Although Master Boot Record has put out seven releases since last year’s C:\>EDIT CONFIG.SYS — covered here on Synthwave Sunday — the one-man synthwave operation tells MetalSucks that he considers his latest, Interrupt Request, to be his first proper full-length album.

More than many of the synthwave artists we cover, Master Boot Record sounds metal. You’ll be able to tell why his own self-descriptive tagline — “It’s not synthwave. It’s substantial metal made with synths” — rings true after just a couple of minutes of listening to the new album; these cuts are metal songs in all but tone, with synths and programmed beats in place of guitars and drums.

So how does the new album stack up against Master Boot Record’s past work? To be frank there’s been too much of it for me to keep full tabs on his progression, but I can tell you that this release sounds phenomenal. The lead keyboard line that comprises the chorus of album opener “IRQ 0 System Clock” has got as strong a hook as any synthwave track to drop this year. The “rhythm guitar” parts in “IRQ 1 Keyboard” and “IRQ 2 Cascade” chug as hard as your favorite slam band’s most brutal drop. The “guitar solos” throughout drip with Eddie Van Halen’s sweat. And so on and so forth: this really is substantial metal made with synths.

Check out Interrupt Request below and purchase it via Bandcamp.