Sophie Lloyd - Imposter Syndrome (Autumn Records)
At 27 years old guitarist Sophie Lloyd has already had a career most music as would dream about. Starting out as 'bedroom guitarist' on that there YouTube , she has gone on to amass 100 Million views with her guitar 'shred' content. Sophie has also collaborated with Amazon Prime, Hard Rock Café, Harley Davidson, performed at Paris Fashion Week and has her own guitar course. If that wasn't enough she, like Nita Strauss before her and Jennifer Batten before her, has been performing with mainstream music royalty as the guitar player for Machine Gun Kelly.
However she's no flash in the pan, having graduating with a First Class Honours from BIMM, she realised a dream that she had carried since she was 10 years old. Raised on a diet of Zeppelin from her dad, she declares Maiden, BLS and Pantera as influenced on the metal side, as well as blues rock icons, punk bands and the obligatory jazz, country and gospel styles. All of this techincal expertise now culminating in her debut album of original material. Released on her own record label Sophie displays every side of her playing style, all of her influences and of course her extensive address book by bringing in guest performers on every song.
Getting the album going withe huge pipes of Nathan James (Inglorious), his rockstar posturing perfect for the choppy rocker Do Or Die. Lloyd's guitar playing rock licks leading into the melodic metal of Pressure, Brandon Saller of Atreyu, his angsty delivery similar to what he does with his own band, Lloyd a chameleon on her instrument to adapt the songs according to who is singing, or of course it could be the other way round writing songs and then choosing the specific singer, the title track for instance has Lzzy Hale (Halestrom) at full power applying all the emotion while the bluesy/heavy Let It Hurt has Chris Robertson's (Black Stone Cherry) soulful croon alongside some chunky riffs.
The level of skill is great and if I was a guitarist I'd be focussing on the style, the finesse of Lloyd's playing but I'm not so I can only comment on the songwriting. Happily the songwriting is just as good as the playing itself, Runaway throwing it back to the 80's and has Michael Starr (Steel Panther) giving the best performance I've heard from him in a long time, probably because he's not using gross out humour to get the point across. Matthew K Heafy fits the anthemic ballad Fall Of Man well, leading in to the first instrumental on the record as Lloyd duets with fellow Youtube shredder Cole Rolland on Lost. The album needs this break to reset and remind you that you're dealing with a guitar virtuoso and not a Frontiers-esque multi person project.
The amazing Lauren Babic (Red Hand Denial) provides the impassioned words on Hanging On, easily winning over anyone who didn't know of her before. This latter part of the album features musicians that are perhaps less high profile than the ones at the beginning of the record. But for me these are the better songs as they fell less like trying to create soundalikes and writing the music she grew up with. Trevor McNevan (Thousand Foot Crutch), marisa Rodriguez (Marisa & The Moths) and Tyler Connolly (Theory Of A Deadman) close out the last three tracks of this impressive debut album. So many guitarists just play instrumental music, which is fine but Sophie Lloyd has brought in a host of talented singers to make this feel like a band/project, now we just have to see what she'll do if she tours it. 8/10
Gama Bomb - BATS (Prosthetic Records)
Gama Bomb have always been a band who embrace the absurd, just as likely to write a song about the environment as they are about RoboCop, the Irish thrashers move into the 22nd year with their new album BATS, stealing from Iron Maiden's obsession with Egypt for opener Egyptron where Annihilator meets Faith No More in terms of oddness even featuring a rap from The Egyptian Lover . The first album to be produced, mixed and mastered by guitarist Domo Dixon; using skills he learnt in the pandemic to make this their first totally D.I.Y record.
Living Dead In Beverly Hills brings back the familiar thrashisms of Anthrax as classic metal comes on Rusted Gold the variation on this eighth album can be out down to Gama Bombs fearlessness and the ethos of the 60's slash cinema classics, hinted heavily at on the poster artwork. Philly Byrne's vocals screech, snarl and scream, versatile and vicious, he's backed by the gang shouts and counterpoints of bassist Joe McGuigan and guitarist Domo Dixon. Dixon locking in with John Roche as the axe duo as McGuigan fits perfectly with James Stewart on the drums.
Flashes of crossover come on Mask Of Anarchy and the galloping Don't Get Your Hair Cut which fully unleashes speed metal and takes aim at metal musicians who change more than just their appearance to appease, the browbeating continues on the Priest-like Dreamstealer. With BATS they continue to adapt their thrash roots into a more rounded metal sound, but Gama Bomb will still incite many a circle pit, keeping the crowd going batsh*t with another 11 drops of heavy metal artillery. 8/10
Isometry - Break The Loop (Self Released)
Two things, I can't believe this band formed in 2022 and I can't believe that this is a debut album. Holy crap, as a prog metal fan, Italians Isometry have all the bits I love from Dream Theater, Haken and Symphony X as well as some flute for good measure. In true prog metal style they have opened their account with a concept album, based around the search for identity in an Orwellian Society, dystopian themes and philosophical metaphors are abound this is very much in Dream Theater/Symphony X territory.
Especially vocally where Andrea Perdichizzi has that gritty but melodic vocal of Russell Allen/James LaBrie, though it's a bit stronger than James' these days. Instrumentally the band are just as impressive as the American's they owe so much too. Alberto Ferreri has the technique and feel of Portnoy, as Lorenzo Carrano shreds up a storm with some techy riffs, bass player Luca Capurso not only handling the frequent time signature shifts but also brings out a flute now and again to build on their prog metal sound. Now of course there's lots of filling out of the tracks with orchestrations used a lot, seeing as this is a cinematic concept album after all.
Track one I begins this in earnest, then were straight into the rampaging neo-classical metal sound of Symphony X. Those Dream Theater touches arrive on the title track which features lots of keys, as does the more theatrical Mesmerized, a song hooked on pulsating electronics where crushing metal meets industrial inhumanity. Towards the end of the album they take a more introspective route but bring back the heavier sound at the climax. Is it Scenes From A Memory? No but for a debut Isometry show their understanding of prog metal with Break The Loop. 7/10
Aglo - Build Fear (Brilliant Emperor Records)
Filth, Aglo provide filth, slow, grinding filth on an intergalactic mission. If a face hugger from Alien had a theme tune it would be Build Fear, guttural vocals from Aaron Osborne bellow over his distorted, sludgy, steamroller guitars and bass is what Aglo are all about. Essentially a one man project, Aaron is the devious mastermind behind this chunk of deafening record. He has got Colin Young setting a glacial pace on tracks such as Regression but throughout the songs aren’t what you call speedy, relying on repeating riffs to draw you in.
Anchored to a sci-fi horror theme, Build Fear never moves into fully unleashing blood and guts upon you but keeps the anticipation, unease and ominous nature of a survival horror game with these seven corridor crawling cuts. If you like your metal fast then perhaps avoid Build Fear but if the likes of Eyehategod, Yob and even Dragged Into Sunlight where the riffs entrance you into and keep your head moving involuntarily then let the tentacles of Aglo engulf you in their distorted frequencies from deep space. 6/10