ZERO HOUR [AKA: METAMORPHOSIS]

Metamophosis is a re-release of Zero Hour's original self titled debut. The album is quite impressive and a very serious listen. Zero Hour is shaped by it's guitar and bass family of Jasun and Troy Tipton who are the only members that have been on each of the band's releases.

This album is quite technical and serious. The synth sounds stray from the typical sound of analogs and into a more serious tone. I must give Matt Guillory credit for the great selection of synths he used on this album.

The vocals deserve much credit too. Erik Rosvold's voice is perfect for this album. It's calm, dramatic, and intense. Rosvold shows some range, but stays in a safe alto range throughout the album. Rosvold picks his spots to sing perfectly never stealing the spotlight from other band members.

Guitars are prominent throughout the technical passages. The rythmn guitar of Jasun Tipton is nothing to write home about, but the technique he uses is close to incredible. The finest display of his skill is the insturmental track "A Passage". The song is a guitar duet of well himself. One acoustic rythmn guitar mixed with an electric guitar shredding over the top of the piece. Really a phoenomenal display of control and speed.

Not much to say about the drums and bass other than they are tight. The execution that this band posseses more than makes up for a slight lack of creativity. The album is one again highly techincal, but lacks insturmental catchyness if I am free to use such a term.

The production is good. The keyboards are i commented on earlier are well selected. The vocals are rich and well harmonized. The bass is clear and punchy. The guitars are somewhat weak. I don't think there were quite enough tracks to capture the full range of Tipton's guitars. The drums are somewhat lacking also. The bass drum has more than enough prescence, but lacks a distinct tone that most drummers usually capture. The production is average. Great in some parts and dissapointing in others.