By mixing elements of thrash and prog metal, Lower 13 have always taken a more interesting approach to constructing huge riffs than a lot of bands, but on their ‘Deception’ EP, their aggressive style takes a giant leap forward.
SCARLATAMUSIC – Rough & Tumble EP
At the beginning of 2022, John Scarlata – aka ScarlataMusic – released his ‘Skatepunk’ EP. By dispensing with all vocals, his work immediately improved, and even though the release’s three tracks were presented with a demo-like quality, his lead guitar work was stellar throughout. In the main, his thrash-based melodies called back to albums like Jason Becker’s ‘Perpetual Burn’ and Marty Friedman’s self-titled disc, creating something very nostalgic.
RICHARD EVANS – Dream Of The World EP
Richard Evans will be best known to some music fans as having been a member of indie-pop band James, but this solo work casts him in a very different role. The three track ‘Dream of The World’ ventures deep into synthwave, sharing cold and mechanised melodies straight from the heart of 1984. In terms of going retro, it’s both huge sounding and brilliant; a nostalgic blast of a long gone era, redressed for a detached twenty first century landscape with near perfect results.
HEREAFTER – Overcome EP
Hereafter’s debut EP ‘Fires of The Flame’ was one of those releases that showed promise. Right from the beginning, the material showed a great command of a riff, but a fairly terrible vocal often let the side down. Vocals can be make or break when it comes to a more extreme metal sound, and Hereafter’s fixation with semi spoken, semi growled lyrics often made the band seem like a strange novelty act. Nevertheless, the EP still offered a couple of tracks that sounded promising when heard in isolation – largely due to their abilities with a riff or three – and hinted at a band that could improve with time.
MORPHEUS PROJECT – On The Edge
Masterminded by Mustapha Khetty, the Morpheus Project involves a revolving cast of musicians helping to bring his songs to life. This seven track release follows 2021’s ‘Mosaick’ and brings another concept album into the world, and its songs happily shift between classic rock, AOR and melodic metal, showcasing the fact that Khetty’s compositional skills – although shamelessly retro – straddle a broad spectrum of rock styles. That freewheeling approach means that ‘On The Edge’ could be the kind of album that’ll strike a chord with lovers of the pompier elements of bands like Asia at times, but those fans are unlikely to enjoy the more metallic output, whilst those who like a big helping of proggy metal are unlikely to gravitate towards the more 80s aspects of the album. In trying to please both camps, Khetty risks pleasing no-one in the long term – and that’s a pity, as there’s some fine musicianship and a few strong melodies here.