Sophie Lloyd – Imposter Syndrome
Release Date: 10th November 2023
Label: Autumn Records
Order/Stream
Genre: Hard Rock, Old School Heavy Metal, Blues Rock.
FFO: The list is endless, but let’s just go with any band that ever nailed its name to the Hard Rock, Heavy Metal or Blues Rock mast in the history of music!
Review By: Mark Waight
To say that Imposter Syndrome is a cracking album is an understatement, as Sophie Lloyd (arguably one of the best new guitarists in the world today of any gender) has with it created a fantastic modern hard rock masterpiece (mistress-piece?). Very much in the style of the old masters but also bang up-to-date, Imposter Syndrome will have widespread audience appeal across all generations of fans, making it a nailed on dead cert for success.
By working in collaboration with a whole host of the who’s who of current stars in the rock/metal scene, Sophie Lloyd has laid down the gauntlet to her heroes of the past. They will all need to take note and now have to offer up more than a wry smile in her direction by giving her respect where it’s due!
Sophie Lloyd grew up listening to Led Zeppelin and has listed bands such as Iron Maiden, Pantera and Black Label Society as influences, along with legends Rory Gallagher and Joe Bonnamassa. She also graduated from the prestigious BIMM in 2018 with a first-class honours BMus in popular music performance, indicating she is very much a force to be reckoned with.
Do Or Die opens just the way any respectable hard rock song should, with plenty of pace and power. The raspy vocals of Nathan James (Inglorious) are completely bang on point, and we are off to a flyer, so strap in and hold on!
Pressure, featuring Brandon Saller of Atreyu, does just that, as the tension and hooks slowly ratchet up to an explosive finale. This is one hell of a track on one hell of an album!
The title-track, Imposter Syndrome, adds Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale to the mix in a match made in rock heaven by those oh so fickle rock gods. The soaring vocals and epic leads don’t get much bigger than this, so make sure you acknowledge the divine effort and enjoy!
Let it Hurt is a firing on all cylinders out-and-out hard thumping rock song perfectly designed to have you dusting off that air guitar! Featuring the amazing Chris Robertson of Black Stone Cherry on vocals, this song delivers on all levels, with Sophie Lloyd completely outdoing herself with a finger numbing, sparks flying performance that should more than cement her status as an axe woman of the highest quality!
If you like to rock, then Runaway will absolutely blow your socks off! Featuring Steel Panther’s Michael Starr, this old school tinged sing-along track ticks every box and then some as you are given a short, sharp lesson in old style hard rock! The hard-hitting Fall of Man beats out a super heavy rhythm that pulses right through to your heart like an electric shock! The metallic guitars and gritty vocals of Matthew K Heafy (Trivium) cut deep into your mind in this shock and awe track.
The epic sounding Lost plays out like a true rock classic of the past, with the twin guitars of Sophie Lloyd and Cole Rolland duelling it out, with neither one willing to back down nor give way. Heavy Metal Folklore was forged by battles like this authentic homage to those glorious golden days of the not-so-distant past.
Hanging on is a dream combination for me, with Lauren Babic’s gravelly vocals providing great company for this terrific blues infused song. An absolute banger of a track!
Avalanche, featuring Trevor Mc Nevan of Thousand Foot Crutch, kicks off with a ripping riff that builds up nicely alongside some ice cool vocals that cleverly vary from a whisper at times to absolutely belting it out at others! The sweet spot is well and truly hit!
Wont You Come features one of my favourite artists, Marisa Rodriguez (Marisa And The Moths), whose unique vocals sprinkle a bit of magic dust into the pot. The vocals are to absolutely die for, and you won’t be able to help yourself from rocking out to this stonking tune.
Very much in the vein of modern hard rock/metal, Judge and Jury has a neat almost alternative bass riff that perfectly matches with Theory of a Deadman Tyler Connolly’s vocal tone to close the album out beautifully and leave you begging for more. Where is that darn repeat button?
You’d better believe the hype, as Imposter Syndrome by Sophie Lloyd is one of the must-have albums of 2023 for absolutely any fan of hard rock, blues rock or old school heavy metal. Every single track is more than capable of holding its own as an individual piece of music, and so to coin an age-old phrase, Imposter Syndrome is indeed all killer and no filler with Sophie Lloyd and friends creating something that will almost certainly stand up to the passage of time and appeal to a bevy of fans long into the future. It’s a Hell Yes from me!!!!
(5 / 5)
