Zion
Zion

THE REVIEW

N.D.F.

Nothing To Do.

Just a horrible album, on the verge of indecency. This work by a band primarily Album Oriented Rock, specifically composed for the occasion by some sessionmen (including Joey Scoleri, Joey Greco, and Paul Marangoni) and led by Freddy Curci (former Sheriff and Alias... who probably still has posters of Toto and Van Halen in his room), despite being released in 2006, has the incredible ability to literally turn back the hands of time, for Zion not at all inexorably, by about twenty years: 1987.

And this is precisely the discouraging feeling that overwhelms me as a listener, that pervades my soul and devastates the musical knowledge (and conscience) I thought I had, albeit minimally, acquired. Listening to Zion, there's no trace of what the musical world has produced that is worthily interesting in the last 20 years in the vast rock field: hardcore, crossover, grunge, stoner, alternative, every metal subgenre, indie, new wave, punk-rock, post-rock, new psychedelia, emo. Nothing, none of this. Nothing that reflects musical evolution and the passage of time. Even the sounds, the distortions, and, I suspect, even the recording techniques date back to the roaring times of 80s hard rock: the usual mixtures of riffs, solos, ballads, and vocalizations without a hint of inventiveness and contemporary sound.

Because this is all that remains: a traumatic and disconcerting journey catapulted backward in time. The only "blemish" is a vague fragment of electronic contamination that preludes the solo of "Crash The Mirror," the concluding track. Too bad the Pioneer space program is from the '70s. If it weren't from about thirty years ago, the album in question could have been loaded onto the probe and sent into deep space: no one, perhaps not even Freddy Curci, would have missed it. It would have also served as a deterrent for a potential "alien visit."

"No, let's not go to Earth either in peace or to wage war: there, there are Zion writing pieces and managing to produce albums."

Some may argue that the pieces are well executed, maybe someone will even like the lyrics, a handful of aspiring guitar heroes might appeal to the flawless execution of solos (which are also absolutely devoid of any definite trace of originality), one might cling to the adequate impact of the melodic lines of Freddy Curci's voice, but... gentlemen, we are in 2007.

An album for die-hard nostalgics (the core within the core) of 80s AOR-influenced hard rock. Now that it's here, the only grade to give this trifle is ZERO. These Zion owe me at least a round of beers, considering the money I recklessly and practically gave them.