Rest, Repose are a newly formed band that include popular YouTubers Jared Dines and Ryan Bruce, or Fluff as he is known. The Sleep City E.P is their debut release.
As the album begins the first thing that becomes apparent is that this is very different to what many may be expecting. For anyone who’s followed Jared in the past, either his work in Dissimulator or his YouTube channel, will be used to hearing him scream or playing generally heavy music. After hearing the first riff filling up my speakers I was ready to hear something new, something interesting and something I wasn’t expecting.
The first track ‘Influence’ sets the tone for the record. The opening riff, that has guitars chugging down low notes while a memorable guitar part echos out in-between, sets the tone perfectly. This record is all about the riffs. Every section is well thought out and put together masterfully. Each part flows beautifully into the next, every transition is pulled off to perfection and each section is varied while managing to remain familiar. It’s a fantastic example of having complexity within simplicity.
By far the most surprising part is the vocals. To me, they invoke thoughts of Alter Bridge, with lines being belted out as if a stadium of thousands were watching and singing along. Unfortunately they are more miss than they are hit. While the vocal lines and melodies remain strong, the delivery just falls short. There’s just something missing on the majority of songs and a lack off variation from section to section takes away from the moments that make you want to sing along.
My only other criticism of the record is that intros to songs become to feel a little too similar. This becomes apparent when you compare the opening track ‘Influence’ and the third song, ‘McCoy’. They are so alike in their opening that unless paying attention you may think it was the same song. This changes as both songs progress as it’s only an intro they share.
The two strongest songs from the E.P are ‘Sleep City’ and ‘The Generator’, the latter being the leading single. Both display the incredible amount of potential Rest, Repose have. The way the songs progress is masterful, the riffs fill up the speakers and the vocal lines cut through to create something truly special.
After finishing the record I was incredibly impressed. There is so much potential that the future of Rest, Repose could be incredibly bright. The E.P has wet my appetite, now I’m craving for their first album.
7/10 – Must Listen.
Mess Matty:
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Mess Matty 
vocals like Altar Bridge?! Sorry man, try The Urge. Agree they didn’t really do it for me. Overall solid outing though.
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Each to their own. I don’t listen to this type of music generally and wanted to talk about something outside of my comfort zone, so just pulled the only comparison that came to mind! Thanks for reading.
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I agree with the review. My main takeaway was that i was mostly dissapointed that Jared had decided to be the drummer. Hes good, but in my opinion hes a much better/creative guitarist and could give this band a huge boost as a guitarist/backupvocalist/screamer. And let someone who is a little better at drums play. But i can certainly understand him wanting to play drums, most guitarists have that urge.
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Thank for reading and yeah, I agree with all the points you’ve raised!
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