Zero Hour streams No Man’s Land EP in full

Zero Hour’s No Man’s Land is streaming in full at Decibel. The California progressive-metal band’s new EP has an October 16 release date on CD and digital through its own CynNormal Lab Recordings.

The four-track program contains two new compositions, “Codes of Violence” and “No Man’s Land,” followed by instrumental versions of each. That gives guitar-minded listeners two ways into the same material: the arrangements with Erik Rosvold’s vocals, then another pass with the instrumental parts exposed.

Two compositions, four tracks

The artist’s Bandcamp credits list Jasun Tipton on guitar, Rosvold on vocals and Andreas Blomqvist on bass. Jeremy Villucci and Roel van Helden are credited for session keyboards and session drums, respectively. “Codes of Violence” runs 13 minutes on the listing, giving a sense of the scale behind that compact track count.

In a September statement accompanying the instrumental title-track premiere, Tipton said he wrote “No Man’s Land” first and “Codes of Violence” afterward. He described the rhythm section as giving his guitar parts room while keeping the passages tightly coordinated, with Villucci’s keyboards adding another dimension to the arrangements.

From the sessions to the full stream

The band recorded the EP, with Kai Stahlenberg handling the drum recording at Kohlekeller Studio. Matt LaPlant mixed and mastered it at Madtown Mix Studio; Wayne Joyner supplied the artwork, according to the release announcement.

The October 14 premiere made the complete four-track sequence available before the release date. Start with the vocal versions, then follow the guitar, bass, drums and keyboards through their instrumental counterparts. The full stream is at Decibel, with CD and digital editions listed on Bandcamp.

Cover artwork: Wayne Joyner. Supplied through the Zero Hour / CynNormal Lab Recordings campaign.