In recent years there has been a huge surge in virtuoso playing in the realms of metal, from the sheer blistering technicality of Tosin Abasi (and Animals as Leaders as a whole) to Scale The Summit’s Chris Letchford and Travis LeVrier and even on a lesser known, somewhat more underground scale there’s the likes of the Disperse’s Jakub Żytecki, merely 18 years old. All of said players are equipped with their own unique skill but the common feature being that they’re all guitar players. Evan Brewer is a bassist.

Having previously gained some notoriety with the, now defunct, tech hardcore outfit Reflux, which also featured one Tosin Abasi, Evan Brewer reared his head again earlier this year when he was announced as the new bassist with progressive death metallers The Faceless.

The announcement also came with Evan Brewer confirming that he would be releasing his first solo album in the summer. A record consisting of almost entirely bass, save for a synthesised beat here and there, Alone is an effort that allows Brewer to indulge in his own abilities. Let’s face it, bassists just don’t get recognised the same way guitarists do or even in the same way as drummers do. There are several instrumental shred guitar albums released every year so the fact that this is a bass-led album immediately sets it apart.

Simply put, Evan Brewer’s abilities are dumbfounding. A now-notable YouTube clip of the man simultaneously playing two bass guitars sent expectations for what he could do into the stratosphere and on Alone those expectations are realised. Opener, Actualize erupts with dizzying cascading notes from the thicker strings and from there, Alone juts in and out and staggeringly rapid passages to hypnotic and rather entrancing weavings.

Alone is only 27 minutes long, maintaining a vital succinctness that keeps the record enthralling. Quality control has prevailed on the album as undoubtedly, Brewer could play out unabashedly technical basslines for hours. The only real fault with Alone is how niche it is. Outside the jurisdiction of Reflux and The Faceless fans, and very musical fans looking for the next mind-blowing journey of musicality, there’s not great deal of appeal. A minor complaint of course, everyone else is just missing out.

Drop-d Rating: 7.5/10

Evan Brewer