Introducing: zhOra
Posted on 23rd Jan 12 by Mark Roche | 
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“…Meandering through various Metal territories, this song is certainly deserving of the Epic moniker, if only for its subject matter and instrumentation…” Mark Roche is immensely excited at the prospect of these Clonmel progressive metallers.
zhOra; emphasis on the ‘O’, as in ‘Oh, my fucking god these guys are talented!’.
If I could compare these guys to anything, Gojira would have to rape Mastodon to produce any comparable result. zhOra were formed in October 2011 when two guitarists from Clonmel just started “jamming some riffs”. It was soon realised that there was a lot of scope and creativity between both men so they decided to add their drumming friend into the mix; two months later and the band have written and recorded an E.P, Feet Nailed to the Ground. The band have yet to play live which is all the more intriguing as you listen to the E.P for the first time.
The introductory track to this anonymous band’s E.P is Leading the Fools. Beginning in a quite austere ambient manner it suddenly erupts into a swaying fury led by the twin guitar assault of Colin and Pancho. This track sets zhOra out as a menacing act, lyrics provided by Colin are infectious and powerful, commendable considering this is not only the guy’s first foray into recording but also into lyrics and performing them.
The End of it All has such an elegant structure to it as it gallops along strongly influenced by the astounding percussive prowess of Tom, the vocals again are fantastic as are the back-up screams from Pancho.
Through the Valley is by far my favourite of the three tracks. It once again begins serenely enough, setting a mood and then destroys the very idea of there ever being any peace within these fifteen minutes of Metal. Meandering through various Metal territories this song is certainly deserving of the Epic moniker if only for its subject matter and instrumentation.
2012 holds a promising future for zhOra with plans for touring the length and breadth of the country followed by a full physical in the latter half of the year. For now, Feet Nailed to the Ground will have to satiate your desire for this Clonmel Metal, download it for free on Bandcamp and keep up to date with everything from their Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/zhOramusic
zhOra will provide support for We Come in Pieces in The Piper Inn, Clonmel on 28th January at 9pm.