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In the humble opinion of your Metal-reviewer, ZERO HOUR are the new kings in the Metal-scene. Playing a extreme, heavy, technical form of Progressive Metal that has to be heard to be believed. Having released two albums in their still young career, their latest album "Towers Of Avarice" has totally blown me away. I have had the pleasure of getting the busy Jasun Tipton (guitars, keyboards) for a interview. Lets check it out......... Good day to you, how is everything in lovely California? Everything in Cal is great. Summer is almost here and the band is stayin' very busy. I have been listening to this gem for like two weeks straight now and every time I hear something new and interesting. How long did it take you guys to write the songs and record the CD? It took us about two years to write "Towers Of Avarice". We wanted to make sure "Towers Of Avarice" was put together the way we envisioned it and we feel we've achieved that. The concept for the album is a very unique and a well thought out one. Did the band get influenced by something or did the idea come along on it's own? It all came from the frustrations of the music-business. We were shopping our self-titled CD and received a lot of interest and contracts. Speaking verbally on the phone was one thing and seeing it written down was another. It reflects the music and story in many ways. How long has the band been together? Mikey, Troy and I have been together eight years, and five years with Erik... On the first CD you guys had a keyboardist who is not on the second album, although I like the sound of the band a little more on the second CD, are you guys going to stay with out a keys-player or are you looking for one? We believed we have someone who will be doing a couple of songs for us on the next disc. The next disc will have more keys than "Towers Of Avarice", but not much more. We like the vibe better on the "Towers Of Avarice"-disc opposed to the self-titled CD. The "Towers Of Avarice"-album is released on Sensory Records, how did that come about? I approached Ken and told him that we were ready to go into the studio and do "Towers Of Avarice". We liked how Ken conducts business, he is very honest. Basically, we said he had first crack at the disc and that a contract had to be met with both parties in two months. Ken kept his word and the band is very happy to be on Sensory. When I first heard the CD, the thing that blew me away was that ZERO HOUR sounds like no one else, besides the obligatory DREAM THEATER (what Prog-band isn't)-comparisons, how would you describe the band's sound? ZERO HOUR has a dark and heavy sound. What are some of the bands that influenced you guys? Pat Metheny, TOOL, MESHUGGAH, Devin Townsend, DREAM THEATER, FATES WARNING, RAINBOW (OLD). What are you currently listening to? TOOL, MESHUGGAH, Pat Metheny. Is the band planning any tour or are you on one already? There are plans to do a East Coast-tour and some shows in Canada in August. We are playing Prog-Power Europe in October and hope to play a few shows in Europe around that time. Is the Sensory-label distributed in Europe, if not Sensory do you have another deal with some other label? Sensory is distributed by Point Music in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and by many other distributors for the rest of Europe. Your vocalist Erik Rosvold is amazing, he has like ten different voices on the album and wonderful range, did he know before the album was to be recorded of all the different vocal melodies he would use or was it a spur of the moment thing? When he heard the music, he kept saying there is so much I can do here. The more he sang to it, the more he came up with. It really shows how talented his voice is. The songs are so technical with all those time changes and power-drenched arrangements, is it really hard to play live? We have been playing this material so much that it is second nature. I can say this though, you can't dose off for a second or all hell breaks loose. The Travis Smith artwork is simply amazing, its such amazing eye candy, it's one of the best covers I have ever seen. What do you think of it? And does the band have any input into what he going to put there? We just told Travis we wanted "Towers Of Avarice" on the cover and then explained the story to him. What he came up with is amazing and we can't picture a better cover. Travis is the man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Your twin brother Troy is also in the band, do you guys have some thing special that you would not feel with an other member? (sixth sense) Troy and I are extremely close!!!! We live, work and play in a band together. Yes, we do finish each others sentences and you will hear a lot of sayings in stereo. Did you always play guitar and he bass? Troy has always played bass. I played keyboard for about six years before I played guitar. Since you have been in the music business, what is one of the coolest things that has happened to you? I think that the best experience so far was Prog-Power USA. To see that there is a lot of people out there that enjoy our music kicked ass. ZERO HOUR-fans are the best. Any funny stories you could share with our readers? At Prog-Power, Mikey went into some made up Buddy Rich B.S. for the song "Stratagem". Troy was pissed to say the least, LOL! Mikey said, "Man I screwed that whole thing up, but everyone's going to think it was Troy." Sure enough, someone on the PM-board posted that Troy lost the groove in "Stratagem". I hope to see you on tour real soon. Thanks for everything, best of luck in the future and keep it heavy. Discography:2001: The Towers Of Avarice (CD, Sensory)
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