Review by JD on April 11, 2012.

Industrial metal is one of the sub-genres of metal I have not listened to very much. I am not a fan of stuff like dance beats and sampling polluting metals power as that seems a cheap way of making music. I like Ministry to a degree when the urge is there, but I still would like them to go more in the metal way.

Ground Zero System hails from Norway and seems to be angling away from the Black Metal that is prevalent in their country. Crossing Death Metal with the technology of groovy synths and samples - they try to out do Rammstein Industrial sort of thing and sadly, they collapse under the strain and falter badly. With confusion of what they are trying to do not to mention a lack of musicality, the album is a sad state of metal.

I will not go into what I think of any of the songs here, opting to just say that this could have been a interesting mixing of styles if done right. What has been presented is a slap in the face for all metal - and should show this act to pack it in and perhaps go out for jobs on the shrimping boats that skirt the coast. Dance rhythms should never be introduced in metal the first place, but done right might be interesting at best.

Simply put, save your hard earned money for something better and hopefully like a very bad nightmare, Ground Zero System will go away and leave the metal making to people who actually give a rats ass about it, or they could decide to keep the Death Metal parts of their music and expand on it and leave the shit industrial crap behind and hopefully buried under many feet of rocks somewhere. Can't understand why the bassist for Meshuggah would session for playing on this shit.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 5 (for the Death Metal parts that are good)
Atmosphere: 2
Production: 5
Originality: 1
Overall: 2

Rating: 3 out of 10

Review by Allan on March 8, 2002.

"Opiate". This is where it all began for Tool, a band that has grown in leaps and bounds since they first started the band. This album is where it all started to fall in place for a band that continues to progress even today. Even with their first EP it was obvious that Tool was going to become a force to be reckon with.

The band, choosing at the time the heaviest songs they’d written, put together this six track EP, including one hidden track. While they are some of the heaviest songs the band has written, there still is a strong melody within the songs, and the ever-noticeable vocals of Maynard James Keenan. Even in his earliest days could this man sing! He only gets better from this day forward also. Moving through seven tracks of excellent hard-hitting rock, this album will leave you wanting more!

With this EP you could first start to see the potential in Tool. The ideas were there, the band was just having a little trouble manifesting it. They were hard rock on this album, but you knew they were striving for something more. You knew that there was a meaning to the music, but it was just a little vague. This is one of the few EP’s I know of that I feel the need to include in a discography. I would almost call it a debut. Despite it’s ruff edges, "Opiate" is one of the best EP’s I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to.

Bottom Line: Tool has progressed on and surpassed this, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t something you shouldn’t have. This is one of the best EP’s any band has ever put out, and is worth more than just a look into the past of a great band.

Originality: 8
Musicianship: 7
Atmosphere: 7
Production: 8
Overall: 7

Rating: 7.4 out of 10

Review by Allan on March 8, 2002.

"Opiate". This is where it all began for Tool, a band that has grown in leaps and bounds since they first started the band. This album is where it all started to fall in place for a band that continues to progress even today. Even with their first EP it was obvious that Tool was going to become a force to be reckon with.

The band, choosing at the time the heaviest songs they’d written, put together this six track EP, including one hidden track. While they are some of the heaviest songs the band has written, there still is a strong melody within the songs, and the ever-noticeable vocals of Maynard James Keenan. Even in his earliest days could this man sing! He only gets better from this day forward also. Moving through seven tracks of excellent hard-hitting rock, this album will leave you wanting more!

With this EP you could first start to see the potential in Tool. The ideas were there, the band was just having a little trouble manifesting it. They were hard rock on this album, but you knew they were striving for something more. You knew that there was a meaning to the music, but it was just a little vague. This is one of the few EP’s I know of that I feel the need to include in a discography. I would almost call it a debut. Despite it’s ruff edges, "Opiate" is one of the best EP’s I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to.

Bottom Line: Tool has progressed on and surpassed this, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t something you shouldn’t have. This is one of the best EP’s any band has ever put out, and is worth more than just a look into the past of a great band.

Originality: 8
Musicianship: 7
Atmosphere: 7
Production: 8
Overall: 7

Rating: 7.4 out of 10

Review by Allan on March 8, 2002.

"Opiate". This is where it all began for Tool, a band that has grown in leaps and bounds since they first started the band. This album is where it all started to fall in place for a band that continues to progress even today. Even with their first EP it was obvious that Tool was going to become a force to be reckon with.

The band, choosing at the time the heaviest songs they’d written, put together this six track EP, including one hidden track. While they are some of the heaviest songs the band has written, there still is a strong melody within the songs, and the ever-noticeable vocals of Maynard James Keenan. Even in his earliest days could this man sing! He only gets better from this day forward also. Moving through seven tracks of excellent hard-hitting rock, this album will leave you wanting more!

With this EP you could first start to see the potential in Tool. The ideas were there, the band was just having a little trouble manifesting it. They were hard rock on this album, but you knew they were striving for something more. You knew that there was a meaning to the music, but it was just a little vague. This is one of the few EP’s I know of that I feel the need to include in a discography. I would almost call it a debut. Despite it’s ruff edges, "Opiate" is one of the best EP’s I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to.

Bottom Line: Tool has progressed on and surpassed this, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t something you shouldn’t have. This is one of the best EP’s any band has ever put out, and is worth more than just a look into the past of a great band.

Originality: 8
Musicianship: 7
Atmosphere: 7
Production: 8
Overall: 7

Rating: 7.4 out of 10