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Album: Zephaniah (EP)

Heavy Metal

4.0/5.0

Website (Label) Facebook
High Roller Records
by Craig Hartranft,  01.03.2013

The first album to be reviewed in the new year of 2013 is Zephaniah from a band called Album. Sound strange? Not so much as this work being pitched as a mini-LP by their label High Roller Records. Zephaniah has only four songs, at 19 minutes total, and it's being released, at this point, only on vinyl in limited numbers.

Album offers some traditional heavy metal with roots deep into Seventies proto-metal to early Eighties NWOBHM and early thrash. After a listen or two they might remind of a hybrid of Manilla Road with some Black Sabbath and Grand Funk peppered with very early Metallica. Zephaniah is a concept album loosely based on the book of the same name from the Bible. It begins with Prologue, and that's what you get; it's heavy on synths and drums with nearly spoken voice over. The meat of their heavy metal comes with Shout of the Warrior and Ballad of Zephaniah. The former is heavier, even thrashier, the latter reaching towards the progressive rock side. You might hear a 'country-like' segue within. Generally, it's all quite interesting and entertaining, but obviously too little of a good thing. Zephaniah might be more for those diehard heavy metal vinyl collectors. But that doesn't fare well for those of us in the States when considering Euro conversion rates and shipping costs. Contact the band via Facebook, perhaps it can be purchased in North America straight from them. Otherwise: recommended.

Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.

Album's Zephaniah offers a glimpse of early American heavy metal, with bits of thrash, stoner, and prog thrown in for good measure.

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The Powell Payne project, created in 2022 is the collaboration of Mark "Penfold Powell (ex-drummer of Psycho Kiss) and Adam Payne (former vocalist of Airrace). With guitarist Adam Davies and keyboard player ... [ Read More ]