Over the years Dayton, Ohio-based band Hawthorne Heights has had its ups and downs.  The tragic loss of rhythm guitarist Casey Calvert, has still been the biggest blow they had yet to fully recover from.  With Zero, the band’s fifth full-length studio album since the Hate and Hope EPs, it feels like a new beginning for them.

Zero is their first attempt at a concept album, and for some listeners its story may be quite confusing.  Whether you get the story or whether you don’t, this album, still reels you in hook, line, and sinker. The production of the songs brings me back to when both the The Silence In Black And White and If Only You Were Lonely first came out.  I continue to be a sucker for memorable riffs, beats, and lyrics, and this has it all.

Overall I think, like many concept albums, the story gets lost in translation.  If you read the lyrics you will get an idea of the concept. The gist of it is, a group of rebels who can take no more rise together and fight against the ruthless Conglomerate that has overtaken their town.

Concept aside, with songs like “Spark”, “Zero”, and “Put Me Back Together” you’ll fall in love with this album as quickly as I did.

-Chris Meyers-

This post was written by:

Chris Meyers – When Chris Meyers isn’t helping out with writing and conducting interviews with bands, he is a freelance cinematographer making commercials for local companies in the Lehigh Valley and selling records via his Robot Duck Records.