Matt Wolejsza – “The Beast I’m Meant to Be”

Matt Wolejsza’s debut album is a striking first statement from a Gaithersburg-based guitarist who’s been sitting on years of material and finally had the right people around him to get it recorded properly. Produced by Baltimore’s Tim Boate, the record has enough fullness and detail to hold up without ever drowning out what Wolejsza actually does, which is write guitar-driven songs with a clear debt to Metallica and a fairly wide emotional range.

The lead track “Stupidity Gone Viral” opens on an aggressive note, taking aim at internet culture and the way social media rewards the worst of human behavior. It’s the kind of subject that could easily tip into lecture territory, but the riff-heavy approach keeps it grounded, and the title track is heavier in a different way, dealing with depression and a real collapse of self-worth. The one that genuinely got to me is “One More Hug”, it’s about losing his cat Bonnie, and it captures that specific kind of grief people sometimes dismiss because it involves an animal. Wolejsza doesn’t try to pretty it up, and that’s exactly the right call.

If you enjoyed the album, make sure you follow him for whatever comes next. Have you heard this album yet, and if so, which track hit you hardest?