Sep 11

Sep 11 The World Over - Artificial EP

The World Over

Artificial EP
Release Date: August 6th, 2021
Genre: Hard Rock
Label: Blood Blast Distribution/The Syndicate

Review by Jared Stossel

Despite my love of hard rock and heavy metal music, it’s safe to say that these genres have had a fair share of criticism over the years for lacking representation, in terms of band members, the audience that attend these shows, and the lyrical content that recurs throughout this kind of music. Every once in a while though, particularly in this day and age, a band comes along in the genre that challenges the notion of what you think you know about hard rock. Enter The World Over, a five-piece rock act hailing from Los Angeles, fronted by founding member Tiaday Rocke (ex-Eyes Set To Kill). Since establishing themselves in 2014, they’ve only released a handful of singles, but they’ve recently brought forth Artificial, a four-track EP that acts as a great entry point for those looking to explore what this up-and-coming act has to offer.

Only fifteen minutes long,The World Over manage to tackle a number of topics, including American inequality (“To Be Human”), dealing with a gossip-laden world (“Shallow”), the fear that accompanies change (“Taking Back Control”), and relationships (“Bittersweet”). The songs are structured well throughout, with “Bittersweet” acting as the perfect high-energy opener, filled with straightforward but effective guitar riffs, powerful vocals and screams that punctuate at the right moment. To me, the most powerful moment of the EP is “To Be Human”, a call to action for those to embrace each others’ differences and use our voices to speak up for those who do not have a voice. To me, this is whereThe World Overshows their most promising moments as a band; they pull off the other tracks well, but there is something special in this moment of the EP. It’s a moment that I hope to see again as they progress throughout their career.