“Way before I even started playing guitar, I just kind of found it easy to find keys and figure out how it’s played … It just feels natural.”
But it wasn’t until certain bands came onto the radar that Tucker dove into the art. His inspiration pulled primarily from metal and punk rock bands like Nirvana, Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet for My Valentine, and The Offspring.
One can hear this inspiration in his two singles, “Into the abyss,” released May 4, 2025, and “Reverie,” released May 13, 2025, that match standard metal form.
With “Into the Abyss,” there is no easing into the song. It is high energy from the first note to the very last. It was added to my workout mixes upon first listen. In “Reverie,” the energy has more time to build up in the track. It feels more stable, with a clearer structure than the first single. The energy shifts throughout with a few slower moments, then jumps up in energy primarily in the last couple minutes.
My appreciation grew for both tracks as I listened again and focused on different layers within. Tucker explained how this was his favourite aspect of the tracks as well.
“If you really listen for it, you can hear it. But I just like how many layers I added to one of the songs. There’s so much going on. If you solo each instrument, it sounds really cool.”
These tracks are purely musical, with guitar being front and centre. Writing lyrics is still a work in progress for Tucker. This is one reason why he wants to form a band, seeking to work collaboratively with musicians in a space where they can all learn from each other.
In the meantime, Tucker will be working toward a more formal music education. He started with an introductory music, production, and audio engineering class at Douglas College. It gave him the technical skills needed to polish up his two singles and get them ready for release.
“I made those songs a long time ago. I never actually did anything with it until recently. I made them two, three years ago. And then just recently I [finished] the song … The intro course helped me to do all the post-production and mixing and stuff. Making the sound better. And then, I figured, I wanted to have songs on Spotify forever.”
Tucker plans to continue his formal education and hone his music production skills. Social media can also be a challenge to getting his music out there by adding another layer of technical skills needed to film and edit videos. In spite of this, Tucker views social media as an overall positive for his music, posting original content and covers to Instagram and TikTok.
Tucker brings dedication and a strong work ethic to the craft; and I look forward to seeing the development of his creativity as he begins to experiment within the genre.
The most valuable lesson that I took from our conversation and my dive into Tucker’s music is that you don’t need to look far to find new, creative, and hardworking artists. It reminded me that all my favourite musicians were once local artists who worked to get to a place where I could discover them — partially due to the communities that supported them. Maybe it’s time to start looking homeward to kick off your next playlist.
