t changed all that much from what the band were delivering all those years ago, but there’s something about the sound of ‘Stories Of Survival’ that brings to mind some of the band’s earlier material, but delivered with an assured skill of maturity that only time can bring. In simple terms, this is definitely one of the band’s strongest releases, if not their best so far.