Metal solo project Rise Above Instinct draws on symphonic metal inspiration and seamlessly merges orchestra and metal to craft a powerful sound that they describe as “epic, insightful and uplifting.”
The brainchild of Chad Capper, from Angola in Indiana, the inspiration for Rise Above Instinct was a live performance by Danish amplified history group Heiling in Chicago in 2019. Chad had been exploring his spirituality for a while, but that performance really resonated and re-awakened something inside him.
“In a meditation shortly after that, I was told clearly ‘It’s time!’ and I started writing,” Chad explains. “Over the next few years, the songs on the EP slowly took shape and, in 2024 , a mutual acquaintance put me in touch with the amazing vocalist Beth Norris Hill to finalize the recordings. I’m hoping that this EP will lead to forming a permanent band, because there’s a great deal of music and message yet to be recorded!”
The result is music that draws on the music of artists like Nightwish, Epica and Within Temptation and the works of Gustav Mahler, Dimitri Shostakovich, Igor Stravinsky, Philip Glass and more to craft a “massive and intimate” sound. And Chad adds: “Each piece (is) woven together into a complete sound that is all its own. With soaring vocals and memorable melodies, it’s a sound that will endure.”
To give us a taste for this, Chad sent us Teach You To Fly, the second track from his debut EP Ascension, which was released in January. The track opens up with choral vocals and stabs of violin joined by light guitar and drawn-out strings. Beth’s delicate vocals come in over the top and explode into life in a powerful chorus. The impressive vocals continue with all manner of orchestral elements in support, before gradually winding down into a mellow section that feeds into another epic chorus.
The track clocks in at more than eight-and-a-half minutes long, and around halfway through, it drops into spoken male vocals over various string elements. That ends with a flurry of strings dropping into dramatic brass and guitar bursts, then delicate violins slowly build into a big sweeping guitar solo. The pace suddenly slows with drawn-out strings and explodes into powerful dual vocals, before impressive high-pitched vocals bring this epic track to a fittingly dramatic conclusion.
On the track, Chad told us: “The response to Teach You To Fly has been overwhelming so far! This is a song I wrote for my sons after I made the choice to leave a band I was playing in right before playing a series of metal festivals in Europe in 2006. I chose to leave the band to be the Dad they needed; I chose to stay and Teach Them How To Fly. And so the song was born!
“If you’re delving into Teach You To Fly, expect a different take on Symphonic Metal, with orchestra and metal merging seamlessly into an inseparable union, rather than two disparate forms simply slammed together. Prepare to go on a journey into the meaning of love, sacrifice, and unending devotion, with soaring vocals, haunting melodies and an overwhelming sense of peace.” Check it out in the stream here:
The Ascension EP builds up to that track with an awesome symphonic intro, Overture, before three more equally impressive tracks. Remember Who You Are features a two-minute intro before heavy guitars support Beth’s dramatic vocals take over. That’s followed by the relatively short five-minute-long but equally epic Phantoms In The Mist, which starts slowly before diving into powerful guitars and strings. Big rolling drums kick in and Beth’s vocals take over amid a mass of atmospheric instrumentals leading us on an engaging ride. And the EP rounds off with Into The Light, which starts with light instrumentals and Beth’s deliciously delicate vocals building up to a big rocky section.
As touched upon, the Rise Above Instinct sound is influenced by a wide range of artists and genres, from Baroque and classical music to jazz and metal. Chad pinpoints artists like Yngwie Malmsteen, Toumas Holopainen (Nightwish), Cohen Jansen (Epica), Gustav Mahler, Dimitri Shostakovich, Miles Davis, Eric Whitacre, Heilung and Enigma as being crucial to shaping his understanding of music.
And on what inspires him to write music, Chad explains: “My main source of inspiration is the knowledge I’ve gained on my spiritual journey and awakening. The consciousness of our species is changing rapidly; we’re growing into an entirely new civilization that’s rapidly discarding old ideas and ways of thinking to become something entirely new. We’re learning all as one how to become One Race – learning to Rise Above Instinct.”
There’s plenty more to come from Rise Above Instinct, starting with another EP, The Ascent, that Chad describes as: “A seven-part epic that completes the spiritual Ascension narrative outlined in the first EP by applying the principles of alchemical transformation to the process of spiritual awakening.” The Ascent should be released by November, and promises to be much heavier with a few surprises thrown in for good measure.
And Chad adds: “In closing, look to the lyrics of Into The Light – we are One, we are All, I am you and you are me in this hologram reality. Come Into The Light!”
You can follow Rise Above Instinct on Instagram and vocalist Beth Norris Hill on Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music.
Listen to Rise Above Instinct and more new music on our Spotify playlists GigRadar Metal and GigRadar Symphonic
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