Zior Before My Eyes Go Blind CD

• Emerging from the ashes of Southend-based late Sixties psych-pop crew Cardboard Orchestra, heavy rock band Zior were one of the first acts to attach themselves at the turn of the decade to the occult-themed heavy rock element of the British underground scene.

• Although Zior never really threatened to replicate the commercial success of brand leaders Black Sabbath, their live shows were hugely theatrical events involving mock-sacrifices, staged fights and diabolic costumes and masks that terrified their young audiences and apparently freaked out other bands as well!

• They also left behind three albums that have been wildly collectable for many years. Featuring such essential tracks as ‘Your Life Will Burn’ and ‘Before My Eyes Go Blind’, their self-titled debut set “Zior” was issued in 1971 by the Nepentha label in a highly atmospheric gatefold sleeve design by the legendary Keef.

• A year or so later, Nepentha boss Larry Page put out the German-only release “Every Inch A Man”, an equally thrilling collection that contained such archetypically demonic Zior creations as ‘Have You Heard The Wind Speak’ and ‘Entrance Of The Devil’, the latter an integral part of the band’s stage show.

• Sandwiched between those two albums, Zior also pseudonymously recorded the LP “The First Monument”, which was promoted as the work of members of a witches’ coven in downtown Essex. Titles like ‘Dog Man’, ‘Stale Flesh’ and ‘First Taste Of Love’ ensured that the band had no difficulty in living down to the record company’s lurid, sensationalist claims.

• All three albums, plus Zior’s 2018 reunion album ‘Spirit Of The Gods’, are now collected for the first time on Before My Eyes Go Blind, a 4-CD set that’s presented in a clamshell box with replica album sleeve wallets, a lengthy new essay on the band and a number of evocative, previously unpublished photos.