Matt Schneider – De-Evolution (EP Review)

Today’s review features the new EP De-Evolution by Chicago-based guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and session musician Matt Schneider. His new EP is scheduled for release on March 1, 2025. Matt has been in several notable rock bands in the Chicago music scene over the years.

According to the artist, his latest EP, “De-Evolution,” is a four-song journey that “dips into doom, thrash, dark pop, and progressive rock, … blending heavy, intricate sounds with catchy melodies.”

So let’s have a listen …

The first track on the album is the title cut De-Evolution starts with a Doom power chord, slow chord riff. Very doom vocals kick in – hard to hear the words against the heavy mix of guitars. Trailing lead guitar riffs take us into another slow bridge. The vocals sound like they fit the mix though. I like how the chord riff climbs up the scale. If you’re into this genre, you’ll dig it.

The next song The Fall starts off with a very nice alternative rock riff, much faster tempo over the powerful fast single note riff. I like it. Still doom metal in its essence. I like the arrangement of the bridge, devilish vocal rages litter the soundscape. I really like the guitar playing on this song, lots of great single note lines. It’s a bit of a long song, clocking in at 07:09.

The next song Lies starts with a slow arpeggiated guitar riff. Nice chord progression. I keep wanting this song to take off. Do wish the artist would post the lyrics as they’re a bit hard to understand against the mix. I overall like the sound of this track. Not sure about the bridge, but I like how things devolve into a heavy droning power chord and then back into the main riff. The sound of the rhythm guitar power surge towards the end is epic!

The final track is called For Ever and starts with a nice arpeggiated riff, then into heavy power chords. I like the repeating lead guitar vibes in the middle of the song. The changes are very doom metal, nice. This track is mixed like most songs in this genre, though I would mix the vocals louder, especially if the lyrics are important to the listener. I would like to know.

SCORE/Excellent: I’m going to go ahead and rate this as Excellent, even though I couldn’t really understand the lyrics. It’s mixed perfectly for this Doom genre and the guitar playing is really excellent. The album musically flows like a raging river, full of heartfelt emotions. The vocals match the power and aggression of the heavy guitar riffs. If you’re into to Doom Metal, I would definitely check out this new EP.  Much love, Beth

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]

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