Home to pounding riffs, strategically clipping audio, and an appreciation for raw authenticity, Joshua Travis‘ debut solo EP NO REST is best experienced at maximum volume. Out today via metal tastemakers SharpTone Records, the project comes with the instructions to break your speakers, and upon first listen, the reasons become quite apparent.
Like a firecracker both short in length and full of blazing intensity, the aggressive five-song collection bursts with more features than actual tracks and showcases a global cast of powerhouse musicians including members of Crystal Lake, Polaris, Fit For A King, Monuments, and more, who each bring an additional sense of spontaneity to the already explosive mix.
Arriving closely behind standout singles “Web Of Lies” and “Leviathan,” three new songs round out the EP, each accompanied by an impressive visualizer stained in red and black to match the tone of the project. And, in the art as well as the music, listeners once again see Travis offering collaborators almost complete creative freedom while relentlessly continuing his mission of bucking the polished modern metal trend in favor of his own unique brand of organized chaos.
“I am so stoked to finally share NO REST with the world!” Travis states of the EP as a whole. “It’s been such a journey creating it with some of my favorite people in the metal community. With NO REST I wanted everything to sound real. To go against the norm. To be loud and noisy and in some cases, not perfect. I’ve got preamps that are just on the verge of feeding back. And, if you listen to the beginning of songs, you can hear static as soon as you hit play. It’s a mess. But that’s exactly the point. If you can lean into the commotion and really put the pieces together through all the madness, you’ll come away with something sick. That’s what I’d like people to experience.”
Shaped by the philosophy that exemplary art exists in the narrow space between unwavering regulation and complete independence, Travis has little interest in crafting music that’s been either stiflingly supervised or lacquered with a glistening finish. Rather, armed with elements of both control and creative liberation, it’s the elusive equilibrium between these two extremes that the guitarist champions, and simply put, NO REST is better for it.
NO REST TRACKLISTING:
- Web Of Lies
- Leviathan
- Disdain
- Parallel
- All Out War
