The Matterhorn Project

Traveller

Gabe Allen

BandWagon Magazine

Just seconds into “Traveler,” the opening track of The Matterhorn Project’s latest EP of the same name, you get the unmistakable feeling of falling backwards. You reach up towards the solid ground you perched on seconds before, but your fi ngers grasp only air. You plummet into a murky, vaporous abyss as the earth folds inward around you.

When the phrases “prog metal” and “solo studio project” occupy the about section of a band’s website, a couple of red fl ags go up. Sometimes, when an artist, especially one in the progressive sphere, spends a great deal of time alone in the studio, the result is an overly busy, hopelessly complex piece of music. Even a song with great bones can become boring and opaque when weighed down by layer upon layer of mathy riff age.

But Zahari Tzigularov, the mastermind behind Traveler, has used his studio time well. Though his musicianship is apparent, his artistry is front and center. The 5-song EP is at once lush and foreboding. Tzigularov’s compositions weave between sludgy bass-driven riff s, wandering clean guitar melodies and fantastical whisper-growled lyrics. Underlying the entire record are lavish, atmospheric soundscapes.

Tzigularov, a Bulgarian-born long time Denverite has been active in the Front Range heavy scene for years. When, at the beginning of the pandemic, he had to stop performing, he decided it was time to delve into a recording project that had lived rent-free in the back of his head for a long time.

“I wanted to push my limits,” he told BandWagon. “My challenge to myself was to write, perform, and record the album, as well as create the art for it.”

Tzigularov’s challenge limited him in one sense, because he had only one creative perspective to draw from end-to-end. But, this limitation is also the EP’s strength. From the melancholic album art to the viscous instrumentation, the pieces of Traveler fold together into a cohesive work of art

Traveler is streaming everywhere now – visit thematterhornproject.com for more.

Featured ARTIST

OF THE MONTH

Hundreds of hours spent in the basements of dive bars don’t often yield respectable accolades, but for George Cessna, that’s arguably how he came to be this month’s Colorado Sound featured artist.

Cessna and his close friend Brian Buck literally clocked as much time in the basement of Denver’s beloved Hi-Dive, recording and eventually emerging with Lucky Rider, a twangy, dark and lo-fi album released in December.

“Of course, it took us hundreds of hours of work because we were still learning all the time,” Cessna tells BandWagon of the eleven echoey, country-leaning tracks. “I think it also helped give us a lot of confidence with music projects in the future. We know what we're capable of, or not capable of, now.”

Though his first proper solo effort, Lucky Rider is not Cessna’s first rodeo. He released a split in 2019 with the artist Lathe, and is a participant and pedigree of the best (and, only?) gothic-roots dark-country supergroup in the region, Slim Cessna’s Auto Club, of which his father is the founder.

“I think I always wanted more than anything to play in my dad's band,” Cessna says, “so when I started doing that, I kind of hit a 'well, now what?' point with my own music. It's hard to be able to believe you can make anything as intricate, strange, and beautiful as their music. And I don't know if I ever will. But it's nice being back in work mode on my own stuff, and I hope to keep that ball rolling.” – Kevin Johnston

GEORGE CESSNA

LUCKY RIDER HITS THE SWEET SPOT BETWEEN TIMBER TIMBRE, LOW AND GEORGE JONES. HEAR IT ON THE COLORADO SOUND AND SEE GEORGE CESSNA WITH HIS BAND SNAKES JANUARY 28 AT THE BLUEBIRD THEATER IN DENVER.

REASONS TO LISTEN TO THE COLORADO SOUND • MORE COLORADO ARTISTS • KNOWLEDGEABLE DJS WHO LIVE HERE • NO COMMERCIALS • • UNIQUE PROGRAMMING YOU DON’T GET ANYWHERE ELSE FROM BEASTIE BOYS TO BILLIE HOLIDAY • 105.5FM & ONLINE AT COLORADOSOUND.ORG