Review of Zero Hour - Metamorphosis

Zero Hour is a progressive metal band from my home region, the San Francisco Bay area. They have made quite a name for themselves in the progressive metal scene due to some virtuoso-like bass and guitar playing by brothers Troy and Jason Tipton, respectively. While prog-metal sometimes comes off as elitist and too experimental, Zero Hour does manage to create a good listen, although they do sound almost exactly like Dream Theater. The biggest standout on Metamorphosis is some of the insanely talented bass playing of Troy Tipton. Few people have mastered their instrument as well as this man. You can hear some crazy, fret-burning little riffs; for example around the beginning of the track "Voice of Reason". His brother Jason is equally talented on the guitar, blazing through countless unconventional riffs and making it seem as easy as playing the triangle. Every instrument is great, but the vocals can wear on you. They are the standard, almost whiny prog vocals that we've all come to know and hate. While not atrocious, I've heard it a million times before, and I never liked it in the first place. Another problem I had with the album was in the form of the songwriting. While the musicianship is up to virtuoso par, the songwriting is a little too experimental for my tastes. Although experimenting can be interesting, it doesn't make for much of a "recreational listen". This is the dilemma I had in scoring the songwriting: I couldn't decide whether it was good because it's good to totally envelop yourself in it, or if it's bad because you can't just pick it up and listen to it. This is something you, the listener must decide. If you're willing to sit back with no distractions and let the music totally seep in and overwhelm your every thought, then this is a masterpiece of an album. If you're the kind who likes to listen to music while doing other things, then I doubt you'll dig this album. The reason why I didn't give it a full score: it didn't draw me in and force me to obey it's every command - I had to choose to give it my full attention. Prog-metal is a fickle demon. It can draw you in and it can drive you away; it can annoy you and it can astonish you. This is of course the case with Zero Hour, a many sided Rubik’s cube of a group. For the intellectual metal listener, this is your wildest fantasy, but for the causal listener, this can be too perplexing. In true enigma fashion, all of this pondering has gotten us nowhere, so all I can say is give this band a try, if for nothing else than the sheer musicianship. Wrathchild

Metamorphosis I - V - A five song series; an intriguing epic; I especially liked Metamorphosis III for the keyboards

Release Details

Zero Hour

Metamorphosis

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