Review: Zhiva – Into the Eye of the Storm

Pride & Joy Music (October 20th 2023)

Reviewer: Jason Hopper

Zhiva (formerly known as Shiva) have returned after an extended hiatus. Their last album was released seventeen years ago. I first came to know the band having purchased their debut back in 2002. Their single ‘Marilyn’ caught my ear, and I purchased the album based on that track alone. I found other songs like ‘Stay Out’ and ‘Free My Soul’ to be equally impressive, despite the album’s lacklustre production. For reasons I can’t explain, the band dropped off my radar.  When I decided to check out Zhiva, I did not realize it was the same band but once I heard the unmistakable vocals of Anette Johansson, I had to review it.

While Anette may not be one of the top vocalists in the genre, her timbre is unique, powerful, and easily identifiable. Nobody else sounds like her and she brings many of the songs on the band’s new release ‘Into the Eye of the Storm’ to life. Opening track ‘Breaking The Chains’ is a solid start to the album, with the band performing a faster melody over whispered and pointed vocals from Anette before the band slows things down a tad while keeping the heaviness intact and Anette singing in her normal range. Track 2’s ‘Step into the Fire’ also goes the alternative two melody route, throwing a slower groove predominantly at the end of the main melody line.  That melody line is a basic E string muted pick, but it’s effective with a solid rhythm accompanying it.  There’s just enough variation to make the song interesting.

A few other tracks stood out for me because they sound similar to what you would hear from the band Delain, in particular, their last album. ‘Broken’ has keys pushed prominently to the front and a chorus that uses them to great effect. The melody line of the chorus along with Anette’s perceived pain in her delivery make this my favorite track on the album. In terms of ranking, a close second goes to mid-tempo ‘Autumn Sky’, another track with keys that stand out and another winner of a chorus. Anette’s approach to gliding over the melody with her vocal fluctuations is perfect.

‘Beyond Forever’, is the album’s first clunker. A lifeless semi-ballad track that never seems to get out of first gear. Lots of basic chord strokes that do nothing interesting.  The song becomes a bit more interesting with Anette letting out an impressive scream that coincides with a mini-solo from Mats Edström, but by that time the song is nearly over. I wish Mats had done more with the song throughout.

‘Nothing Will Ever Remain’ is a slow and moody track that only comes to life during the chorus, with an unknown (as of this review) vocalist dropping a death metal-type vocal line, with one of the lines being the title of the song.

The last song I’ll mention is the missed opportunity. Closing track ‘Undeniable’ is a song that builds up from a piano-based composition to a full-blown power ballad. The song gets to a big, powerhouse chorus and then abruptly ends just when it was getting interesting. I was not monitoring the length of the track, just enjoying the song with my eyes closed and thought something happened to the download when it suddenly ended. At 2:50, with a slow build to the chorus, and no guitar solo, the band should have done more with this song. It sounds like they just ran out of studio time and desperately finished and recorded the song as quickly as they could. A shame as it had the potential to be great.

Regarding the production, the album sounds tremendously better than their debut ever did.  The debut utilized electronic drums that detracted the power of the songs. You get a full band feel this time. With that said, the rhythm section is a bit muddy and lacks a crispness to the drums compared to other albums on the market.

Since I only have the debut, I can’t rate it against their other albums but the band sounds in fine form here, like they have not lost their touch in the seventeen-year absence. While I would have preferred more straight-ahead rockers like the ones found on their debut, this is an album the band and their fans can be proud of. While not every song thrilled me, I will return to listen to more than half of this album in the near future.

Tracklist:

1. Breaking the Chains
2. Step into the Fire
3. Evelyn
4. Into the Eye of the Storm
5. Autumn Sky
6. Broken
7. Beyond Forever
8. Nothing Will Ever Remain
9. Last Tears
10. Undeniable