ZODIAC is a Blues based Rock-and-Roll band from Munster, Germany. The band had previously released three studio albums. "Grain Of Soul" is their forth, and contains eleven tracks. The opening song, "Rebirth By Fire," is a down and dirty, straightforward Rock and Roll track. The riff keeps the song moving along easy and the sound is even-keeled the entire way through. "Animal" is a little more sonorous and the fretwork a bit fancier, but it's very smooth and doesn't peak hard on either end of the sound spectrum. "Follow You" makes use of a nice chorus to impart some emotion which is not used consistently on the album in my opinion.

"Faithless" has a bluesy riff based in the roots of this genre but again the song comes over a bit thin. I get that this is probably the point of this style of music but the lack of punch and depth is all too evident. "Crow" on the other hand is the perfect anthem. Dark, brooding and weighted, it could be the soundtrack to a biker show like "Sons of Anarchy." "Get Out" brings some variety to the album as well, with a slower song that focuses on the delivery of the vocals and the positive affirmation of moving forward for yourself. "Sinner" is a reminder of the pitfalls of this line of work. As the title suggests, it has a sleazy, easy listening sound with the admonition of the message.

The title track, "Grain Of Soul" closes the album. It seems to focus again on the idea that you may have to sell your part of your soul for the job on some level, and a plea to a higher power to understand. Overall I was not displeased with the album, but I could unfortunately not find much to champion. I would never begrudge an artist for making the kind of music that they do because that is an individual thing internal to each and every person in the business. But, I am left with the wonder of why something so simple and something that has does not distinguish itself from the thousands of other artists in this style.