Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

“A Passage in Time” is the debut album from Mesa, AZ natives Authority Zero. Released on Lava Records in September of 2002, it was produced by Dave Jerden (The Offspring, Alice in Chains, Jane’s Addiction, Anthrax, Social Distortion); It’s an internationally flavored eclectic mix of many sounds that show a variety of influences. The band consists of Bill Marcks on guitar and vocals, Jason DeVore, lead vocals; Jim Wilcox on drums and Jeremy Wood bringing up the low end on bass as well as lending support to vocals. 

The CD opens with “Papa”, a Classical guitar intro, and a tribute to a fallen comrade. It blends right into the first song, which is also the title track, “A Passage In Time”, a fast, punk/ska influenced melodic peace with a lot of energy and almost a dizzying pace. Next it rocks at break neck speed right into the rhythmic “Lying Awake” which features some spectacular guitars and a reggae breakdown that is quite a switch before it slams back into that same speedy tempo. I can’t make up my mind yet if I’m digging this, or it’s giving me a headache. It’s definitely keeping me awake. If I had to describe it at this point, I would call it energetic. This track has a great mid song section that is reggae influenced and has just enough diversity to be catchy, coming very close to a deep groove.

Some classic punk rock roots show up in the track “Everyday” with its angst-ridden message, however I thought it had its own unique twist with a dose of positive energy and deepness in the lyrics, my favorite being “ In the end the life that you choose to lead is your fate.” Next is “One More Minute” the first thing you hear is crashing surfs, birds, and then a rock laden guitar begins before some heavy drums kick in…then silence and soft sung vocals. Then it breaks into a heavy funky ska blend. I really loved this song, relating to the lyrics and musically this is definitely my favorite so far.

Another surprising track was “Superbitch” with a pop tinged opening that soon evolves into their brand of punk/ska sound. Other highlights were the Flamenco inspired and guitar led “La Surf.” It was more of an instrumental piece and I really found myself more able to understand their music without the crazy background noise. Also, the metal tinged “Not You” an angry tirade against oppression. It was a great end to this effort.

Authority Zero’s debut album is a rapid paced mix of punk, ska & reggae, surf rock, with a little old school hard rock thrown in. Mix this up with some world beat influence and you have their blend of music. Not for the weak at heart, if your not really listening this album might sound like just noise to you, but if you take the time to listen to all the elements coming together, you just might hear a diamond in the rough.