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Imposter Syndrome |
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Sophie Lloyd is a heavy
metal guitarist from the UK, releasing her debut album 'Imposter Syndrome'
in 2023. |
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Redefining the concept
of a "bedroom guitarist", Sophie is a talented composer and accomplished
musician, graduating from the prestigious BIMM in 2018 with a First
Class Honours BMus in Popular Music Performance, honing and refining a
talent she has nurtured since childhood. Since then, she has amassed the
kind of following that even the guitar gods she grew up idolizing would be
envious of, with a reach surpassing three million followers across her
social channels, built through a steady stream of sharing her talent via
guitar "shredleys", covers, and her own original material. |
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"I started playing
guitar when I was around ten years old after listening to Led Zeppelin in
the car with my dad. Because I was a bit of an outcast, I had a lot of time
to practice and this gave me an escape from reality, helped me overcome my
anxieties and really gave me a sense of fulfilment" |
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With roots in classic
metal, bands like Iron Maiden, Black Label Society, and Pantera have been
some of the biggest influences on her lead playing style. She has blended
this heavy and technical style with the expression and feeling of blues
guitarists such as Rory Gallagher and Joe Bonnamassa. Her rhythm playing is
greatly inspired by punk bands, such as the Offspring and Misfits. Having
learned to play a variety of different genres which are noticeable in her
sound, Sophie has developed her own unique and creative style of playing and
composing. In search of a platform and community where she could share her
material and meet other like-minded musicians, Sophie took to
YouTube, enabling her to start building an
audience of both fans and contemporaries. Nearly one hundred million views
later, it's safe to say that turned out to be a very good decision. |
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"I've gone on to meet
so many amazing people, and gone on to do things I only dreamed of. The fact
that this is my career is still mind blowing to me" |
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In addition to her own
content, Sophie's talent and popularity has led to collaborations with
brands such as Amazon Prime, Hard Rock Cafe, LiveNation and Harley Davidson,
her own guitar course on Truefire, and a stunning performance at Paris
Fashion Week for Redemption Brand Clothing. She has also released her own
signature guitar, becoming the first female artist to do so for exclusive
Californian guitar maker KIESEL. More recently, Sophie could be seen
shredding on stage as guitarist for multi-platinum recording artist Machine
Gun Kelly on his recent mainstream sell-out world tour, which included sold
out shows at legendary venues such as Madison Square Garden in New York and
Wembley Arena in London. |
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Sophie Lloyd is just
getting started, her debut album 'Imposter Syndrome' has just been released
(in October 2023), containing eleven songs across forty minutes featuring a
host of guest musicians - singer/songwriter Nathan James, Brandon Saller (Atreyu),
Lzzy Hale (Halestorm), Chris Robertson (Black Stone Cherry), Michael Starr
(Steel Panther), Matthew K. Heafy (Trivium), singer, guitarist and producer
Cole Rolland, Canadian singer/songwriter and vocal teacher Lauren Babic,
Trevor McNevan (Thousand Foot Krutch), Marisa Rodriguez (Marisa And The
Moths), and Tyler Connolly (Theory Of A Deadman). |
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So with all this
amazing vocal talent on display, what does 'Imposter Syndrome' sound like?
Varied is the short answer - album opener 'Do Or Die' blazing into life with
an incredible if short guitar shred! There's no doubting the skill level of
Sophie, 'Do Or Die' following the power driven heavy metal path of UK
legends Judas Priest. And unlike some of the guitar gods of the past -
Yngwie Malmsteen and Michael Schenker for example - Sophie, across the first
song anyway, hasn't taken centre stage and made 'Imposter Syndrome' all
about her guitar playing. Whereas Malmsteen and Schenker would play solo
after solo after solo 'til I got to the point of frustration mixed with
exasperation, thinking "for fucks sake guys, where's the rhythm section and
vocals". But hey, we all have different views on what kinda metal music we
prefer to listen to, and for me, I like the kind where I can sing a long,
head bang like crazy to a thundering cacophony of drums with a rumbling
bassline resembling a loud thunderstorm, and a scorching guitar solo in the
middle! And I'm glad to say, 'Do Or Die' fits my idea of heavy metal down to
a tee! |
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The energy and momentum
of the albums opener is carried over to 'Pressure' - trotting on with all
the panache of old school, traditional heavy metal. Yet oozing from
'Pressure' there's a little bit of the progressive nature of metal tucked
within its framework - a framework which one hundred percent sits right
smack in the middle of the heavy metal genre. And is always the case with
different vocalists singing on an album, its identity can get lost a little
bit, especially when the vocals switch from male to female - the title song
'Imposter Syndrome' featuring the impeccable rock roar of Lzzy Hale as 'Imposter
Syndrome' (the album) takes a much rockier road than the opening metal
double. And it's over to heavy hitting Southern rock we go for 'Let It Hurt'
featuring the iconic Aerosmith swagger melded with a touch of groove metal -
the range of Sophie's influences very wide indeed! Harking back to the good
old days of heavy metal, when both metal and rock sat under the same banner,
'Runaway' is a gloriously old school gallop of infectious and feel good
heavy metal to plant smiles a mile wide on the faces of every listener.
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Hardening things up a
little - well a lot actually - 'Fall Of Man' takes on the mantle of a foot
stomper, mixing it with elements of grunge, Gothic and industrial metal.
This mix is absolute craziness, and one you'd never think stood a chance of
working - but it does work! Brilliantly! And maintaining 'Fall Of Man's
myriad of styles, 'Lost' oozes every single style Sophie has in her
impressive arsenal - 'Lost' the albums first (and only) instrumental.
'Hanging On' sees the return of female lead vocals, courtesy of rock singer
Lauren Babic - and what a rock voice she has! Raspy with a little grit and a
touch of blues, 'Hanging On' features the same description as the songs
singer, 'Imposter Syndrome' (the album) continuing its boundary breaking
genre hopping adventure. |
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And returning the
progressive nature of metal back to the fore, 'Avalanche' is a solid metal
come rock anthem to nod heads - hard! The varying musical styles on offer is
simply mind blowing, the album featuring more twists and turns than The
Smiler roller coaster at Alton Towers theme park (in England). And with only
two songs remaining, 'Imposter Syndrome' (the album) hasn't lost any of my
attention for a single second - and not just because of Sophie's stunning
good looks - the music on show is fucking gorgeous too! And featuring the
third female vocalist Marisa Rodriguez, 'Won't You Come' is an innuendo
laden swagger of sass and sexiness! And speaking from a male perspective,
I'm really glad it's sung by a woman - Marisa's voice oozing sensuality in
abundance, tickling my senses into a state of arousal! I'm gonna have to
seek out her band Marisa And The Moths later - but for now, Sophie Lloyd and
her debut album comes to a end with the very metal 'Judge And Jury',
standing firmly in the heavy metal genre with a highly melodious streak
that's gonna attract fans from across the border in hard rock country. |
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Overall, a hard rocking
heavy hitting album of metal and rock, featuring a wide array of infectious
and highly entertaining songs. |
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Review by Iron
Mathew Collins |
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Reviewed for
Metal Gods TV |
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