Tipton
Brothers' spiritual child on
the rampants once again, almost one
year after the release of the "competitive"
"A Fragile Mind". And
I'm using "competitive"
because the way I see it, it may not
be their best piece of work, but it's
the one that opened wide the gates
of recognition, something that should
have happened a long time ago, talking
about "The Tower of Avarice"
days. I know that most of the times
the last one to blame for late glory
are the bands themsleves, however
in Zero Hour's case the "fragile"
vocalist's post must have played
its role. Yeah, you understood well.
A new album for Zero Hour, a new interpreter
behind the mic. Only this time I can't
do else, but take off my hat to them
for their excellent choice. Mr. Chris
"Call me Geoff Tate" Salinas
is Zero Hour's new throat, a
guy that has showed his credentials
in the past with Power of Omens and
has proven himself to be one of the
most charismatic voices in progressive
metal, or if you prefer in metal generally.
It's true that his resemblance
with Geoff Tate is verging on the
edge of imitation, still someone can't
and mustn't think of him as
copycat.
As I foretold I take
off my hat to Tiptons' for their
choice. Just as their previous singer
matched almost perfectly with "A
Fragile Mind's" musical
tone, that happened to be a little
more aggressive than their recent
past, they have once again found the
right man to express their musical
unrest. One more reason why I admire
this band. With each new release they
have something new to offer, something
different and refreshing, avoiding
intelligently tested-saturated paths.
So from the complexity of "The
Towers of Avarice", they jumped
to the mixed "complexity-aggressiveness"
of "A Fragile Mind" only
to try again a more pure progressive
approach, releasing a true masterpiece.
"Specs of Pictures Burnt Beyond"
is a piece of prog art full of melodic
passages, plethora of complex rhythms
and solos, clever musical and tempo
changes and a small doze of jazz/fusion
tunes. Chris fascinates with the way
he handles and completes the melodic
and together sophisticated labyrinth
of sounds created by the Tiptons',
with the help of Mike Guy the one
half of the band's battery.
For those about to "prog",
this one's for you!!!
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