Guitarist Sophie Lloyd has shared her new single, Do Or Die, featuring guest vocals from Inglorious frontman Nathan James.
Do Or Die is the first track to be teased from her forthcoming debut album, Imposter Syndrome, which was inspired by Slash's self-titled solo record, in the sense that LLoyd will be collaborating with a number of different renowned vocalists.
Lloyd shot to success after becoming a viral internet sensation with her trove of technically-dazzling guitar covers of rock and metal hits. Most recently, she served as Machine Gun Kelly's touring guitarist on his Mainstream Sellout World Tour.
Do Or Die kicks in with a fiery guitar riff - reminiscent of the aforementioned Guns 'N Roses guitarist - and is soon joined by James' high-octane powerhouse vocal. Later in the track, Lloyd rips into a thrilling, cascading guitar solo.
“I can finally say that I have new music coming!” says Lloyd in a statement. “All my music before was instrumental, so this is a very special release for me as it includes vocals, and some of the people we’ve worked with are people I used to have as posters on my wall as a kid, so it feels very full circle. It's something that I have been working on before the first lockdown, and to be here talking about it feels amazing.”
“I am so happy to be sharing my first single from the album with Nathan James,” she continues, speaking of the collaboration. “I have been following his music for many years and he just has the most incredible voice and did such an amazing job on bringing this track to life. I'm so grateful he was able to take part! I remember getting the rough vocals back from Nathan while I was away in LA, and we were just blasting it out of the car on the freeway. That's when I knew this would be the first single to be released from my album.”
Of the inspiration behind the track, she tells NME: "Do Or Die is inspired by Iron Maiden. The track also has some really cool riffs and a sick guitar solo. It’s just such an awesome song."
Sharing details on her forthcoming record, Imposter Syndrome, which is due for release sometime in 2023, Lloyd explains: “The whole record is inspired by Slash’s self-titled solo album, where he collaborated with different people from different spheres of music. I’ve worked with a bunch of different artists for my record as well.”
Some of the guest vocalists that Lloyd has featured on the collaborative album include vocalist Brandon Saller, Trivium’s Matt Heafy and Steel Panther’s Michael Starr.
A video for Do Or Die will arrive on November 25.
Listen to the song below:
