ZeroKing and Hope Lies Here

Hello everyone and welcome back to your monthly source of all things heavy, The Hard Place. This month I bring you two bands that are guaranteed to put a smile on your face and a crick in your neck! So let's get out of the heat and into this months' bands!

The first band up this month isn't technically from the area. The band is ZeroKing and they hail from just the other side of the mountains in Huntington, WV. So why, you ask, are you including them in your article? Well, I'll tell ya! Two reasons...One - they freakin' rock! And two, I've known their singer for a while and what's the use of having a music article that is distributed all over KY/OH/IN if you can't hook up a friend? And besides, they are going to be rockin' Central KY twice this month so, the way I see it, they're a KY band for the next 31 days!

ZeroKing has been together since 2005 and consists of Andy Haught on vocals, Shane Day on guitars, Paul First on bass and Chris Webb on drums. They released their debut EP called "Sweet Sale Of Excess" in 2006, and in the spring of 2011 dropped an EP entitled "A Taste Of Self Destruction" that is a preview of the soon to be released full length "Kings Of Self Destruction". The EP swings between the up-tempo groove of songs like "She Said" and "Girls of California" to tracks like the all out driving rock of "Black Friday" and "Kings of Self Destruction". I really liked the tom groove from "Girls of California" and the double kick accents in the single "Stone Cold B*tch" really lock in with the guitars well. The mix of vocal melody and chord choice also make the pre-chorus of "She Said" really stand out and make it just as much a hook as the chorus! And speaking of hooks, these songs are filled with 'em! I'd say my favorite chorus hooks are in "Girls of California" and "Black Friday" and having grown up jammin' the 80's metal, I thought I heard a slight nod of the metal head to Dangerous Toys in the intro of "Kings of Self Destruction".

The bass and drums are very solid and rockin' on all the tracks, making the songs pull and breathe just enough to keep the driving songs driving and the groovin' songs...well...groovin'! The guitars are thick and saturated and didn't sound too polished and slick as far as EQ or tone goes. The solos were melodic and rockin' on songs like "Stone Cold B*tch" and the intro to "Black Friday", and just to show he's not all melody, he puts on some tasty bursts of speed into the main solos of "Black Friday" and "Kings of Self Destruction". I also liked the presence of harmony guitars in some of the fills and licks in "Girls of California" and "Kings of Self Destruction" as they added that little extra kick that put those parts over the top.

The vocals on all the tracks are great. Andy has a very strong voice and can turn a phrase with the best of 'em. I even heard a few higher screams that reminded me of vintage Sebastian Bach from the "Slave To The Grind"- era Skid Row. Not a bad man to be compared to in my opinion! All the members of the band sing backing vocals and the vocal harmonies on songs like "Girls of California" and "She Said" are well done and give the choruses that lift needed to bring the songs to new heights.

ZeroKing walk the line between metal and radio rock. They fall somewhat into that party rock/sleaze metal category for me. The kind of band that after listening to their CD, you know that you have to go check them out live cause it's gonna be a party! Their songs are very well put together structure-wise and the hooks are there that are sure to get ZeroKing to the next level soon. The band has shared the stage with groups as diverse as Black Stone Cherry, Airbourne, Twisted Sister and Anthrax, so you know that your head will be a'bobbin' if not all out bangin'! And speaking of seeing ZeroKing live, you can check 'em out this month in Lexington on the 19th at The Roxy and on the 20th at RT's in Richmond, KY. You can also find the band online and hear some of the tracks mentioned here at myspace.com/zeroking.

Next up this month is Hope Lies Here from Mt. Washington, KY. The band has been around since August of 2010 and consists of Nathan Brooks, James Baker, Jacob Kaltenbach, Alex Thomas and Preston Ames.

I have to say this is a confusing band to listen to. They are definitely a metal/hardcore band, but at times the music isn't as hardcore as the vocals. Take for instance the songs "Great Taste Since 1905" and "The Carving". In "Great Taste" there is a lot of musical melody going on in the verses and choruses under the traditional hardcore/metal screaming and guttural noises, and in "The Carving" there are very definite sections where you would expect the clean singing to come in on cue. And then there is the middle section of the song "Batteries Not Included" with its' clean guitar tones and chord changes that you would expect to find in a modern rock radio single! Of course, this can be seen as a good thing. It shows that they are a heavy band that isn't afraid of a little melody invading their metal territory. Most everything else though is as heavy as it gets. The moshing chug of "Kick It Up A Notch" and "Batteries Not Included" is slammin' and the breakdowns in "Kick It Up A Notch", "Great Taste" and "The Carving" break way down into almost the sludge metal category. I like the different "movements" in "Kick It Up A Notch" as well, where the band moves from mosh to sludge to clean & pretty to soaring all in one song! The clean intros to "Great Taste" and "The Carving" also show that Hope Lies Here knows how to do more than just slam your ears with constant dropped riffage.

Since there is not actual singing to carry the hooks, the guitars step up and offer some good single note riffs in "Great Taste" and "The Carving" as well as some tasty harmony parts in both songs as well as in "Batteries Not Included". The drums are pretty slammin' with some tight, quick double bass parts in "Kick It Up A Notch" and "Batteries Not Included". The vocals are, like I said earlier, mostly in the standard screaming/guttural mode with a pig squeal or two thrown in for good measure now and again.

Hope Lies Here is a melodic metal band that crosses the line into the hardcore arena on occasion. Their bread and butter is hooky guitar single note riffs and mostly ear pleasing chord changes that, if not for the vocals, would be at home on most XM heavy rock radio stations. This may be just the thing to get them the attention they need to move on to the next level. Their own genre, if you will. Saying this doesn't mean I don't like them. I do, or else I wouldn't be writing this article about them. You know I would never steer you down the wrong metal path, so just trust me when I say that Hope Lies Here pulls off this combination of genres well and I recommend you check them out. Speaking of that, you can go online to reverbnation.com/hopelieshere and listen and judge for yourselves.

Well, this brings us to the end of another installment of The Hard Place. If you are in a band and would like to be reviewed in The Hard Place, just send your CD and picture to The Hard Place c/o ME Magazine, 2566 Palumbo Drive, Lexington, KY 40509 or email your EPK or site address to steve_nall@hotmail.com with the subject THE HARD PLACE. In addition, the Hard Place facebook page (facebook.com/thehardplace) and The Hard Place ONLINE (myspace.com/thp_online) are going great, so feel free to stop by and be my friend. While you're there, hit me up with a message about your band (or even a friends' band!) and I'll get you in as soon as I can. I am in the process of posting band videos on the pages as well as songs, so if you would like your band to be featured at The Hard Place ONLINE, just let me know where to get a link and I'll get you on the site. While you're there, you can also check out past columns, or if your band has already been reviewed, to get a net ready copy of your review for your site or EPK. Remember, it's important to us that all band pictures are properly credited, so send that information along with everything else. So until we meet next month, keep supporting local music and remember, your new favorite band could only be an issue away...