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'The
Towers of Avarice' is still the undisputed best album from the hands
of the twin brothers Jasun and Troy Tipton! But 'Specs of Pictures
Burnt Beyond' comes in as a very close second.
I
have been a big fan of theirs ever since I bought their
self-financed EP almost a decade ago, and they have stayed truthful
to their beliefs all the time, always moving forward introducing
news things and sounds to their music. Biggest addition to their
sound this time around is new vocalist Chris Salinas, who some of
you might know from his former band Power of Omens (RIP)?
He
is breathing new air into the mix, and his Geoff Tate-like phrases
and general singing suits the music brilliantly. Just put on the
disc and listen to the excellent opener "Face the Fear" or
hear him around 3:30 into the second track "The Falcon's Cry"
- its pure Geoff Tate-like vocals from around the 'Promised Land'
era.
'Specs'
is a return to the more basic Zero Hour sound, gone are the
keyboards from the 'Fragile'-era, the album is once more produced
and mixed by up and coming progressive metal producer Dino Alden,
who once more has brought out the best of Zero Hour.
Zero
Hour is still delivering a full frontal attack of the mind of hard
and heavy progressive music, and they continue to impress me with
their uncompromising style. The drumming of Mike Guy is once more
out of this world, and Jasun and Troy have composed some of their
best songs to date; "The Falcon's Cry" has to be one the
best progressive metal songs of the year, the title track is perhaps
the heaviest Zero Hour song ever, lot's of staccato riffs and a more
aggressive style of singing from Chris. Or how about the sheer
intensity of "Evidence of the Unseen" - awesome.
So
why isn’t this one better than 'Towers'? First of all I am not
totally convinced with the ballad "Here I am", which
showcases Chris' excellent voice, but really nothing else... And
then there the playing time - it merely crosses the 40 minutes
mark...
But
all in all it's very small issues I have about this otherwise
brilliant progressive metal masterpiece, which it still is...
because I can't stop listening to it, and still discovers new things
and it keeps getting better and better... just the way I like my
music - challenging and innovative...
Excellent!
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