As I recall back in the peak years of the New Wave of Heavy Metal back in the 1980s there was more than one band on the scene called Zenith. I may be wrong, though it was a long time ago…..
This Zenith is the band which was from Weston-Super-Mare and had a short career in the mid-1980s. They gigged around (mainly) the local area with recorded output I think (happy to be corrected) being a debut three-track EP.
Add Zenith to that long list of NWOBHM-era bands which had the talent but not the breaks.
However, four decades later and thanks again to the Obscure NWOBHM releases label we can enjoy Zenith and listen to how good they could have been. The three tracks of that old EP together with a dozen other tracks recorded by the band are released on CD and finally see the light of day.
Excellent stuff it is too. A bit raw in places though no denying the ability. I’d call it a CD of two halves.
The first half dozen or so songs being of a “short, sharp shock” style. All around three to four minutes long, each powerfully delivered with energy, chunky/slashing/chugging riffs and what I’d call “economical” soloing which comes along in relatively short bursts deftly played.
Ruthless a powerful opener. Leaving You Right Now has a tasty hook and melody amongst the riffing as does Heavy Heart, which is also impossibly catchy and an ideal single. Death by Misadventure, Fear of Attack being of a similar ilk. All strong songs.
Have a listen to Leaving You Right Now:
Born With No Future triggers a change in style and variation further showcasing the band’s ability to write more expansive stuff – especially the guitar interplay.
Born With No Future is very much in the style of Thin Lizzy and sounds great. Black List is where that more expansive style comes in to it. It stretches out nicely with big chords, pace changes and some excellent extended fluid guitar breaks and plenty of swagger.
Take the Souls of the Dead is a monster rocker and as Gates of Hell.
The closer, Destiny, arguably the jewel in this crown. A brooding, slow-burning, moody epic with the gentle intro building up and giving way to the meaty stuff, back to the gentle stuff and there and back again. The guitars are all over it with the extended outro being a proper solo fest. Monster!
So great that Obscure NWOBHM Releases are able to find so much from the good old New Wave of British Heavy Metal days and get it out there. Otherwise bands as good as Zenith would remain mostly forgotten about.
Whilst Death by Misadventure is excellent, it is as is usual with the label on a limited run of 500 copies. I bagged mine as usual from Sonic Age Records – but they may have sold out of their allocation because as I type it’s not listed on their web site.
I did find it on HRR here (https://www.hrrshop.de/ZENITH-Death-by-Misadventure-CD) so you may be able to snap one up if they have any left.
Get a copy of you can. Discover in Zenith yet another NWOBHM-era band who unfortunately had “it” but didn’t make it.
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