The Towers of Avarice

Yet another direly underrated prog band that never and I repeat NEVER got the respect and recognition they truly deserved. Why I'll probably never know, but man these guys are just a powerhouse of ass-stomping riffs and remarkable technicality wrapped up in a neat package of incredibly progressive and winding songwriting. Oh and just to clarify, the songwriting is pretty spiralling and towering as a whole so I guess you could say that the name of the album is pretty apt.

One of the many things that stand out is that the bass unlike most other metal in general is actually used! I hear you saying "No fucking way!" well listen to the album and subsequently I'll be seeing you eat your words right then and there. Very technical, reminiscent of Cynic and Atheist where it's actually used as another solo instrument adding vitality and colour to the musical portrait as a whole if you will. Hell listen to the intro of the title track itself for proof of this guys’ amazing talent. Diversity is another refreshing trait of this album. Of course that is the case for most prog albums out there, but these guys never fall prey to overindulgence and useless displays of instrumental noodling. They are righteously technical as hell, but every instrument plus the individual musical pieces of the gigantic puzzle has its perfect place and I wouldn’t have it any other way. The last song "The Ghosts Of Dawn" is a gorgeously composed piano piece which is a perfect way to end arguably one of the best progressive albums to ever grace my ears.

Now we come to the 15 minute long progressive epic "Demise And Vestige" and let me tell you, it completely destroys in every sense of the word. I mean the fucking title of the song has the word demise in it so what did you expect anyway? After setting a vivid pace of contrast between the heavy and light sections, around 8:45 the song shits into more progressive territory with a floating keyboard part leading up to the grand finale of the song with some insane vocal harmonies. The fadeout acoustic part at 14:41 is truly the icing on the cake. Grandiose stuff right there. Prog nutters like me are bound to go berserk on this song for sure.

The vocalist Erik Rosvold is just insane going from soulful clean singing to high pitched screams almost defining each segment of the song by himself plus the tone and mood of the song concerned. The guitars definitely have a bit of a Mesh influence but are not nearly as polyrhythmic as the Swedes, which is a good thing for this style of progressive metal as too many riffs of the jarring variety would definitely leave this album in a tangled mess. Also as other have also pointed out there is a Spiral Architect influence in the clean guitar breaks and sudden progressive shifts placing this album very firmly in the middle of the technical metal field. The concept of the album being the story of a society being forced underground due to oppression in the future and the rise of a hero trying to save them all from further oppression is also very interesting to follow with the lyrics of each of the songs making this album one hell of a journey as a whole. You definitely need to listen to this album in its entirety to experience the full musical brilliance and technical skill on display. Of course that’s not to say you won’t have your personal favourites but still.

It's been years since I've had this album and it has yet to lose any of its vitality or intrigue. If you call yourself a prog fan and have yet to hear this album, you are truly doing yourself a great disservice by ignoring these gentlemen. You need to get your hands on this masterpiece come what may.

Ditching the keyboards and going out for a more aggressive sound, Zero Hour’s second album is a progressive metal masterpiece that is most definitely a grower. It takes a few listens to truly appreciate its brilliance. The Towers of Avarice is a concept album. It tells a Sci-Fi story (which is quite suiting for prog) of a future society forced to work underground and a hero who tries to save them all from oppression. The music links with the story flawlessly and it actually portrays imagery. You can really visualize the story as you listen.

The music is mind-boggling and complex. There are some riffs that I can only dream that one day I’ll find the time signatures behind them. It sounds very precise and machine-like, coldly-calculated if you will. However they pull it off without sounding like a steaming pile of uninspired soulless wank. Behind all the technicality insanity is intelligent songwriting and a strong atmosphere. Some parts like the slow soft parts make the listener feel attached to the ground while other parts make you feel like you’re in the sky rising with the “Towers”.

The first song on the album is the title track, and it’s a great intro to the album. It begins the story with a description of a bleak world where the common man works underground for the elite up above. At the same time it begins foreshadowing what is about to happen later in the album both lyrically and even musically. The music builds tension with both the dynamic heaviness of the sound and the chord progression. Then comes “The Subterranean”, which continues the same style as the title track, but with more melody thrown in for good measure. This song makes you feel like you’re ascending to enormous heights.

