Please give a big welcome to your future favourite Hardcore band.

Every once in a while, the Hardcore scene is picked up by a band and dragged to new levels, previously thought unreachable. Well it’s happening again. Please give a big welcome to ZULU, your future favourite Hardcore band. Hailing from Los Angeles ‘Welcome To Tomorrow’ incredibly-is the bands debut album and presents a stunning show of musical maturity. Tracks like ‘Where I’m From’, ‘Fakin Tha Funk’ and ’52 Fatal Strikes’ drop the band in the same category as the likes of Jesus Piece, albeit with more of a powerviolence lean, with vicious riffing complimenting savage vocals. But then they also have the ability to kick back with a Toots And The Maytals easy listening, reggae style, just when the album needs it, as shown on numbers like ‘Shine Eternally’ and ‘Must I Only Share My Pain where beautiful melodies sit nicely next to good sample work. They even dip a toe into Hip-Hop territory in ‘We’re More Than This’. Lyrically the subject fronts up to the ferocity of the delivery in every way with no fence sitting in sight Vocalist Lei explains: “Everyone wants to be black, but nobody really wants to be black. People take from our culture, use our language and surround themselves with people from the culture which in turn makes them believe they are a part of it. Those that will benefit from it when people in our community are looked down upon for being how they were born.”

‘Welcome To Tomorrow’ has all the ingredients to be one of those albums that causes a seismic shift within the Hardcore scene. Nobody has blended the sonics of Hardcore music with the beauty of Reggae as well as Zulu have, since the mighty Bad Brains, but lazy comparisons aside Zulu have put out a debut album every bit as incendiary and vital as H.R and the guys did. Zulu are about culture and Zulu are about pride and their message is an important one but make no mistake, Zulu are also about huge untamed riffs that will see pits kicking off in Europe all Summer long….Chris Andrews