With his deep rocking roots and obvious love of heavy music, the Prescott-based artist Mike Masser dropped his record True Grit in April 2021, offering an interesting sound experience for all rock fans. Let me tell you more about it.
Mike Masser‘s fluid atmospheric sound and powerful groove shine brightly right from the record’s opener The Phoenix. It has a hooking build-up and hypnotizing flow that shows massive stoner rock influences, while the melodies add a catchy warm layer to the heavy dense riffs creating a super cool mix that promises some clever writing to come. The title track True Grit hits next with heavy riffing and pounding sludgy sound, taking the record’s dynamics to the next level. Keeping Masser’s melodic hooks alive and kicking, True Grit offers a darker heavier sound than its predecessor with a driving flow that intensely pushes forward in an interestingly shifting structure. Black comes with slow thick riffs in a big wall of sound and a grinding flow with a surprising twist of sound around the 03:40 minute mark, where Masser engages in a beautifully written multi-layered interlude with amazing guitar work, smoothly leading to a fading emotional outro. Wild Child boosts the energy once again while taking a new old-school approach. Mike Masser‘s classic influences are pretty clear in this one, laying those bluesy playful riffs and catchy vocal melodies while using his signature fuzzy sound, making it something totally his own. Take a Chance on Me follows Wild Child’s sound but with heavier attacking riffs and an unstoppable groovy flow. It has an engaging sound with loads of energy that’ll throw the listeners off their seats, I believe it drives the fans crazy when played live. Acting live a break almost at the middle of the record, Bended Knee steers toward a new direction with its acoustic-driven sound and mellow flow. It has a fluid pace with a chill mood and a streaming structure that smoothly carries the listeners throughout its shifts. Domino brings back Mike Masser‘s rocking sound with his heavy-moving riffs and catchy hooks. Get Out Alive ends the record on a highly dynamic note. It has an overwhelming energetic sound that hits right from the beginning and a structure that sustains that energy and builds up on it, keeping things fast and heavy till the end.
True Grit is a solid heavy record with diverse sounds and approaches by Mike Masser. He freely mixes and matches his influences into a heavy deep sound and fast riffs whenever he likes, as he cleverly crafts his structure and melodies to fit within his special mix. Looking forward to more from Mike Masser, keep on rocking. Cheers!
