We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

The Crimson Corridor

by Zao

supported by
Amanda Kauffman
Amanda Kauffman thumbnail
Amanda Kauffman This whole record speaks to me on multiple levels but this song in particular might be my favorite this band has ever written. Remarkable. Favorite track: The Web.
FinDirk
FinDirk thumbnail
FinDirk Backrooms type beat Favorite track: The Crimson Corridor.
bcb723
bcb723 thumbnail
bcb723 Wonder if they still have gas in the tank?? Zao just lit everything on fire. That opening instrumental is the perfect lead-in to a masterclass album. Zao has now twisted into some kind of slanted post-metal monster & the lyrics... are pinpoint and so appreciated. The past year has taken its toll on all of our collective mental health & Dan Weyandt puts it out there with some brutally direct lines that border on poetry. Inspirational, exhausting and fantastic - this is music on a higher plane. Favorite track: R.I.P.W..
more... more...
/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $10 USD  or more

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Double LP on Black Vinyl. Comes in a gatefold with 12 page booklet. Download included.

    To bundle with shirts/hoodies etc head to bit.ly/2ZP00Ix

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Crimson Corridor via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $25 USD or more 

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Compact Disc packaged in digipack with 12 page booklet.

    To bundle with shirts/hoodies etc. head to bit.ly/2ZP00Ix

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Crimson Corridor via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $12 USD

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    The Crimson Corridor, Reformat/Reboot, The Well-Intentioned Virus and Decoding Transmissions from The Mobius Strip as one reduced priced bundle. Black Vinyl for all.

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Crimson Corridor via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $50 USD or more 

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Crimson Corridor, Reformat/Reboot, Pyrrhic Victory and The Well-Intentioned Virus in one reduced priced bundle

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Crimson Corridor via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days
    9 remaining
    Purchasable with gift card

      $30 USD or more 

     

  • Double Vinyl - Clear Transparent (Limited Edition)
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    SOLD OUT HERE but there are copies available at
    deathwishinc.com/collections/all/products/zao-the-crimson-corridor

    Double LP on Transparent Clear vinyl. Limited to 600 copies worldwide. Comes in a gatefold with 12 page booklet. Download included.

    To bundle with Shirts/Hoodies etc head to bit.ly/2ZP00Ix

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Crimson Corridor via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Sold Out

