Review by Ritchie Birnie for MPM
What happens when school friends reconnect and two genres collide? The answer is Rooftop Surgery and after gaining 15,000 streams from debut single “Circle” they follow up with “Next to Me” and this is a major step up.
As an introduction to the band (if needed) Scott Blackley and Craig McFetridge were in a band at high school but both took on very different musical paths when they left school, Scott dove into the extreme with the Death Metal band Rend Them Asunder, whereas Craig ended up in the very popular Mason Hill.
So polar opposites have collided and “Next to Me” really was not what I was expecting even though I had heard the debut song “Circle”. The extreme is nowhere to be heard on the opening, it is more balladic but when the guitar kicks in you can hear the influence even if it is scaled back. The vocals are more prominent that the debut and far more clearer, more concise and a lot cleaner.
Craig is providing the backbone with some excellent drumming and this track has some cracking hooks. Even as it wavers on the Death Metal side it still manages to be catchy as hell. The guitar work is outstanding as the track progresses and as the solos kick in.
The Nu metal/ Metalcore sludge runs deep and thick at the end and as I said I was very pleasantly surprised. Next to Me is due to be released on 24th April with much more to come. Check out the debut single now and make sure you give this track a listen when it drops as it is something very different.
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