Zero Hour (album)
| Zero hour | ||||
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| Studio album from Diablo Blvd. | ||||
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Publication |
22nd September 2017 |
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| Label (s) | Nuclear Blast | |||
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Title (number) |
11 |
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running time |
45 min 41 s |
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| occupation |
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Dag Taeldeman |
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Zero Hour is the fourth studio album by the Belgian heavy metal - / hard rock band Diablo Blvd . It was released on September 22, 2017 via Nuclear Blast .
Emergence
After the re-release of the album Follow the Deadlights by Nuclear Blast in 2015, bassist Tim Bekaert got out and was replaced by Jan Rammeloo. Before that, Rammeloo played in the band Bliksem . While guitarist Andries Beckers and former bassist Tim Bekaert were responsible for the music on previous albums, Zero Hour was written by the band in collaboration. For the song You Are All You Love , the lyrics were first written before the music was added. The musicians were influenced by Belgian bands such as Front 242 or The Neon Judgment . In addition, the band was influenced by musical styles such as New Wave or New Romantics .
Originally the musicians had already finished the recordings in September 2016 and the release should follow in February 2017. However, there were delays that the band used to edit the existing material. Was produced Zero Hour by Dag Taeldeman which, according to singer Alex Agnew not from the world of heavy metal is, and therefore had a fresh perspective. The mix took Jay Ruston, while Paul Logus for the mastering was responsible. The sound engineer was Staf Verbeke, who was hired on the recommendation of Dag Taeldeman. The album cover was designed by the Norwegian artist Hedi Xandt. Music videos were shot for the songs Animal , Sing from the Gallows , Summer Has Gone , The Future Will Do What It's Told and The Song Is Over .
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With the album title, the band wants to express that people can no longer hide behind a protective wall from what is happening in the world. The album cover shows a sculpture that burns from within. The first two titles Animal and Sing from the Gallows deal with current political and religious issues as well as with mass manipulation. The music videos shot for the two songs together make a story, so both videos were released at the same time.
“Politicians, religious organizations, and the media may always have been corrupt . But it becomes more difficult for them to hide it. Today they no longer try to hide this and count on the apathy of the masses. "
The song Animal was written immediately after the terrorist attacks in Brussels on March 22, 2016 . According to singer Alex Agnew , terrorist organizations like Islamic State would bring out the worst of humanity, with the result that people would vote for populists like Donald Trump .
reception
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Chart positions Explanation of the data |
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Dave Griffith of the Australian online magazine Heavymag called Zero Hour the "surprise hit of 2017" because the album "came from nowhere and became an instant classic". Griffith awarded five stars out of five. Katrin Riedl from the German magazine Metal Hammer wrote that the grooves and the cracking riffs stayed. However, she complained that some pieces would fall short of their possibilities. Riedl awarded five out of seven points.
Zero Hour entered the Belgian- Flemish album charts at number three . The German online magazine laut.de led Zero Hour at number 20 in its list of the best metal albums of the year 2017. The song Sing from the Gallows was at the Metal Hammer Awards in the category in 2018 Metal Anthem nominated.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Tom Hanno: Belgium Band Diablo Blvd Discuss Influences, Diablofest, and World Domination. The Chimera Magazine, accessed August 20, 2017 .
- ^ A b c Morgan Ywain Evans: Belgian band Diablo Blvd - Alex Agnew on new record “Zero Hour”. Metal Riot, accessed September 21, 2017 .
- ↑ a b Simon Bauer: Evolution instead of revolution. Rock Hard , accessed May 25, 2019 .
- ↑ DIABLO BLVD - release two new music videos - start advance sales for the new album! Nuclear Blast , accessed July 16, 2017 .
- ↑ Diablo Blvd in the Belgian-Flemish charts. Ultratop.be, accessed September 29, 2017 (Dutch).
- ↑ Dave Griffith: Diablo Blvd - Zero Hour. Heavymag, accessed September 17, 2017 .
- ^ Katrin Riedl: Diablo Blvd - Zero Hour . In: Metal Hammer , October 2017, p. 84
- Jump up ↑ The Metal Albums of the Year. laut.de , accessed on November 30, 2017 .
- ↑ METAL HAMMER AWARDS 2018: These are the nominees! Metal Hammer. Retrieved July 18, 2018 .