Zero Hour

Progressive metal band Zero Hour originated in the San Francisco Bay area during 1993, when brothers Troy on bass and Jasun Tipton on guitar teamed with their longtime associate Mike Guy on drums. In 1995 Frank Mendez, previously of Rogue's Gallery, was brought aboard as vocalist alongside keyboardist Mike Conner, formerly of Prodigy—the act distinct from both the electronica outfit and the rapper. Mendez departed before the close of that year, after which Conner enlisted his ex-bandmate Erik Rosvold to fill the vocal slot. While preparing to track their first album in 1997, Conner was sidelined by carpal tunnel syndrome and exited the lineup; his keyboard contributions on the recording were supplied instead by the duo of Matt Guillory and Phil Bennett, each already experienced in numerous progressive sessions. Zero Hour issued their self-produced, self-titled mini-album independently in 1998, which secured them a contract with the neo-prog imprint Laser's Edge/Sensory. Their first release for the label, The Towers of Avarice, appeared in early 2001.