REVIEW: Root Zero - Dark Rainbow
- Julia Brunton
- May 18
- 3 min read
Gothic prog is the theme for Root Zero’s debut album Dark Rainbow - a mix of choppier metal riffs and hardcore screams, with transcendent clean vocals and pensive piano melodies. The Cardiff-based act have gathered from all corners of Wales to form this sextet, though the roots of Root Zero come from keyboardist and co-vocalist Giacomo Fidero way back in 2016. Cut to 2025 and these roots have grown into a spot at Bloodstock last year off the back of winning South Wales’ Metal to the Masses competition, and the perfection of their live shows has prepared them for their first full length studio project.
All the elements in Dark Rainbow are gorgeous; the technical elements on the guitar sound stunning throughout - first full song ‘Inner Turmoil’ is well balanced between the these technical elements and hardcore influences with screaming vocals, swapping between Sasha Bannister’s siren singing voice and Fidero’s low hanging scream. The only note here appears to be the choice to mix some of the clean vocals live but not others; an effective choice for the ambient vocals but throws off the track somewhat in its spoken word.
Other elements of note are the use of Italian vocals in 'Notti D-Inverno', with Fidero opting for beautiful clean vocals for its first verse. This track stands out among the first half as the ethereal rock that Root Zero markets itself as, building to its chorus before a vocal-trading second verse between Italian and English before the instrumental breakdown that sees the swaying riffs from the first half finally get their time in the sun. The two-part solos conjure images of stone beaches at sunset when the stars begin to appear in the sky on one end while the sun sets on the other, and it's all too easy to disassociate into the song.
The blending of the rough-around-the-edges-metal influences with the ethereal soundscapes comes in 'Ignis Fatuus', where Bannister’s vocals spend more time atop the metal side, and some of the ethereal is mixed with the screams before a pull-no-punches breakdown that feels refreshing around the midpoint of this project. The switch up on its follow up ‘Tumbleweed’ was also welcome, with swelling first act vocals and the militaristic guitar beneath the harmonies sounding gorgeous.

At the midpoint of this project comes, so does five minute ambient interlude ‘Depression’; experimental in that the drums appear to have been recorded through a cathode which adds to the spacey feelings that attempt to emulate long term depression, but are nevertheless an odd choice sonically. It is also from here that Root Zero jump the prog shark, with the tracks leaping from a reserved 4-6 minutes to over 11 on the title track, and then 8 and 9 minutes to close out.
Criticising this project is to criticise prog as a genre: drawn out ambience to link sections that could all be separate shorter songs and hold the attention better. The elements in said title track include the harder style soundscape utilised throughout the full-band sections, with this harder style curating an Evanescence-like energy. This culminates in a midpoint breakdown akin to a knight traversing the tunnels to find the face that matches the name on his parchment, but a lot of this feels drowned by the minutes spent playing the same notes on a guitar or piano backed by a slight ambient sound. Many of these elements would work wonderfully in a live show, but minutes spent putting this on record can feel like adding the chaff to the wheat.
Penultimate track 'Lilitha' nevertheless is one of the highlights - a horror movie style lullaby where the piano feels well placed, the drumming in the first breakdown is exemplary with the winding down runs before more of the siren style vocals for the track’s interlude. It's only drawback is the drawn out feeling in between more fleshed-out sections of the song. When the album closes with ‘The Infection’ it is hard to say what hasn’t already been said; sections such as its chorus are beautiful, and the gothic yet celestial soundscape sits perfectly as a background track, making active listening a difficult task.
For the prog lovers this may be for you - a gothic take on the subgenre, with plenty of subversive elements that switch it up somewhat from its contemporaries. As a debut album it is a strong and cohesive project from Root Zero, that gives them a strong foundation for their live music career, but this is not the project to get a new listener into the genre.
Score: 7/10
Dark Rainbow was released on May 16th 2025.
Words: Julia Brunton
Photos: Root Zero
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