Amul 9-Elevated Beings by John M. Ellison IV

Amul9 is a band from Atlanta that was started by vocalist Zoser and bassist Bilial. The band consists of Zoser on vocals, Bilal on bass and backing vocals also features Guitar by Lenwood, Drums by Darren Craig and Backing Vocals by Vito.

Zoser…I remember meeting him in ‘09 at the yearly Black alternative rock festival called the Afro-Punk Festival. Yes folks, there’s more to black music festivals than “Essence” and “Rock the Bells.” We were introduced by a mutual friend named Beya. But, we went our separate ways and mingled with the rest of the misfits

Anyway, we first started talking and then in the midst of my usual chatty demeanor realized his shirt was an Atlanta Falcons jersey. I asked “…is that a Michael Vick Jersey?” He started laughing and I responded “Man, I can’t say shit; I was going to wear a Chris Benoit t-shirt here!” I realize out of context and lacking inflection we sound like two assholes right now. But, he’s one of the most genuine people I’ve gotten to know. So, he gave me the band’s demo. I wrote about said demo and featured it on here in ‘09. In comparison from the 5 track demo I acquired to now, I’ve noticed a development in the band’s sound.

The album “Elevated Beings” was produced by Paul Hudson (drummer for Bad Brains) so I feel that it has that Bad Brains feel arrangement wise…to me at least *shrugs.* Vocally, Zoser is less of the traditional singer than he is spoken word artist/preacher. His all around message throughout the album is to raise the pan-African conscious, so don’t expect any club jams on here…unless its punk night at some bar that is. Throughout the album, I noticed a shift between a more traditional punk sound and hardcore sound into something they’ve branded as “Nubian Rock.” The songs that really stuck out “riff” wise are “DNA” and “Know Thy Overseer.” Interesting enough, the opening to “Know Thy Overseer” has that military drum roll that reminds me of the proto-punk classic by Detroit legends “Death.”

In closing, Amul 9 has a lot of potential and I can’t wait to see what’s next from the band. I recommend this to any of your friends, associates etc. that’s looking to expand their musical palette from political hip-hop to a more aggressive sound.

Check out their official site here
Official website