Ground Above Zero

Jenn Cohen | April 1, 2012 | 0 Comments

by Charlie Sullivan

Local quasi-metal artists Ground Above Zero have been formulating a plan of attack on the local masses for the last few years, and are now poised for a sonic assault of your auditory senses. Joshua Haas (bass), Heather Haas-Prestridge (vocals), and Kelly Prestridge (drums), joined forces in 2007 and started laying the groundwork for the incursion into the local club scene. With the acquisition of Andrew Nugent (guitar), and Tim Gallagher (guitar), in the last year, the onslaught has begun. Their loudness will sweep you into the sound and give you a shot of youthful vitality.

Where guitars have prominently played a major role in metal music, GAZ breaks the mold with Haas’s bass, an approach popularized by Metallica’s Cliff Burton in the early ‘80s. Haas plays lead bass with a melodic power that projects through the band’s music. With the bass being the key to good metal music, Haas takes it to another level, “We have no problem sitting back and letting Josh do his thing,” relay Gallagher and Nugent. “The man can play a mean lead bass.” [He] is impressive, and is also responsible for the majority of the music the outfit is crafting. Not to be outdone, Nugent and Gallagher provide a brute force–tag team tandem–on the guitars, creating a musical tension as the two contend for dominance. Drummer, Prestridge, fills out the sound adeptly with an exceptional amount of mettle and hits the metal drummer trifecta of “speed, power, and precision.”

Vocal duties fall on Haas-Prestridge, who, as a onetime back-up singer, had to be pulled out of that mode by the band. Her vocal qualities take the crew beyond cookie monster vocals and into the progressive realm. “Heather writes all of the lyrics for the songs,” states Josh. “I’m confident in my writing ability,” admits Heather. “A lot of people say the lyrics are a little dark, but hey, that’s where we’re at with our music.”

The band may be fairly new, but they want you to know that they are a whoredom of individuals from different local bands. Armed with an arsenal of twenty original songs, this well-oiled machine is already rending the air at local venues with their artillery. The band also promises an album sometime in the fall, “We’re in the process of getting everything mixed,” says Heather. “I wouldn’t want to promise anything sooner.”

Look for upcoming shows at www.facebook.com/pages/Ground-Above-Zero/123699408191 and check out the Maidens Of Metal show on May 25^th at Casselman’s.

“Our will to create art has always been as strong as our will to survive”. — Pavel Haas, Terezín