When you infuse any sort of material with any level of psychedelia, you’re already raising the bar for my expectations by at least a little. In my opinion, to successfully be psychedelic is to become larger than life with your sound piercing the fabric of reality itself and when it’s done well it makes for some truly capturing music. Mix it with some equally well-executed heaviness and you’ve got a formula that succeeds more often than not. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into the debut from Mazzeri, and nothing could’ve readied me for the supreme quality I was about to experience.

Bringing together elements from traditional heavy metal and progressive rock but with more of an epic doom center blanketed by a thick layer of gripping psychedelia is a mammoth order no matter who you’re asking to cook it. So much has to go into that and the prospect of a good release out of such a concoction makes the end product even more scrutinized if gone wrong. Although, without missing a single step and even managing to take a few unexpected side steps into territory that I wasn’t expecting whatsoever, Mazzeri prepares this enormous dish like an absolute master-class five-star chef. Just four tracks adorn this eponymous album but with a total runtime of just over 48 minutes, it’s hard to argue that Mazzeri doesn’t know how to maximize their craft to the fullest. There are galaxies worth of psychedelia and heaviness strewn throughout this record that always keep you gripped into what exactly is constantly being thrown our way, and it’s through clever use of different styles that they easily work in those traditional metal and progressive rock flavors into an already flavorful work that could work magnificently on their own to begin with. Throw in a quick showcase of classy synth-work and I can’t help but feel that Mazzeri’s own form of light experimentation through cross-genre exploration is something that so many other acts, new and old, that could learn a thing or two given how amazingly well it’s done here at virtually every turn. It’s consistently keeping you guessing just what direction Mazzeri will go next because once you throw in synths that could also stand very well on their own, it really feels like anything is possible! This band must already know they’re onto something pretty awesome as it’s just the first release and I’m half ready to call this one of the more interesting and meaty debuts that I’ve come across so far during the year, and I can’t shake the feeling that they’re going to top it pretty soon. I just hope we won’t have to wait too long to witness it.

Such debuts like this are something that simply demands to be talked about. Fresh talent is constantly something just about everyone is looking for when it comes to music, and when new quality comes around it begs to be spread like wildfire, and Mazzeri should absolutely not be exempt from such treatment. Everything about this record has something that you can sink your teeth into to really enjoy on so many different levels, and they executed it all practically flawlessly.

LISTEN to “Mazzeri” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Mazzeri on Facebook here.