Hourglass

Hourglass is a US progressive metal group from Orem, Utah, formed by guitarist Brick Williams and active since 1999. The band is the main vehicle for a long-running line-up that changes between albums, with Williams as the only constant member.

Line-up and members

Across the group’s releases, the personnel includes John Dunston, Brick Williams, Jonathan Berrett, Eric Blood, Chad Neth and Jerry Stenquist. Dunston replaces Zachary Taylor on The Journey Into. Stenquist and founding keyboardist Eric Robertson trade places over different albums, with Robertson on This Lonely Time and Place and Subconscious, and Stenquist on The Journey Into and Oblivious to the Obvious. Berrett plays bass on the first two albums, while Clark Woolstenhulme handles bass on Subconscious. Eric Blood, who is also listed as a former vocalist, takes the bass role on Oblivious to the Obvious. Vocal duties also vary from album to album, with Jon Shumway, Chad Neth, Cody Walker and Michael Turner each appearing on different releases.

Recordings

Hourglass releases all of its albums independently, financed by the band or by individual members. Its early catalogue begins with This Lonely Time and Place, followed by The Journey Into in 2002 and Subconscious in 2004. The band later issues the double album Oblivious to the Obvious, a 10-track release running for 139 minutes and built over a long period of writing, recording, mixing and mastering. The group’s songs often run to epic lengths rather than short forms.

Style and influences

Hourglass draws on progressive metal, progressive rock and classic rock, with influences that include Dream Theater, Fates Warning and Rush. Its music moves between heavy metal riffs, screaming vocals, piano, acoustic passages, groove sections, vocal harmonies and guitar, keyboard and bass solos.

Reception and following

The band develops a local audience in the greater Salt Lake City area and also has significant fan bases in Europe and Scandinavia.