FiXT Music [Release date: 21.03.25]
Each week, when compiling our radio sequence ‘New to GRTR!’, there have been an increasing number of artists fusing electronica elements or EDM (electronic dance music) with rock and alternative metal. Maybe I am just drawn to this contemporary mash-up and in truth some of it stays just about on the right side of AI.
The FiXT label is one of the main outlets for this genre and sometimes their roster of artists collaborate. Bands like ENMY, Fight The Fade and The Defect are worth investigating. The only aspect that might unnerve the listener is the juxtaposition of melodic, anthemic chorus with pile driving metal and metalcore content. The cinematic elements facilitate the label’s strategy with film and advertising sync placements.
Kristin Matzkows created her Izzy Reign persona after earlier excursions with metal and rock and now working with producers Nick Matzkows (Wind Walkers, Until I Wake, ENMY, Attack! Attack!) and Jon Eberhard (I Prevail, Skillet, Sleeping With Sirens).
This album is a maelstrom of lyrical angst, existential horror, industrial metal beats and unbridled passion.
The subject matter encompasses much that is relevant and contemporary; mental illness (‘Broken By Design’, manipulation/control (‘The Sunken Place’), celebrity (‘Your Entertainer’).
At times this is like what Alanis Morissette might have sounded like had her career launched in 2023 and Morissette is unsurprisingly one of the singer’s influences.
Izzy Reign’s debut is a good entry point if you wish to explore this burgeoning genre, if not for the faint-hearted. But it may well be, in every sense, one of the most challenging albums of the year. ****
Review by David Randall
David Randall presents ‘New to GRTR!’ each week on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio. Sunday live (21:00 GMT), Tuesday 16:00 and Thursday 21:00. Playlists
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
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Power Plays w/c 16 June 2025
LOVE NOR MONEY Blood Will Tell (Golden Robot Records)
DISCIPLES OF VERITY Break The Cycle (TLG/Zoid)
BLACKLIST UNION Up In Smoke (BLU Records)
ANDY AND THE ROCKETS Cyanide (Valley Music Delapop)
ARCHERS Crooked Smile (SBG Records)
ZETRA So (Nuclear Blast)
HOLLOW SOULS Shotgun (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 16 June 2025
09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2024 (Singer Songwriter)
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