After several starts and stops during the '90s, Zero Hour finally pulled things together and produced their first major release, Towers of Avarice (their official debut was the eponymous, independently released Zero Hour).
The band's longevity contributes to the confident and mature sound they project throughout this rather short (just over 45 minutes), but enjoyable session.
Vocalist Erik Rosvold's husky voice is fairly versatile, conjuring up images of Ronnie James Dio, and the thundering rhythm section is relentless.
The music is expectedly complex, sounding like a Watchtower for the new millennium with sprinklings of Spiral Architect, Dream Theater, and Fates Warning.
The approach is generally heavy, especially on the excellent "Stratagem," but is interspersed with softer moments, as evident on the introspective "Reflections." The lengthy "Demise and Vestige" is the session's best moment and combines all of the group's best assets into a cohesive and impressive whole.
While Zero Hour isn't offering anything that hasn't been heard before, there is an honesty and legitimacy to their sound that makes Towers of Avarice a worthwhile effort.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Towers of AvariceErik Rosvold, Jasun Tipton, Troy Tipton | Zero Hour | Play | 07:52 | 18 MB | 57 MB |
| 2 | The SubterraneanErik Rosvold, Jasun Tipton, Troy Tipton | Zero Hour | Play | 04:11 | 9 MB | 32 MB |
| 3 | StratagemErik Rosvold, Jasun Tipton, Troy Tipton | Zero Hour | Play | 08:06 | 18 MB | 62 MB |
| 4 | ReflectionsErik Rosvold, Jasun Tipton | Zero Hour | Play | 03:56 | 9 MB | 18 MB |
| 5 | Demise and VestigeErik Rosvold, Jasun Tipton, Troy Tipton | Zero Hour | Play | 15:47 | 36 MB | 112 MB |
| 6 | The Ghosts of DawnErik Rosvold | Zero Hour | Play | 05:30 | 12 MB | 29 MB |
| 45 mins | 104 MB | |||||
| 45 mins | 312 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dino Alden | Engineer, Mixing, Producer |
| 2 | Joe Gastwirt | Mastering |
| 3 | Ken Golden | Executive Producer |
| 4 | Mike Guy | Drums |
| 5 | Dave Lepori | Photography |
| 6 | Erik Rosvold | Arranger, Composer, Keyboards, Producer, Vocals, Voices |
| 7 | Travis Smith | Arranger, Design, Illustrations, Layout Design, Producer |
| 8 | Jasun Tipton | Arranger, Composer, Guitar, Keyboards, Producer |
| 9 | Troy Tipton | Arranger, Bass, Composer, Producer |
| 10 | Zero Hour | Arranger, Primary Artist, Producer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |