Zao continues to amaze with The Fear Is What Keeps Us Here. Dan Weyandt adds a growling alternative to his trademark shrieking vocals. Constant pummeling guitars rush through the album, which is only about 40 minutes long... that is, 40 minutes of greatness.

Fear Keeps... doesn't let up on the metal thrashiness, but some songs are lighter than others... lighter, not softer. The guitars are higher-pitched and more melodic on these songs, such as in most of the middle section of "It's Hard Not to Shake With a Gun In Your Mouth," which surprisingly contains clean vocals. But still, Zao keeps the thrash coming, at some points one might say it comes awfully close to grindcore. It all adds up to a near perfect album.

The most obvious flaw lies within the vocals, but it's not Weyandt's fault. They're just way, way too over-produced. Something's been done to make them blend in too much, so you lose them beneath the guitars, making them even harder to understand. This is a minor flaw, but it does get slightly irritating at times.

The Fear Is What Keeps Us Here, as a whole, is a delightful (if relatively short) experience. I recommend Christian metal fans to pick this one up. It's for fans of Becoming the Archetype, Haste the Day, Norma Jean, and Demon Hunter (all of which I also recommend).

JFH Reader Review: written by RJ Momo, 12/18/07, for Jesusfreakhideout.com