Leave it to Alex Haines to throw out the rulebook and shred a new one from scratch. With her latest album, The Instrumental Sessions, the New York-based melodic metal artist shows that vocals arenโt the only way to scream from the soul. This background music is so emotionally layered as a body of work that it hits like a wrecking ball and heals like a symphony.
Built from what was supposed to be a collaborative full-band project, The Instrumental Sessions was born in a moment of improvisation. When a key violinist dropped out of her previous bandโs project, Haines took to her MIDI keyboard and never looked back. What started as a workaround evolved into a creative awakening. Recorded in her living room using Logic Pro X and an MBox, Haines crafted every beat, synth, and guitar riff by hand, often manually inputting sounds note by note in Piano Roll.
โTwoโ kicks things off with grinding guitars and thundering drums that feel like youโre sprinting headfirst into a firestorm, while swelling synths creep up behind like a cinematic score. Then thereโs โLook Up,โ which takes a moodier turn as slow, grave guitar grinds meet soaring strings and phaser-drenched effects that feel like anxiety and hope dancing in a duel. When โWhy Youโ hits, itโs a full-on breakdown. Slithering, chaotic guitar layers slice through machine-gun drums, each beat sounding like a fist to the chest. Meanwhile, โTightrope Dancerโ is a high-wire act of its own, with MIDI-crafted orchestration setting a dreamlike stage before the guitars rev in.
For an album without lyrics, The Instrumental Sessions speaks volumes. It taps into the emotional DNA of bands like Evanescence, Kittie, and Stone Sour while forging a sound all Hainesโs own. More than just a passion project, this is a promising prelude to her upcoming EP The Rain on Your Parade.
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Review by: Naomi Joan