Radio Vision is the solo project of Ben Stephenson and First Contact is his debut single, released on 06/04/2023. Ben has set off on his solo journey after the sudden hiatus of his psychedelic rock band The Shook and it is a voyage of self-discovery.

With the band’s sound firmly rooted in the blues and psychedelic genres, there are also influences from many other genres and Ben has created a sound that is quite unique to him.

I usually talk about the musical side of things first when I write a review, but this time I am going to mention the vocals before anything else, as I feel these are really what makes this track.

The vocals on First Contact are distorted to the point of being muffled and this is what, initially, gives the track its psychedelic vibe. Blurring the lines between the music and the vocals really creates a dark atmospheric sound to the track and this really gives the listener plenty to think about.

The music is also very psychedelic, the bluesy guitar almost bordering on stoner rock, the drumming quite laid back and the basslines giving the track a certain groove to it. Towards the end of the track, psychedelic sounds are added and these combined with the distortion on the instruments really adds to the atmosphere of the song.

I haven’t checked out the music his band The Shook produce so I do not know if this is a deviant from his usual type of music, but as a debut solo offering, this is a great track and I urge anyone with psychedelic tendencies to check it out.

This is certainly a track that will transport you out of this world to another time and dimension, and you will feel like you are on the space bus as it’s doing it!

This review is the property of The Metal Asylum