News / Duo aim high with debut EP
A NEW local music duo who harbour ambitions of making an impact on the mainland are releasing their first EP this week.
Instrumental metal project Giant, who feature guitarist Jamie Hatch and bassist Chris Cope, will unleash Chronos // Kairos on Friday.
The EP features two songs – which clock in at over sixteen minutes in total – and it will be available online across all major digital retailers, as well as Spotify.
The act’s adventurous sound features nods to genres such as progressive metal, with the duo aiming to create music that is accessible yet technical.
The EP was purely self-recorded and sees Hatch double up on production, mixing and mastering duties.
The musician said that the release has been a long time coming, with Giant initially forming a few years ago.
“I hope that the EP will lead to more recordings and now that this one is out after three years, I hope it won’t be too long until the next recordings,” he said.
“By then we’ll hopefully be a gigging band, trying to establish our music not only in Shetland, but out of it too.
“All these reviews have given us the belief that it’s possible and I would love to rid the stigma of Shetland alternative bands not being able to get anywhere outwith the island.”
The band take inspiration from the likes of US outfits Between The Buried And Me and The Dillinger Escape Plan.
The EP has already been attracting media attention from across the UK, with veteran rock critic and author Malcolm Dome – who writes for the likes of Metal Hammer and Classic Rock – saying the music is “uplifting…[it] manages to be both complex yet danceable”.
Ex BBC Radio 1 DJ Ally McCrae meanwhile said it is “soaring, technically intimidating, riff-laden guitar fire”.
A video for Giant’s ten-minute track Kairos was released online on Monday on YouTube.
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