If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Alejandro Goussot I first discovered Zeta opening for Sparta last summer, and I've been a huge fan ever since. Earlier this week the Venezuelan post-rock band announced they were releasing a cover of Radiohead's "The National Anthem," and my anticipation immediately started building. I was curious as to how a hardcore version of a Radiohead classic would sound. Instead, Zeta's version is much more faithful to the original than I expected. It's a lot heavier, but it's not as far off from Radiohead than I assumed. It's also a lot funkier than the original, but that was too be expected. Zeta might have been my favorite musical discovery of 2023, and "The National Anthem" just makes me an even bigger fan. You can watch the video for Zeta's cover of "The National Anthem" below. The single is available here . For more on Zeta, check out the band's website .

Sparta Photo by Ken Sears Due to bad timing on my part, I showed up at Brighton Music Hall while Zeta was onstage. I'm pretty sure I only missed a minute or two, but after seeing what I did, I have massive regrets. Zeta are a band out of Venezuela that play one of the most intriguing mixes of music I have ever seen. At the surface level, it's a psychedelic blend of hardcore, as trippy as it is heavy. But throughout the set they sprinkle in elements of hip hop, electronic music, and Latin. I've never experienced music that made me confused if I should dance, mosh, or just stand there while my face was melted off. The musicians shuffled around between various instruments, so that sometimes there were two guitars being played, sometimes there were three percussionists, and others they added some ? and the Mysterians style keys. Of all the live shows I've seen, Zeta might have been the most beautiful while being the most pummeling. I haven't been this blown away and as ...