| Musical Style: Melodic Hard Rock | Produced By: Kyle Simpson |
| Record Label: Roxx Records | Country Of Origin: USA |
| Year Released: 2026 | Artist Website: |
| Tracks: 5 | Rating: 80% |
| Running Time: 19:21 |
Looking for melodic hard rock with a modern flair? You’re in luck. Fear Not fits the bill in such regard with the March of 2026 release to its third EP The Blind Leading The Blind. The group specializes in weaving paramount melodies with raspy but melodic vocals and an unyielding guitar crunch bordering on the bluesy. Yet, Fear Not is also not afraid to expand upon its sound with occasional growled or screamed vocals and intermittent modern guitar tones but not to fault either way.
The Southern California based act put out in 2019 its 75% Angelic Warlord reviewed initial EP For The Wounded Heart ahead of its 85% reviewed second from 2025, Weight Of The World (both also Roxx). In between Fear Not released in 2022 its magnum opus and Angelic Warlord album of the year runner up (and 95% reviewed) sophomore Roxx Records full-length album Fields Of Sorrow. The group got its start in 1993 on Pakaderm Records with its Dino & John Elefante produced self-titled debut full length (90% review).
Fear Not traces to the late eighties when it was founded by vocalist Larry Worley, guitarist Darin Eby, bassist Rod Romero and drummer Gary Hanson under the Love Life moniker. Love Life released its first and only album Goodbye Lady Jane in 1991 on Blonde Vinyl Records (85% review to the 2019 Roxx Records reissue) only to disband shortly thereafter. It later reformed under the Fear Not heading but with Chris Howell replacing Eby on guitar. The current Fear Not roster includes the core members Worley (now on guitar as opposed to vocals), Howell (under the last name Sorensen), Romero and Hanson but with newcomer Eddie Green on lead vocals.
Musically, The Blind Leading The Blind picks up where Weight Of The World leaves off with five deserving cuts of high-energy melodic hard rock. Hence, opener “Hard Road”, a shuffling bluesy guitar weighted scrapper innate to a bruising tempo and contrastingly lighter refrain adorned with feathery vocal melodies. The bluesy manifesting further reveals for the scratchy instrumental run. Lyric snippet:
I don’t remember the day I was born
But I’ve been tested, I am battle worn
I’ve felt every petal, felt every thorn
Stretched to my limits, but I’ve never been torn
It’s a hard road in the black of night
It’s a hard road, but I can see the light
Headlights fade, the Son burns bright
When my race is run, it’s just a hard, hard road
Mid-paced slugger “When Goliath Falls” ups heaviness with its guttural low end and staggering guitar walls. Aggression further realizes for the growled vocals backing the assaultive refrain and shattering rhythms topping the impairing verse sections. Again, the Fear Not bluesy side reveals for the instrumental moments in reference to the precise work of Sorensen and Worley.
Albums title track ups the full on bellicosity. “The Blind Leading The Blind” elevates force to near speed based territory, towering with shouted ‘Hey!’ backing vocals and periodic backed modern screams but not forsaking the Fear Not procurable attributes, confirming the choice hooks to diverge. Guttural narration from Matthew 7:15 tops-things off. Lyric snippet:
Cold crowns fall down from the fraud
Bold screams break dreams that are flawed
Quick saints paint lies in the clouds
Cruel hands rule lands with a nod
The blind lead the blind in a line
False words cut deep by design
Dark paths drift back in time
The blind leading the blind
“The Devil Preys For You” takes a darker stance. Song reveals a straight on metal buffeting, as rhythm guitar digs and bites in caustic fashion and backing vocals mirror a harsher element to forge the barbed etiquette to contend. When constraint slackens, a distinguished if not regal bearing realizes of a symphonic if not doom like form.
“I Drove The Nails” closes the album in form of a worshipful ballad. It proves well conceived and expertly performed, ethereal with its wave like guitars and atmospheric ambience as Green exhibits a smoother and more melodic side to his delivery and incorporeal vocal harmonies align with the histrionic form. Rhythm guitar crunches in to bolster the equally stimulating refrain. Lyric snippet:
I drove the nails, I raised the tree
It wasn’t Rome - it was me
My sin, my pride, my rage, my hate
Laid You bare beneath their weight
I wore the robe, I cast the lots
I mocked Your name, I played the judge
I kissed Your face with poisoned breath
Then traded grace to dance with death
Similar to Weight Of The World, The Blind Leading The Blind presents with five strong songs backed by capable production and ever present Fear Not strengths in musicianship and vocals. Combine both EPs into one full length album and we are looking at a grade in the 85% to 90% range, keeping in mind I grade EPs on a tighter scale compared to full length counterparts. It goes without saying that if a fan of Fear Not or melodic hard rock you will not be disappointed in The Blind Leading The Blind.
Review by Andrew Rockwell
Track Listing: “Hard Road” (3:16), “When Goliath Falls” (3:48), “The Blind Leading The Blind” (3:31), “The Devil Preys For You” (4:19), “I Drove The Nails” (4:26)
Musicians
Eddie Green - Lead Vocals
Chris Sorensen - Guitars
Larry Worley - Guitars
Rod Romero - Bass
Gary Hanson - Drums
