SOPHIE LLOYD
“Imposter Syndrome”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

9.5/10

Sophie Lloyd is a heavy metal guitarist from the UK, releasing her debut album ‘Imposter Syndrome’ in 2023.

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.

“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”

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.

“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”

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.

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).

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!

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.

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.

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.

Overall, a hard rocking heavy hitting album of metal and rock, featuring a wide array of infectious and highly entertaining songs.

TRACKLIST

Do Or Die (feat. Nathan James)
Pressure (feat. Brandon Sallor)
Imposter Syndrome (feat. Lizzy Hale)
Let It Hurt (feat. Chris Robertson)
Runaway (feat. Michael Starr)
Fall Of Man (feat. Matthew K. Heafy)
Lost (feat. Cole Rolland)
Hanging On (feat. Lauren Babic)
Avalanche (feat. Trevor McNevan)
Won’t You Come (feat. Marisa Rodriguez)
Judge And Jury (feat. Tyler Connolly)

https://www.sophieguitar.com
https://www.facebook.com/SophieGuitar/

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