Sophia Mengrosso – Unforgiven

Sophia Mengrosso
Unforgiven
Out: April 29^th, 2024
Playing time: 48:43

From Classical Roots to Rock Powerhouse – Sophia Mengrosso’s Musical Evolution Reaches New Heights

By now I’m used to such enthusiastic formulations. The information on singer Sophia Mengrosso is no exception. She hails from San Francisco. Unfortunately, you can’t find out very much about the singer. Her homepage is also extremely simple and partly in Russian. She has a classical background. She took piano and harp lessons at the age of twelve. Opera legends such as Maria Callas and Cecilia Bartoli are cited as her role models. And it is precisely this classical vocal training that also characterises her rock singing. It remains unclear when she started her solo project. At least the debut album ‘Unforgiven’ was released in April this year. The singer wrote the songs herself. Tim Abbott and Josh Zuckerman from Kingdom Voice Production (Santa Clara, CA) were responsible for mixing and mastering. The artwork was created by Joy Coleman. The photos were taken by Brett Staneley.

‘Dream’ starts with a short piano introduction. But then the drums boom and Sophia Mengrosso’s clear soprano voice rings out. But shortly afterwards she shows that she is also a master of the lower pitches. Synth strings provide plenty of bombast. But in ‘Under’, the singer shows a different side to herself. Alongside the riffs and guitar hooks, the vocals have a rockier character. Only the drumming is once again overemphasised and stands on an equal footing with the vocals. Demonizer’ follows on seamlessly from there. The title track ‘Unforgiven’ was also released as a single. A contemplative ballad with beautiful hook lines. The second part is heavier and a little faster. ‘Sweet Sacrifice’ is a melodic rocker. Sophia uses the lower pitches again here. The same applies to ‘Taking What You Want’. ‘Medicate Me’ is the next ballad. The low voice is initially accompanied by a piano. Later, the rhythm section kicks in powerfully. The singer utilises her entire vocal range. Also ‘Another Dose’ starts quietly with piano and string sounds. Its later switches to the mid-tempo range. It continues in exactly the same way. A calm start followed by harder passages. In addition, the extremely variable vocals again and again. Whether it’s ‘Mind Splits In Two’, ‘Sank In The World’ or ‘Down’ – the basic pattern is always the same, although with varied melodies and different tempos. One small exception is ‘Down’. Here, the quiet beginning is dispensed with and the song rocks throughout. The final song ‘Ship Of Shattered Dreams’ is also characterised throughout by Rock, hard riffs and a strong rhythm.

Sophia Mengrosso presents a solid debut with ‘Unforgiven’. The singer’s vocal diversity is outstanding. Above all, the album lives from this. However, I would like to see a little more variety in the arrangements. The album would also have benefited from one or two faster songs. One thing that struck me as somewhat negative was the instrumentation. The individual instruments are mostly drowned out by the heavy drumming. Only the vocals are on a par with the drumming. It should be more balanced.

Sophia Mengrosso – Demonizer: https://youtu.be/w5EtEvbPZx4?si=sMH0Rz6P3TDTxNgS

Lineup:Sophia Mengrosso – Vocals
Guests: Kohld Haveneson – All Instruments

Track list:

• Dream
• Under
• Demonizer
• Unforgiven
• Sweet Sacrifice
• Taking What You Wan
• Medicate Me
• Another Dose
• Mind Splits In Two
• Sank In The World
• Down
• Haunted
• Ship Of Shattered Dreams