The Lazz’s “Observer” Is a High-Concept Metal Experience
Do you think a song is still “real” if a human plays the heart of it but a machine helps finish the edges, or are you a purist who needs to see a full band sweating on stage? So lemme tell you, if you think you’ve seen everything the metal world has to offer, you haven’t met Ben Lazzaro.
He’s the guy behind The Lazz, and he’s doing something pretty wild. Ben has been playing guitar since 1982, but he also spent over a decade as a 3D artist in the video game industry. This has been instrumental to how he creates music. Now, he’s smashing those two worlds together to create a high-concept project that feels like a heavy metal movie and man o man, it’s too good.
His latest track, “Observer,” is the third part of a four-song series. What I love about this song is, It ain’t just about loud guitars and screaming; it’s actually a deep dive into psychology. Ben uses what he calls a “Hybrid-Human” setup and this makes everything goes on smoothly. He plays all the guitar and bass parts himself to keep that “real” feeling, but then he uses advanced technology to build out the drums, vocals, and effects. It’s like a solo artist hiring a super-advanced robot session band to finally finish songs he has been writing for forty years.
“Observer” takes place at the “edge of reality” on a mountain. It follows a character who is trying to wake up into a higher state of mind by ditching fear and illusions. It sounds a bit like a philosophy lecture, but with much better riffs. The song itself is huge. It has driving riffs that keep things moving and a chorus that sounds like it was built for a stadium.
The lead guitars are very melodic, which balances out the heavy energy of the track. It’s got that modern metal punch, but there is a layer of depth that keeps it from feeling like just another angry song. It feels intentional, like every note is there to help tell the story of someone finding their true self. And this is something we wake up to fight everyday, at a moment you feel completely different, then at another point it’s like you’re back to yourself. Then you begin to dream, the things you wanna achieve and all that entails to it.
The thing is, you may think Ben actually loved the idea of AI in music, well like everything new, everyone hates it, but then Ben actually realized it was a tool that could help him bring his massive catalog of unreleased music to life. He didn’t solely depended on it, but instead of being the jaded guy at the back of the club, he decided to master the tech to make his vision a reality and to me, it was smart of him. He writes, directs, and creates all the music videos too, so the whole thing is one big, cohesive experience.
So tell you what, if you wanna enjoy good metal music that actually challenges your brain and doesn’t just rely on clichés, you should definitely give “Observer” a listen. It’s ambitious, it’s heavy, and it’s a great example of how an independent artist can build an entire universe from their own studio.
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