Zao
Greensburg, PA
Members
Daniel Weydant
Scott Mellinger
Russ Cogdell
Marty Lunn
Jeff Gretz
Official Zao Website
The original incarnation of Zao was formed in the mid-90s and played a style of music influenced by Earth Crisis and Strife while prosteylizing with the evangelical zeal of Strong Arm and Focused. When that group fell apart shortly after the 1997 Cornerstone Festival, Zao as its best-known ever since was born in the fires of creative tension. Guitarists Russ Cogdell and Brett Detar, and original drummer Jesse Smith, played the songs with a passion to match Dan Weyandt's soul-wrenching lyrics as the now Greensburg based band (linked to the Zao of old only by West Virginian Smith) devastated stages across the country. Not since Unbroken had jaws dropped like this.The heavy music scene owes a huge debt to ZAO, and you can be sure your favorite bands know it. Underoath and Unearth used to open for them. As I Lay Dying invited Dan to guest on their new album, "Shadows Are Security." The lion's share of the credit for crossing faith-based music into a then-politically motivated and secular only hardcore scene lays squarely on Zao's shoulders.