So, I’ve had this album for a while now, it’s been quite a busy few weeks so it’s taken me some time to get something written but this is absolutely no reflection on it’s quality at all. Infact, if anything it’s a reflection on mine, despite me continually being pulled back to it, this is clearly a guitarists album and what’s worse it’s a bloody good guitarists album! Yet here I am a humble bass player in a punk band, I adore what I am hearing but this review will have to be dumbed down from the point of view of the punk bassist and will have to overlook the inevitable amazing playing techniques used across it as to me they are beautiful sounding widdly notes!

Path is the debut album of Thoughtscape, the solo project of Alex Verghese, I had heard through a number of friends that I should be checking out this album and I must say, they weren’t wrong! It’s a beautiful blend of modern prog (read tech metal) with a mix of tracks featuring clean vocals and instrumental. If you are a fan of bands and artists such as Intervals, Valis Ablaze, Chimp Spanner and Artificial Language then you are going to really enjoy this release!

Starting off with an instrumental piece made up of classical guitar with pinch harmonics (look at me go!) the album lulls you into a false sense of security before the lead single ‘Peering Through The Veil’ shows the true nature of the album blasting in with some killer riffs before the vocals lead into the main song. There’s never a dull moment during its six plus minute length, if there isn’t a vocal melody there’s a kick arse riff and whenever there’s a pause then a solo launches seemingly out of nowhere to fill the void. It’s the perfect single to lead the album from as it gives the listener a good summary of what to expect over the rest of the tracks.

Fans of a good chorus will love tunes such as ‘Surrender the flow’ a more laid back brain-worm of which I have had the chorus continuosly circling my cranium or the dreamy flow of ‘Devotion’ which doubles up on the guitar prowess displayed by utilizing guest axe-man Sam Machin of Arcaeon for added chops! The album closes with the epic three-part ‘Awakening’ which weaves through many different emotions with a variety of pace and integrity, its a great end to a very varied and accomplished album.

Overall, the album has a great mix of both guitar led instrumental and melodic clean vocal numbers, has some fantastic riffs and immense soloing. There’s some great songs on here which have clearly been worked on as a labor of love and that has paid off ten-fold. As a debut album ‘Path’ is ridiculously impressive and should have everyone watching closely for the next phase in Thoughtscape and/or Alex Verghese’s development!

Give it a listen and grab your copy here: https://thoughtscapeofficial.bandcamp.com/releases