The fact is this: I like unsigned bands. Even if I’m not 100 percent into the music, I appreciate that a group of people are willing to come together for a common artistic cause and execute a singular idea with little to no hope of fiscal recompense. So when I get a CD in gorgeous handmade packaging like Feed the Lie, the debut full-length by German post-metal outfit Zed (which lists Kopfhörer/Schalldruck as its label but still marks the band as unsigned, so I assume is a self-release imprint), which isn’t necessarily all that original but clearly shows that a lot of effort and love went into making it, I’m more than willing to give it extra points based on that.

Not that I have a point system.

It’s true, even the artwork on Feed the Lie could be called derivative — Isis’ Mosquito Control EP also having featured an insect splayed and ready for dissection — but the trio of Maik (guitar/vocals), Sven (bass/vocals) and Hannes (drums) are more derailed by their style being played out than by anything in particular they’re doing musically. Feed the Lie, on a basic musical level, rocks. It’s heavy, Sven’s bass tone more or less makes “Réalisme,” but even though Zed take a more rock-based approach to post-metal, it’s still post-metal at its heart. And man, if we haven’t all had enough of that.

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