Zior - Zior (1971) {2006, Remastered}

Reissue of early 70s UK heavy rock band's debut album from 1971 with 8 bonus tracks from their 1973 follow up, Every Inch A Man.

England’s Zior was on the cusp of a lot of musical movements in the early 1970s. The free thinking movement of progressive rock was beginning to blossom. The free expression of psychedelic rock was in full effect. The darker side of music was being explored with the original wave of British heavy metal. Zior‘s self titled debut album was a part of this musical landscape.

Like almost all hard rock bands that made music in the late 60s and early 70s, Zior, by today’s standards, was quite a schizophrenic blend of sounds. Elements of progressive rock (“Before My Eyes Go Blind“), blues rock (“Now I’m sad“), psychedelic rock (“Quabala“), folk R&B (“I was Fooling“), and hard rock (“I Really Do“) all present themselves in traitorous fashion in variation from track to track. The guitars have a bit of a psychedelic buzz, some tracks are extremely eerie and mystical while others a bit more bluesy and hard rock tinged. While this doesn’t necessarily detract from the album, if you are into one particular sound more than another you will feel yourself hungry for more tracks of the sound you’re seeking.
Zior‘s self titled album itself is actually permeated with occult themes, which might not be blatantly prevalent upon shallow investigation. Besides having the same album artist as Black Sabbath’s now famous Paranoid (Keith “Keef” MacMillian) each musician in the band was reportedly a member of a local Satanic or druidic coven. Also notorious for their, at the time, ridiculously shocking occult imagery in the band’s live show. Lyrically the album deals with Lucifer and many dark or magical themes. Some are worn on the sleeve like “Your Life Will Burn” with its killer Hammond organ driven melody. Others, such as “Love’s Desire” are more subdued and just under the tongue.

Overall this is a solid piece of work. It has a bit of a dark atmosphere and very psychedelic feel at times and other times it comes off a bit too folky or proto-metal. Still a great pick for enthusiasts though the average listener can easily pass Zior‘s self titled debut up unless curiosity takes hold.