Venezuelan post-rock / experimental / post hardcore collective Zeta delivers a rare kind of catharsis with Was It Medicine to You?, their most expansive and personal record yet. Released on January 9th via Born Losers Records, the album moves like a conversation between anguish and resilience, weaving together Afro-Caribbean rhythms, visceral punk, and atmospheric post-rock into a sound as layered as the stories it tells.
For Zeta, music is more than sound—it’s ritual, transformation, and a relentless search for meaning. We knew it when we first sat down to interview them, and we sure know it now.
Was It Medicine to You? captures their ethos in its fullest form. Rooted in post-hardcore but breaking every boundary of genre, the record dives deep into themes of resilience, systemic injustice, and human connection. The Venezuelan band, now residing in South Florida, channels their Afro-Caribbean heritage and punk roots into a sonic palette that feels urgent and timeless.
Zeta’s music feels like a conversation—between history and the present, between struggle and catharsis. Their blend of dense polyrhythms, psychedelic atmospheres, and visceral punk creates a space that is as communal as it is personal.
The band’s live performances, lauded by Alternative Press and KEXP, extend this sense of collective ritual. “Extremely hard rockin’ collective ritual,” as KEXP put it.
Track by track commentary, by ZETA
Privilege is a song about how rigged the system in the US is, and how people live in this fake positivity, fake promises of something that is gonna happen but it never really does.
And how many people are blind to other’s struggles, I think we all ignore the stories of others, how they came to be who they are, what sacrifices they had to do, I think if we were more aware we would be more compassionate.
Steps (featuring Anthony Green) is a song inspired by the N/A rooms. -Keep coming back- is what they say, how they end every reading, every interaction, every time someone participates and shares something they say -KEEP COMING BACK- all together and I found that really inspiring. I also fancied the 12 steps of recovery, especially the 1st step which is surrendering and admitting you have a problem and reaching out for help… regardless of whatever you are going through, what your addiction is, or even if you don’t have an addiction but struggle with mental health, is so important to reach out.
The Truth (featuring Jordan Pierce aka Money Nicca from Soul Glo) was written fully by Dani he wrote that song trying to transform all the frustration, all of the anger or suffering into something better, hoping for the best that is yet to come, turning terribly difficult shit into something beautiful. I found that very powerful and so important for this album.
Shadows is a song for the people who live in the margins, people from fucked up realities, and their will to change even though they are in the darkness. I heard most of the sentences of this song from someone sharing at the N/A meeting. It make me realized most of the people going to the rooms are amazing, most of the people who have ever struggle are so brilliant. You’d be lucky if they shine their knowledge unto you. It also aligned very well with what we are going through in Venezuela with the government right now. I guess to me is just a metaphoric way of saying even if we are in the shadows, we still deserve to be free.
The Wild is a song inspired by the animals, I wrote it thinking about our dog in the house -Claire- and how she is truly free of prejudices. She is loving and graceful, living in the present, happy every day, filled with the little things. It makes me think we are kind in our wild nature, I guess, we sometimes forget that kindness just trying to be humans, navigating life in these crazy times, we should be more like the animals sometimes. To me that’s the ultimate form of compassion.
ZETA tour dates:
The release of Was It Medicine to You? comes with an extensive U.S. tour, including dates alongside RX Bandits. See the dates below.
1/22 – Savannah, GA – The Sentient Bean
1/23 – Tampa, FL – Skatepark of Tampa
1/24 – Cape Coral, FL – Nice Guys
1/25 – Miami, FL – Gramps
1/26 – Orlando, FL – Will’s Pub
3/13 – Asbury Park, NJ – Asbury Lanes w/ RX BANDITS
3/14 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg w/ RX BANDITS
3/15 – Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club w/ RX BANDITS
Zeta’s music carries the weight of struggle but never succumbs to it. Instead, it transforms—into sound, into meaning, into a call to listen.
Because if we can truly hear, perhaps we can begin to heal.
