UMUR "Metamorphosis" is an album re-release of US progressive metal act Zero Hour´s eponymously titled 1999 debut full-length studio album. "Metamorphosis" was released through Sensory Records in July 2003. This album was released between the releases of Zero Hour´s second- and third full-length studio albums "The Towers of Avarice" (2001) and "A Fragile Mind" (2005). It´s not merely a re-release of the debut album though as "Metamorphosis" features two additional tracks in "Rebirth" and "A Passage" (and actually a couple of bonus demo tracks too which close the album) and the album has also been fully remastered.

I´m not always a fan of remasters, but in this case it was a good idea, as the original self-released album really didn´t sound that great. "Metamorphosis" packs a lot more punch and all instruments and vocals are now more well balanced in the mix. It was arguably a necessary facelift. Another reason for this reissue of the debut album is of course that the 1999 independently released version of the album wasn´t distributed that well and with a label backing this version of the album and a distribution deal, Zero Hour got the chance to present the album to more people.

Coming to "Metamorphosis" after listening to "The Towers of Avarice" is a bit of an odd listening experience and to get the best possible experience out of listening to "Metamorphosis" you probably have to wipe listening to "The Towers of Avarice" from your mind. The reason is that Zero Hour had a different sound early in their career which features a lot more keyboards/piano and as a result of that a strong Dream Theater influence. Fates Warning also comes to mind once or twice, so "Metamorphosis" is not quite as unique as its successor (which in the right chronology is "The Towers of Avarice").

When the influences have been mentioned Zero Hour did have some of their unique features in place already this early on and that´s of course first and foremost the way the guitar/bass riffs are constructed (listen to the opening of "Metamorphosis: I. Descent" for proof of that) and the overall heaviness of the music. Despite the lush atmospheres created by the keyboards/piano "Metamorphosis" is a very heavy album and it´s definitely in the most heavy end of the progressive metal scale (although Zero Hour would get much heavier on subsequent releases). I wouldn´t call the songwriting perfect but it´s overall good quality progressive metal and lead vocalist Erik Rosvold provides the music with a great personal touch. He has a strong and distinct sounding voice and delivery. His presence on this album is definitely one of the greatest assets of "Metamorphosis".

The album opens with five individual tracks (two of them are "Rebirth" and "A Passage") which are followed by the five-part "Metamorphosis" suite and concludes with the two above mentioned demo tracks. Highligts include "Eyes of Denial", "The System Remains", and the "Metamorphosis" suite, but "Metamorphosis" is a pretty consistent album both in terms of quality and musical direction.

So upon conclusion "Metamorphosis" is worth your attention and definitely a good remaster featuring some extra material to give it a bit more quantity value. Knowing the band´s later material it´s quite obvious when listening to "Metamorphosis" that they were still searching for their own sound, but there´s something charming about that too. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.