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Zion is the latest veteran ‘80’s metal act to get the “new compilation” treatment from Retroactive Records.  A combination of live tracks, demos, rare tracks & 1 remastered studio track, Thrillseeker should appeal to fans of Cinderella, Ratt, Bride, Whitecross, and the like.  

The band featured singer Rex Scott (later, and now, fronting X-Sinner), so you know the vocals are more gruff than screeching.  Guitarist David Moore shreds triumphantly on live & studio recordings.  The production is decent on the first two vocal live tracks, with a good array of bass, treble and mid, supplemented by the sounds of the crowd.  The next (Drum & Bass solo, a live instrumental) showcases good musicianship, but a lesser recording.  

The demo quality ranges from poor to adequate, a few sounding like they were recorded on a Boom Box (watch the movie “Krush Groove” if you don’t understand the reference).  The band was developing their sound through the glamorous ‘80’s.  As such, some of the songs are too stylistically similar to their heroes:  the harmony vocals on “Rock for Eternity” could have been sung by Van Halen’s Michael Anthony.  The band was obviously still growing through much of these tunes, but they are pleasant enough to hear.  The recording values are not pleasing to the ear often enough, though.

Additionally, two of the tracks are short interruptions to the music.  There is a radio spot & an interjection of backstage banter.

Enjoyable, but really just for completists, this CD should be thought of as a non-essential disc for metal fans.  However, for Zion lovers, it helps fill in the gaps from such a short-lived band.

By Jonathan Nelson 
6-22-07