Zior - Before My Eyes Go Blind, The Complete Recordings [2019] (4 x CDs)

ROCK

Zior - Before My Eyes Go Blind, The Complete Recordings [2019] (4 x CDs)

Before My Eyes Go Blind, The Complete Recordings released by Grapefruit Records, an imprint associated with the Cherry Red Records family of labels in 2019, finally gives Zior the context their short, sharp existence always deserved. Rather than reframing the band as something they were not, the set lays out their full recorded legacy with clarity, allowing the music’s strengths and limitations to surface naturally. What emerges is a focused snapshot of late-1960s and early-1970s British heavy rock at a moment when blues roots were hardening into something darker and more assertive.

Sequenced chronologically, the collection traces Zior’s evolution from raw, blues-based heaviness into tighter, more deliberate songwriting. Early tracks carry a rough immediacy, driven by thick riffs, vocal grit, and a sense of urgency that favors impact over refinement. As the set unfolds, arrangements sharpen and the band’s identity becomes clearer, heavy without excess, melodic without softness. There is a tension throughout between weight and restraint that gives the material its character.

Listening straight through reveals how consistent the band’s instincts were. Even as production values shift, the core elements remain intact, grounded rhythms, riff-led structures, and vocals that sound lived-in rather than theatrical. Nothing here feels ornamental. Solos serve the song, tempos stay purposeful, and the band rarely overreaches. The music benefits from being heard as a body of work rather than isolated singles or archival fragments.

This set is compelling in its honesty. It does not try to elevate Zior into lost legends or proto-anything. Instead, it presents a band operating confidently within its moment, contributing solid, heavy songs that sit comfortably alongside better-known contemporaries. The compilation format works in its favor, giving space for repetition, variation, and gradual familiarity.

Before My Eyes Go Blind ultimately feels like closure done right, a complete picture assembled with care, inviting sustained listening and a deeper appreciation for a band whose recorded output was brief but cohesive, and whose sound still carries weight decades later. (B)

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Track lists

CD1

01 Zior - I Really Do 3:00

02 Zior - Za Za Za Zilda 2:38

03 Zior - Love's Desire 4:02

04 Zior - New Land 4:07

05 Zior - Now I'm Sad 4:07

06 Zior - Give Me Love 2:47

07 Zior - Quabala 3:20

08 Zior - Oh Mariya 3:22

09 Zior - Your Love Will Burn 3:16

10 Zior - I Was Fooling 3:08

11 Zior - Before My Eyes Go Blind 3:27

12 Zior - Rolling Thunder 3:10

13 Zior - She's a Bad, Bad Woman 3:43

CD2

01 Zior - Entrance of the Devil 2:11

02 Zior - The Chicago Spine 4:05

03 Zior - Have You Heard the Wind Speak 3:35

04 Zior - Time is the Reason 2:49

05 Zior - She'll Take You Down 3:47

06 Zior - Dudi Judy 2:52

07 Zior - Strange Kind of Magic 3:04

08 Zior - Ride Me Baby 2:20

09 Zior - Evolution 3:37

10 Zior - Every Inch a Man 4:38

11 Zior - Cat's Eyes 2:59

12 Zior - Suspended Animation 3:21

13 Zior - Angel of the Highway 6:25

CD3

01 Monument - Dog Man 3:16

02 Monument - Stale Flesh 3:47

03 Monument - Don't Run Me Down 2:25

04 Monument - Give Me Life 3:50

05 Monument - The Metamorphosis Tango 3:54

06 Monument - Boneyard Bumne 4:25

07 Monument - First Taste of Love 3:22

08 Monument - And She Goes 2:34

09 Monument - Overture for Limp Piano in C 3:28

10 Monument - I'm Coming Back 2:51

CD4

01 Zior - Welcome to My World of Darkness 3:19

02 Zior - The Wicca Maker 3:24

03 Zior - Crowman Rises 4:47

04 Zior - Demon Woman 5:16

05 Zior - Vampire Night 3:34

06 Zior - Earth Hell & Fire 4:11

07 Zior - The Spirit of India 3:43

08 Zior - Release the Dogs 4:12

09 Zior - Eastwood Bugsy 4:03

10 Zior - Sabbat 8 5:03

11 Zior - Scorpion 1:47

12 Zior - Storm Chaser 3:38

13 Zior - Entry of the Devil Voices 2:35

14 Zior - Rue Chanoinesse 2:03

15 Zior - Data Bizzare 2:03

16 Zior - Inner Mind Vision 8:08

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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