SHOCKER is a band from Belgium that shows distinct influences from glam and hair metal, with elements of doom and heavy metal thrown in for good measure. The idea started in 2018, but the reality took a little more time. Their self-titled, four song debut EP was released independently on February 1, 2021.

The record starts off with "Thrillseeker," a song that begins with a bit of a doomy guitar riff for the intro and a nice rhythm to go along with it. The tone then shifts to almost standard 80s glam metal. Sammy Peleman has an almost Mark Slaughter style falsetto. He gets WAY up there in range. He appears to have a lot of control over this range, showing he is no amateur. The bridge has an interesting shift that features an almost circus-like tone on the keyboards.

"Twisted Shape Of Man" is track two and begins with a gloomy bass and a slow burn guitar tone. The vocals are down in a lower range and evoke some more doom feelings, but they come up before the first chorus. The guitar riff is solid. This is another song that feels like it might speed up, and does a little at the solo and bridge. The drop off in the middle section, featuring a nice piano interlude, is well done. This turns out to be a pretty complex song that has a lot of variety to offer.

"The Genuine Falls" again starts slow and eerie. There is a slow ramp up getting into the main section of the song. The middle of this song has a really good guitar riff and nice tempo. Not fast, it does move at a good pace. There is a keyboard lead and solo as well as a guitar solo and a little more reliance on backing vocals in this song. It's a good song, I just felt the keyboard segment in the center was a little off. It felt like the pitch was a too high for the rest of the song.

The record wraps up with "Breaking The Silence." This song feels a little more bluesy than the rest of the record. Much closer to the hard rock end of their sound. The guitar fills are good and fit the overall attitude of the song. It turns harder a couple of minutes in and the riff gets really good. That choppy, almost galloping cadence works well.

SHOCKER is a good band with a lot of promise. It took me a few listens to appreciate the falsetto vocal tones. That is not necessarily my favorite range, but Sammy has control of it, which is very important. The guitar/keyboard balance threw me off a bit at times. They vary from a twin guitar to solo guitar and keyboard. Some of those shifts were smooth, others felt a little forced. The production is pretty good, the songwriting is good. I believe this is a band that is just going to get better as they go along.