I’m delighted to announce properly that I’ve been working on my debut solo album, Back in Hell, the last couple of 3 weeks.

To be honest, this is something I was contemplating doing 5 years ago under the Titan name, but with how things were progressing with Hamerex at the time with the release of the IX album and almost a year after Chris left the band and I took on singing duties, I put the idea on hold.

With Hamerex falling to pieces and going on hiatus, it kind of left me with a fair bit more time on my hands so I finished the first draft of my extension of the Premonition / At a Nightmare’s End and with how much I was missing it and knowing how much people loved the what had been done with the band, I wanted to do something, so revisiting that idea, but under my own name seemed a good idea. My recording skills have improved with recording demos and my know how was a bit better so it seemed a good time given how disenchanted I’d become over what I considered a failure with Hamerex crumbling through my hands.

So with not really anyone to answer to other than myself, I got up on day and just got on with it after deciding on a track list from old material I considered pretty good or that I could improve on from old demos, which were either rejected (from too much Maiden worship if I remember rightly), forgotten about or just overlooked for something better.

I shared that I was doing the project on my Facebook page last week, and the post came alight with enthusiasm of new music from me, by which point I’d already recorded the bulk of the music and was able to share Out of this World in a video, which again received a lot of enthusiasm. Then, as I’d become interested in doing some design work which I’ve found quite fun of late, I designed a front cover one night and shared it the next day and again, excitement’s built, not just by the Hamerex fans, but giving me some self belief that I was doing something pretty good, and given my limitations of recording with a laptop, free audacity studio software and a guitar hero microphone, was quite impressive. Admittedly, mixing and mastering I’ve not much clue about and it’s not, I suppose, a luxury I can afford, but given that’s it’s true, honest and raw, I’m happy with its progress and the overall production.

At this point in time, all music is just about done. One very small guitar part to add, and two more songs worth of vocals and some tinkering and I think it’s about there. Last night and this morning it seemed a bit daunting, maybe because of it’s become a real thing now with it gaining awareness and it’s kind of like, wow, people want it so I need to get it done in a timely fashion and make sure I continue to do it to the best of my abilities and what the tech I have will allow.

So, I bring to you, the reveal of my album, Back in Hell, which I suppose, as well as the title being taken from the opening song, is kind of fitting for me throwing myself back in to the music quite publicly, as far as my reach goes at least.

1. Back in Hell
2. The Whisperer
3. What’s Left of Me
4. Out of this World
5. Twisted Evolution
6. Haunting Misery

I’ve made pre-orders available on my new solo Bandcamp page (https://steveblower.bandcamp.com/album/back-in-hell),  where you can already get The Whisperer and Haunting Misery as downloads on purchase or stream them as is. (10th September is a guide for a release date and the day after my birthday so a nice possibility for the release of my debut album)

The past few weeks of work on this project has, like all music projects I do, is a labour of love, and can turn in to an obsession, which admittedly this has for me as well. It has been mentally draining working on the drums, which has been painstakingly done copying a pasting samples for each drum and cymbal hit, which I feel have done a decent job on them and sounds realistic.

As always, when I’m passionate about something I can ramble, but if you have, thank you for reading, and if you go on to listen or even pre-order the album, thank you again. It means the world, and it means as a musician, my music gets heard whether loved, enjoyed or not and makes this feel worthwhile with all the support I’ve received as of late. Music’s the only thing I’m really interested in and is the only thing that makes sense, whether as a form escapism or to connect with the writer through the music and words or with other like-minded music fans.

Thank you all, and hope you enjoy what’s to come.

Steve