Lo-Pan - Get Well Soon - Metal Epidemic

Lo-Pan – Get Well Soon
Release Date: 4th April 2025
Label: Magnetic Eye Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Stoner Rock, Stoner Metal.
FFO: Kyuss, early Queens of the Stone Age, Cave In, Abrams, Boy Hits Car.
Review By: Mark Young

As we head into hopefully brighter days, I dive into the latest full-length release from Lo-Pan, the Ohio 4-piece who have brought a set of catchy tunes that in the right moment could really shake the pillars of heaven. Ahem.

And it starts brightly too, The Good Fight coming in at a fair zip with inventive guitar work from Chris Thompson and a vocal delivery from Jeff Martin which is just on the right balance of grit without sounding overwrought. There is a good sense of movement on display, and they show that they are not content to just churn out a heavy riff for the sake of it, and pretty soon we settle down into what I would like to describe as comfortable clothing music. You have a favourite hoodie or possibly a smoking jacket that is your go-to for relaxation. It’s the same here, as Northern Eyes picks up where The Good Fight left off and continues that good work. It’s pretty effective stuff without being overly ambitious, but what it does do has come over you in soothing waves and is built for listening too on a warm summer day. There is a delicious fuzz that ushers in Wormwood, tightly focused as that fine guitar work is backed up by Messrs Scott Thompson and Jesse Bartz on bass and drums respectively, who do the heavy lifting here. 3 songs in and you get a good handle on how the remainder is going to play out, but on here I am happy with that because their collective eye is on making sure that each song has the right balance of riffs and movement to keep you engaged.

This is definitely the case on Ozymandias, which dials in the heavy rock to a high level with some fleet fingers, and you know that this would be a stormer live. There is a great emphasis on making each song come through as a whole experience, and what is great is that there is no rinse and repeat moments on here. Check out the transition during the opening bars of Rogue Wave from brill guitar lines into simple rhythms before they move that around again, and you know that live there is scope for this to extend out beyond its recorded form. The Wah lead on here is also spot on, and really lifts the song further.

However, going into Harpers Ferry, it felt that there was a drop in energy with how that song landed with me. I’m not completely sure why, but in comparison it felt that it dragged a little too long and once Stay With The Boat kicks in there is an upswing once more, as they start to push that momentum along, and it has one of ‘those’ sections at around 1 minute 30 which will be royal to scream along to, and if you listen to it, you will know exactly what I mean.

Heading to the final two songs, it confirms my earlier thoughts on how the album would play out. In both cases, their inventiveness is still in place, especially on Six Bells, which is a slow-burn trip that just ebbs and builds along at its own pace and is totally in-keeping with the album as a whole. Big riffs, warm fuzz, what more could you want?