“Stratagem” is next and it’s the song where the soft parts I mentioned earlier finally sheds some light. The soft parts are sad and emotional while still maintaining a “heterosexual” feeling because of the focused direction they go in instead of just straight forward whining that a lot of cruddy bands do. It gives an enchanting mood to the listener. The song ends going back to the coldly calculated prog before moving to the next song “Reflections”, which is a brief interlude on the album. The title is suiting since it sounds like a moment of reflection sort of. The song has absolutely no drums, just a single crispy clean guitar and vocals. This is Erik’s time to shine. His voice is very gripping while still maintaining a strong sense of melody. I don’t mind Chris Salina’s singing in the newest ZH albums, but when I hear songs like this I’m reminded that Erik was clearly the best vocalist for the band and it’s a shame he left the band after this album.

After that little break comes the epic centerpiece of the album, “Demise and Vestige”. This is where the climax of the story begins. It clocks in at over 15 minutes and every second of it is full of musical ecstasy. The bass part at the beginning builds the suspense and the song really soars when Erik’s voice rises. This song has one of the greatest guitar solos I’ve ever heard. It’s brief, however, and the song dies down for a minute afterwards. You can hear sounds of running water which is a way to build the atmosphere and advance the story. Then once the guitars kick in the drums follow and pound into your ears. All great things must eventually come to an end unfortunately, and this song closes and makes way for the last track on the album “The Ghosts of Dawn”, which is where the keyboards make their brief reappearance. This song sounds bleak, and telling from the lyrics this story doesn’t have a very happy ending.

The Towers of Avarice is one of the most brilliant concept albums ever written. Even if you dislike it after the first listen, give it a few more spins and it will grow on you. It’s one of those albums that you really have to focus on to enjoy. With a measly 45 minutes of play time this journey may be brief, but it’s one to remember.

Note: This review is based on one I wrote for epinions.com; I am not plagiarizing.

Progressive metal has always been a favorite genre of mine. Odd-times and virtuosic playing without a cheesy knights-in-shining-armor image is my new phase in music. When I listened to "The Towers of Avarice" by Zero Hour, I felt lost at first. By the second listen, this CD became one of my all-time favorites.

This album was released on Sensory Records, a label that features avant-garde metal and progressive bands like Gordian Knot and Spiral Architect. An insert that came with the CD declares it to be "A tightly woven matrix of extreme progressive metal [that] underscores a desolate vision of a future gone awry..." (http://www.lasercd.com/merchant/lasercd/sensory.asp). I don't think a more accurate description could be appropriate. The term "woven matrix" is perfect. The guitars, bass, and drums all weave in and out of each other throughout most of the CD and are locking on perfectly. There isn't much use of 4/4 time, which gives the music rhythmic excitement. The riffs are very dark and chunky while the drumming is very rhythmic, rather than just fast double kicking. Every song is at a dark mid-tempo and grooves rather than being plain fast. Even though the tempos don't vary, there is still diversity in composition. The track "Reflections" is a relatively short, desolate, dark ballad with no drums, while the next track "Demise and Vestige" is a 15 minute long epic starting with a guitar riff that sounds like it should be on a Meshuggah album.

The vocalist is extremely diverse. His voice is not high like other progressive metal vocalists; he is more about atmosphere and emotion. There are speaking parts, mellow smooth parts, and raspy parts when he sounds like he's in an old-school metal band.

The story of this CD tells the tale of two societies; "one above ground obsessed with consumption and the restless slaves living underground that are under their control." The lyrics are unlike many things I've heard. Most of them do not rhyme, but when they do, like this example from the title track, it's for a different, more rhythmic effect.
"Cast into a manic mission
Lead into a blind decision
Thrown into a dark submission
They will become an omission"

I would recommend this CD for anyone that wants something different. It's aggressive and dark at the same time as being intelligent. As for hooks and melodies, there are pretty much none. This music is more about mood and playing around with different musical ideas than to make a catchy tune. Who do they sound like? I can only think of a watered down and less chaotic Spiral Architect mixed with Meshuggah but with clean vocals.