1.
2.
We are the Ship of Theseus Singular and all A sum drawn to the surface By the fragments we recall We are the Ship of Theseus Composed of flesh and bone An atypical anomaly Unfolding on its own A lost singularity sprawls out over time Searching for the space where dimensions can combine A lost singularity sprawls out over time Searching for the place where everything will become nothing Nothing Nothing can ever stay the same Disrupted function Collapse the waveform This is the Ship of Theseus (We are) fragments of the frame Composing a new identity From the prototypal remains
3.
Croatoan 04:18
Here but not here, torn from the axis Torn from the axis, here but not here We’re unable to awake And we’ve forgot that we are sleeping We’re unable to awake And we’ve forgot that it’s a dream A shell within a shell… within a shell…within a shell... Within a shell… in a disguise Pulled from a dream into another dream Croatoan
4.
The round of robins Hunted down the hawk They were high on honey From the lion's skull The robins’ beaks were sharpened The hawk’s claws were not They tore it into pieces Singing “Arise to fall” The sky was screaming As it rained feathers and bones Collective dreaming We’re all one and alone In the beak of the raven Hangs the rabbit’s child Shrieking in terror Before its mother’s eyes Mother leapt in vengeance Her mind aflame She drove her dull teeth Deep in that ravens neck Her mind was screaming As it rained feathers and bones Collective dreaming The All-One is alone Scurry to cower behind your throne The last to die will live alone Calling out to speak with ghosts In the end the birds will build nests With your hair and bones You died upon a throne You were the last to die and lived alone You are the final ghost (And the birds sing songs to the tears in the sky)
5.
R.I.P.W. 04:56
The reaper’s robes were thrown upon me O’ I wore the reaper’s robes A sickle to cut our consciousness from us Life and death adorn its blade The snath a crutch to prop us up A pillar to brace the crushing weight of our final mortal transition I am sorry your end was so violent I am sorry for the form in which it came I was there but I wasn’t there for you You were scared and couldn’t hear my voice There was so much fear in your eyes Sensing what was to come Your bones like broken glass As I held you in my arms I felt the life leave your skin I watched the light leave your eyes Shortly after your last breath Tears rain from my empty eyes They crash upon your vacant form
6.
A signal is born from a crooked womb Into the hands of the chemical sea It writhes forward towards the Pharos To infect the corpus and revive the fear When sorrow’s seed awakes in me it takes dominion inside my head A numb abyss of helplessness authors the visions it embeds The change begins as I stand within the crimson corridor I bite off my lip and I clench my fists screaming “Cut it all away, cut it all away!” Screaming… The path is lit, I am drawn to it The crimson corridor Eternal recurrence Lowered slowly into the jaws of dread Crushed between its teeth Suffocating
7.
The snapping of strings Strange rhythms in sounds A reminder to us that all things must end I feel the Sword of Damocles staring down at me A flower blooms in the final act of self preservation The mountain and the sky They collide before the river’s eyes Delusions drain us of safety Our foundation is rotting Creatures crawl out confused The cycle continues From the season of loss to the season of life It is in the transitions Grind and puncture Reform to return Cycles and seasons Reform to pass through Drawing your first breath The last leaf to fall touches the ground and turns day to night Cycles and seasons relapse It is in the transitions
8.
I watched the heathen plead to the the sky I watched the convert curse God as he died I watched the ghost wandering without a guide, No form to abide I watched perfection put on a disguise I watched the honest speak only in lies I watched the mirrors and saw only things I despised that Lie behind my eyes I watched the rebels argue the rules I watched the builders abandon their tools I watched the heroes feed the innocent to the wolves, Laughing like fools I watched the valiant tremble at night I watched the pious choke on the light I watched the dead star reform and ignite, The seeker takes flight I am the observer I am nothing more I watched the heathen plead to the the sky I watched the convert curse God as he died I watched the ghost wander lost without a guide, No form to abide I watched perfection put on a disguise I watched the honest speak only in lies I watched the mirrors and saw only things I despised that Lie behind my eyes I am nothing’s form
9.
Mother whispered to the water Trembling she made her plea Turned and said “I love you” Then she fed me to the sea Father took me into the forest Tied me to a tree Smiled and said “I love you” Then watched the wolves devour me “O’ when the pale white moonlight fills their eyes, The animals get hungry” Creator and Destroyer become one The rings of Saturn shroud your mind’s eye Sickle, Scythe and Harpe Curse of Cronus
10.
Lost Star 03:56
Descending arise Transitioning tides Of circling eyes Burst into light before me The unwinding mortal coil Makes its home beneath the soil Now separate from its riders will To be broken down and then rebuilt again Process falls apart The end of the start As death feeds the ground Lifes born and bows in reverence The unwinding mortal coil Makes its home beneath the soil Now separate from its riders will To be broken down and then rebuilt again As it feeds on you When your time has come A doorway to descend With decay and rot We fade into fear Towards an endless hum Rub our failing eyes They don’t see or sense All the ruin of life Why do we exist? Bloom and decay The game is displayed The lost star awakes and quickly it takes another form
11.
The Web 10:23
If I were to unbind in body or in mind I will never be gone just difficult to find I will find my way back to you after I have shed my skin Now the host must change, it’s atoms rearrange Yet through the chaos and pain, the rider shall remain I will find my way back to you after i have shed my skin If i were to unbind, in body or in mind, (let it be not cause for sadness) I will never be gone, just difficult to find (may you be as brave as you are kind) Now the host must change, it’s atoms rearrange (Cast anger from your mind) Yet through the chaos and pain, the rider shall remain I will find my way back to you after i have shed my skin I will be with you always I will follow the web back to you We are the web Long live the web

credits

released April 9, 2021

Dan Weyandt
Scott Mellinger
Russ Cogdell
Martin Lunn
Jeff Gretz

Produced by Zao and Dave Hidek
Recorded and Mixed at The Church (Pittsburgh, PA) by Dave Hidek
Additional editing by Daniel Carballal 
Mastered by Garrett Haines at Treelady Mastering (Pittsburgh, PA)
Vinyl lacquers cut by Chris Muth at Taloowa Mastering (Yonkers, NY)

Photography by Christopher McKenney
Photo rendering by Bruno Santinho and Jason Zeimet at Unoriginal Vinyl
Zao logo by Chris Smith
Hand illustration by Connor Anderson
Zao sigil by Josh Cook (R.I.P.)
Lettering by Dan Weyandt
Art Direction & Layout by Jeff Gretz

Additional synths and ambience on Into The Jaws of Dread by Chris Dudley
Violin on The Web by Sydney Mellinger

US Booking - Daniel DeFonce at TKO
European Booking - Marco Walzel at Avocado Booking
Merchandise - Holy Mountain Printing
General Inquiries - info (at) zaoonline (dot) net

Zao uses Precision Custom Drums, Sabian Cymbals, ESP Guitars, Ernie Ball Music Man Basses, Mesaboogie, Orange,
Abominable Electronics, 12th Hour Devices, In-tune Guitar Picks,,Labella Strings, Fishman Electronics, DNA Custom Cabs,
Spectraflex Cables, Maxon Electronics, ZVex Electronics, Walrus Audio, Allman Guitars & Pedals and Heill Sound

All songs composed by Weyandt/Mellinger/Lunn/Gretz (BMI) and Cogdell (ASCAP) except
Into The Jaws Of Dread by Weyandt/Mellinger/Lunn/Gretz (BMI) and Cogdell/Dudley (ASCAP)

Chris Dudley appears courtesy of Underoath and Fearless Records

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Zao Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

contact / help

Contact Zao

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Redeem code

Report this album or account

Zao recommends:

If you like Zao, you may also like: