Zao - First Shirt and Early Demo/EP Downloads

Zao is a band known not only for their ideology, but their many line-up changes. In this post, I'd like to focus on the first "era" of the band. Founding members include Eric Reeder (vocals), Roy Goudy (guitar), Mic Cox (bass), and Jesse Smith (drums). Since their beginning in 1993, the band caught a lot of flak for their outspoken and straightforward attitudes regarding their faith, but that didn't hold them back from achieving what they wished to achieve. In my opinion, that is what they are most known for.

I was fortunate enough to come across an item that I hadn't seen prior to a couple of weeks ago: the first Zao shirt ever printed. The seller was founding guitarist Roy Goudy. After talking to him, I found out that they printed this shirt in 1995, the year that saw the release of both the "Sustained" demo and "The Tie That Binds". This gem is definitely a sign of the times; complete with weird logo placements and the fact that it's a work shirt...only in the 90's.

Early Zao recordings are vastly different than what they went on to become many years after their inception. Below are links to download the first three recorded outputs by the band. 

"Author" Demo (1994) 

http://www.mediafire.com/?f41g4cc8dfzx410

Track List:

1) Mock

2) Increased

3) Your Plank

4) Hellfire

5) Nonconformist

6) Reversed

7) Childlike

8) It's Real

9) Untitled

"Sustained" Demo (1995)

http://www.mediafire.com/?wqjfzzdq13wrbpc

Track List:

1) Conflict

2) Rest

3) Deep

4) Sickness

5) Untitled

"The Tie That Binds": Split with Outcast (1995 / Steadfast Records)

http://www.mediafire.com/?0ayk1ammajmqqbk

Track List:

1) Zao - Flight

2) Zao - Security* (Didn't Originally Appear on Split)

3) Outcast - What Have We Done?

4) Wasting Time