With years of experience and multiple contributions with bands and projects from all across the metal scene up his sleeves, guitarist/vocalist/recording artist/session musician/songwriter Joey Rival decided to focus on his solo material. Drawing inspiration from his personal struggles, he dropped his latest single Traumatic Reflections on the 10th of February, 2023 with deep emotional vibes that capture “a war with himself” as described by Rival, so let me tell you more about it.
A grinding groovy riff and subtle melodic guitars are what welcome you right when you play Traumatic Reflections, as Joey Rival‘s writing skills shine in the way he took his time creating the hottest build-up for the verse’s brutality. Reaching the verse, Rival played a heavy riff with a powerful groove and brutal attacking vocals that’ll send you off your seat headbanging while he keeps on pushing towards a bigger and more open sound that reaching the chorus, gets its final shape. Joey Rival‘s full awareness of creating a hooking dynamic structure appears clearly in his writing style, he keeps on taking the listener through heavy dynamic shifts, keeping him/her focused and entertained using blasting riffs, diverse vocal delivery, pounding drums, multi-layered melodic sections, and deep atmospheric electronics without breaking his dark mood or compromising his dense sound.
Joey Rival managed to create a tune that kept me busy playing it over and over again, a tune that has everything a metalhead looks for from banging riffs to open-sounding relieving melodies and shredding solos, all in a solid energetic structure that says a lot about his clever writing. Will definitely be looking forward to more from Joey Rival, cheers, and keep on rocking!
