In 2019 Zoahr pleasantly surprised lovers of heavy and psychedelic music with their highly enjoyable debut album Off Axis (review here). While the songs find themselves on the same territory as bands like Graveyard and Witchcraft there are defintely self-made ingredients from this three piece from Germany to be found.
Musically Apraxia elaborates on the song material on Off Axis, but the band has certainly grown. The main improvement is in the songwriting. I’ve been listening to this album for the last few weeks and with every listen I have a new favorite song. While Off Axis is a great listen it seems that record was more about finding a sound and this is more about using that awesome sound and creating better songs. Because this album has some killer tracks. Personal favorites at this point are Cocoon (such a well written track with great melodies and transitions), Portal (an instrumental that creates goosebumps and makes me want to get the guitar tabs and try to play along with those great guitar parts) and the closing track Treatmill (probably their best song yet).
Another improvement is the vocals of Jessie Schmidt. Not to say that they were bad on the last record, but you can tell that the vocals got more attention. The vocal melodies are better and the use of the occasional double tracking works great on some of these compositions.
Music reviewers usually love making lists. I had to dive into my 2019-list to find out that Off Axis was in my top 35 albums. A good record, but this is something else. This is in my top 5 of 2022. On their first album they created a great sound as a foundation, This release is all about the growth as musicians by composing great songs. Which is one of the hardest things in music. Apraxia came out late 2022, but before you dive into upcoming 2023 releases, be sure to check this impressing album first.
Zoahr is:
Thorsten – Bass
Philipp – Drums
Jessie – Guitar & Vocals
Links:
Orange Maze 