I’m seeing the names Scott Seabright and Chris Chetland popping up regularly in New Zealand bands EPKs. Not surprised. These engineering work-horses certainly know how to pull a number through the studio and keep its heart and spirit.

No different here, with Medusa Glare‘s newest release Winning The Game. The band together with Scott produced the single, Scott engineered it and Chris mastered it at Kog. Bass/vocalist Nathan Waters, guitars/vocals Simon Koretz and the glue behind the cymbals and buckets Rick Walker, have together brought us an in-your-face heavy rock stomper that, while polished and radio-ready (The Rock, Hauraki – I am looking at you!), has that edginess and controlled fury that a good rocker brings to the game.

Some excellently worked guitars (Les Paul for the rhythm? Certainly got the meaty tones I love about the model type), including a well executed classic lead guitar solo that stops short of scale shredding and plays a calculated sequence of notes, is augmented by a thunderous, complex bass and aggressive drums that carry you along on a heavy rock rollercoaster that had me stamping me feets and nodding my head in Gen X metal era approval.

Don’t get me wrong though – this ain’t retro. This is so very much New Zealand heavy rock revival ’23. The rapidly burgeoning scene in this country, of which I have a number of reviews already featured on this site, makes me very optimistic for live, organic, heavy but not blow the speakers completely just yet music to continue to grow and find an ever increasing audience.

Numbers like Winning The Game, and bands like Medusa Glare, will certainly keep this music flaming bright. A terrific, born-to-be-a-rocker vocal layers the top end of this track. It’s a live show crowd-pleaser to be, believe me. You’ll be singing along at the top of your lungs, devil horning the air in raucous delight. This can also be enjoyed while doing exercise. Or a roadie with your mates. It goes with beer in bottles that have condensation on them. Turn the volume up in whichever environ you find yourself in, because it’s heavy rock and that’s how heavy rock is done. Like Dee Snider once said: Play It Loud Mutha.

This belongs in the family of the likes of Thunder, The Almighty (post-Gothic period), The Cult (late 80s period), and peer bands like NewZerror, The Boondocks or even the top of the heap dwellers D****skin. And yet it also smacks of the Foo Fighters Stereophonics and that ilk. Wonderfully diverse in subtle genre-bridging ways. Clever.

If they’re playing somewhere, go check them out. Their musicianship is top class, and based on this single their material is too. Follow their socials; they’re on everything!

Medusa Glare – don’t turn to stone.