When I was in the Air Force and stationed in Arkansas, every summer would see countless houses destroyed by the devastating power of tornados; but the foundations always remained, on which new houses could be built. Some people chose to give up and move on, while others chose to rebuild upon that unmoving foundation. We cannot build without a strong foundation. This simple concept can be applied to anything in life.
And, like the ever-growing, digging roots of a great old tree, the brothers Jasun Tipton (guitars) and Troy Tipton (bass), along with Mike Guy (drums), are the foundation on which Zero Hour is built. Erik Rosvold (vocals) was the tower that was built upon the foundation for two albums, Zero Hour (re-released in 2003 as Metamorphosis with two bonus tracks) and The Towers Of Avarice. The winds of change swept through and Rosvold left the band after The Towers Of Avarice, an album widely considered their best. It took four years and the release of A Fragile Mind (my personal favorite) for the band to re-emerge as a solid unit; this time the vocals were handled by Fred Marshall. Again, the seemingly impenetrable walls crumbled and Zero Hour was left as a skeleton without skin, as Marshall took his leave from the band.
Rosvold and Marshall were both excellent vocalists, their abilities airtight, both offering something a little different but neither negatively affecting the quality of the music, only enhancing it in their own special way. So how does a band rebuild and forge ahead after losing two extremely strong vocalists before the foundation begins to crack? We’ve seen it countless times when bands go through multiple singers or musicians; eventually the odds go against the band and everything implodes, or the band simply begins to release sub-par or downright terrible music (Sepultura and Skid Row, respectively). Zero Hour have done neither. Less than a year after the release of A Fragile Mind, Zero Hour had an entire new album written: Specs Of Pictures Burnt Beyond. But they needed to add one key element: a singer. The band not only found a strong singer, but one that makes the extremely talented Rosvold and Marshall seem like distant, hazy memories.
Enter ex-Power Of Omens vocalist Chris Salinas, one whose breath also possesses the devastating power of a tornado, a cross between Geoff Tate (Queensrÿche) and Ray Alder (Fates Warning), with an occasional Rob Halford (Judas Priest) moment. Like Marshall after Rosvold, Salinas brings Zero Hour to a new plateau. Where Rosvold was a little more unique and poetic with his melodies and Marshall was more catchy with his, Salinas is far more emotional and powerful, his vocal lines stretch and expand across the musical landscape. Musically, the Tiptons are all over the place as usual, and once again corralled into a cohesive, monstrous beast by Mike Guy; and with the addition of Salinas’s undeniably powerful and captivating vocals, he almost becomes the substratum of Specs Of Pictures Burnt Beyond.
The album opener, “Face The Fear,” begins things in typical Zero Hour fashion: Jasun’s ultra-technical, bone-crushing riffs; Troy’s twisted and endlessly entwined bass runs; relentless drum work from the underrated Mike Guy; and sparse, melodic interludes. But this time things cut a little bit deeper when Salinas injects his moody, melancholic, darkly poetic, and chill-inducing vocals. You could listen to this track on repeat all day long, totally satisfied, with no need to go to track two. (You’d be crazy, of course.) “The Falcon’s Cry” is that next track; it’s a heavier track intermingled with some melodic passages, oddly timed, musically and vocally, but mesmerizing in its consummate angularity. “Embrace” follows. It’s a short instrumental, one of two on the album (the other being “Zero Hour,” an aptly titled heavier number), an acoustic/electric number, with some subtle, distant harmonies playing out in the background. After that brief respite, the pummeling “Specs Of Pictures Burnt Beyond” bursts out of the speakers, stomping through a piercing wall of wails from the lungs of Salinas. The final two minutes is pure shredding, a crushing cacophony of contradicting beauty (that also incorporates part of “Embrace”). The short instrumental “Zero Hour” is followed by “I Am Here,” a stunning ballad of acoustic guitar and vocals, one that bleeds pure emotion, showcasing just how far Zero Hour have come with the addition of Chris Salinas on vocals. Saving the best for last—as if the previous tracks weren’t good enough!—“Evidence Of The Unseen” is a rollercoaster ride of epic progressive metal; shifting from euphonious breaks to jackhammer rhythms layered with some of the most exceptional vocal melodies I’ve heard on a progressive metal album. Specs Of Pictures Burnt Beyond ends with a spectacular display of brilliance, which makes the entire album shine that much brighter.
Zero Hour have made quite a name for themselves within the progressive metal community over the past few years. A distinction that has landed them high upon the massive heap that is progressive metal. The masterpiece known as Specs Of Pictures Burnt Beyond only further solidifies Zero Hour as one of the finest, pound-for-pound progressive metal acts in the world. It rarely gets any better than this. So raise your glasses—and your horns—in honor of this genius band. —K. Allen Wood
Video: Evidence Of The Unseen, Face The Fear
Website: http://www.zerohourweb.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/zerohourband
Note: Many of these links are external. In time, they may become obsolete.
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