STEVE BLOWER is a British musician who has been very active since 2018. Releasing an EP and three full-length LPs in two years is an impressive feat. His sound straddles Hard Rock and Metal. The Prophecy is the second independently released record this year and will drop on October 23, 2020. It is available through his social media sites and BandCamp.

The songwriting on this release is pretty good. The record starts off with "The Screaming Eye", a song with some pretty fast-paced guitar work. The riff is catchy and the tone is good. There are some decent fills thrown in here and there. Those are pretty consistent and fit pretty well. The bass pretty much hangs out under the guitars with no real frills. The drums are programmed and sound a little stiff. They fit the song pretty well, but just sound a little flat.

"Bonded By Blood" and "Black Dog" follow. Both have good guitar riffs and the songs are well written for the most part. The rhythms are fairly basic leading me to wonder if the main instrument in Steve Blower's arsenal is the guitar. The guitars are definitely the most prominent feature on the record. "And The Bell Tolls" begins with a gong like sound eerily similar to "For Whom The Bell Tolls" (quick nod to an inspiration?), but quickly veers off with a gloomy guitar riff that is one of the more melodic on the record.

"Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse" and "Lucifer Rising (Hell Awakens)" confirm the disc has a bit of a religious undertone. Lyrically, this album seems to contemplate what would happen if Lucifer were to make an appearance and work towards seizing control of the land. While this is somewhat of a time worn theme, this is not a copycat album that borrows too much from those who have gone before. There is an originality that is admirable here.

I get that this album was written, recorded, mixed and mastered by one person. He even did the cover art. Looking at his previous releases, it appears this is just a Steve Blower project. While he is prolific and original, I think he might benefit from having some additional input, even if just in the studio. I also think he should hire a session drummer and bass guitar player. He is an adequate player, but the guitars just sound too far advanced over the rest to really balance the record well.

It is fairly obvious Steve Blower is a good writer and talented person, but I think he has taken on too much. With no one to bounce ideas off, he has limited himself to having to know everything. He is a good musician and writer, but I think collaboration could make the overall project better.