This is the kind of project you play on repeat, mastering every element in your mind before perhaps attempting to replicate some of them as your inner musician pushes for freedom. A quality release and a further testament to the unwavering skill and energy of Mike LePond’s Silent Assassins.
Metal
It’s hard to put a flavor label on exactly what EverIgnite’s particular strain of rock is, but if I had to describe it – it’s everything rock has been in the last thirty years, aged to perfection & served smooth.
Monkey Mind are a band who showcase a creative fusion of classic, progressive rock & something a little more nu-metal-inspired. Their self-titled EP drives with impressive musicianship & cleverly contrasted performances that hold tight to your interest & allow heavy hook sections to hit with impact.
The whole concept could either be deeply metaphorical or completely, sadly literal. This is metal of course, so perhaps both play a part in the truth. As a debut in particular, Trigger is a hard-hitting, expressive & really well crafted track.
The band offer a thick, punk-pop level of boldness and energy, but they contrast this with delicate, difficult subject matters – a fine balance that you don’t find all too often in modern music.
This album is immense. Even if it were the work of a band, the sheer creative energy, passion & detail is enough to blow so many other rock acts out of the water right now.
3mind Blight drives with a gritty, perfectly expressive leading voice on this single Rag Doll. The sound falls somewhere between Nine Inch Nails and Rob Zombie, with a flicker of Papa Roach for good measure.
Project Sapiens are a hard rock band, without question – there’s weight to their music, intensity & pace. It’s energizing, it fills the room with volume, but more than this – there’s skill to the arrangement & the performances, and there’s a hell of a lot of heart & depth to the writing.
A live solo performance would likely entrance in a different but equally powerful way to a full band evening. Trent Taylor’s voice & songwriting create the perfect source of natural escapism for deep thinkers & soulful rock fans.
Even having heard the project in full, there’s a lot left to the imagination – there are still many questions about the meanings of these songs & the feelings involved in the creative process; as was often the case with genuine grunge & alternative rock music.
Their lyrics intrigue & mystify, they offer insight & provoke a certain level of thought that’s brilliantly backed up by the mood of the music.
Not since the days of Incubus & System Of a Down has a band taken to such unpredictable, deeper than deep, observational & reflective songwriting, particularly not alongside of such entrancing & skillful musicianship.