Experimental hardcore outfit ZERO TRUST shared their ambitious new video for recent single “Clouds“, out now on Equal Vision Records. The band is a coalition of NJHC and NYHC talent, featuring vocalist BJ Allen (Full Scale Riot, Ghidrah, GMK) guitarists Zack Thorne (Bulldoze, Agents of Man, Skarhead) and Mike Milewski (Bulldoze, Homicidal), bassist and backing vocalist Travis Stever (Coheed and Cambria) and drummer Evan Rossiter (Full Scale Riot, Organyc).
The group pushes the boundaries of hardcore, metalcore and jagged alternative rock, creating music that is intensely melodic while remaining undeniably aggressive.
“Clouds” is a continuation of the bands history of emotive lyricism supported by lighting-in-a-bottle instrumentals. The song oscillates between alternative rock inspired vocals and crushingly heavy breaks that propel the song forward while creating a masterful sense of tension. The angular riffs weave in and out of the melody with caustic results – the song crescendos to an explosive peak that doesn’t sacrifice melodic beauty for heaviness (or vice versa). The official video blends animation with live shots of the band to create a compelling narrative experience to accompany the track. You can view the video here.
On the theme of their latest track, the band had this to say: “‘Clouds’ is about intergenerational care/love. For instance the love a parent would give to a child during the hard times of growing up and the love that child may give to an aging/ill parent.”
Keeping with the generational themes of the song, the single art was created by drummer Evan Rossiter’s first born, Ket.
Zero Trust might be a new name, but members of the New York-based outfit boast résumé credits spanning decades of the most creative, cutting-edge pockets of the area’s storied hardcore scene.
With a lineup consisting of vocalist BJ Allen (Full Scale Riot, Ghidrah, GMK), guitarists Zack Thorne (Bulldoze, Agents of Man, Skarhead, etc.) and Mike Milewski (Bulldoze, Homicidal, etc.), Travis Stever (Coheed and Cambria) on bass and backing vocals, and Evan Rossiter (Full Scale Riot, Organyc) behind the kit, the group formed as a creative outlet during the quarantined isolation of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Continuing to experiment and innovate, the quintet unifies its broad palette of hardcore, metal, and alternative music experience into a progressive blend of dense, charging rhythms and melodic underpinnings; plus towering vocals and hook-laden songwriting that carries substantive lyrical themes reflecting on the socio-political turmoil that has erupted throughout the past year. At a time when all too many are content to simply rearrange the same old ingredients, Zero Trust opts for an aggressive yet emotional sound that simply can’t be pigeonholed.
