With a palpable electricity, Doug Gatta’s latest album, Sic Semper Tyrannis, is a 14-track modern rock odyssey.
The album name translates to “thus always to tyrants,” and ‘tyrants’ refers to “a personal internal darkness.” In his impressive pursuit of slaying inner darkness, Gatta wrote all 14 songs and played every instrument but the drums. His sound throughout the album is forceful and intentional, as the project started three years ago. “The album explores the themes of fear, isolation, loneliness, self-doubt, and the desire to become better,” said Gatta. In his second full-length album, he does just that.
In track two — which is the title track — Gatta introduces things with hard-hitting power chords, complimented by theatrical synths and thumping drums, courtesy of John Cancellieri. The lyrics follow the album’s themes of fear and doubt. “Some nights I wish it’d get better,” he sings. The track is nearly six minutes long, and fully displays his multi-faceted talent on electric guitar among other instrumentation.
My favorite song from the album was the third, “Bet on the Night.” Somehow, at over four minutes, it was one of the shorter songs on the album. Reminiscent of a Pearl Jam track with its signature hard-hitting rock-riff energy, Gatta sings, “’Cause you know it ain’t right / To place all your bets on the night” in a catchy chorus that just hits. The track is a great combination between Gatta’s electric guitar prowess and Cancellieri’s riding drums, giving an explosive sound that propels the track.
Another song of note is track four, “Carrying the Fire,” which showcases another side of Gatta’s song-making. This number starts off on a more mellow note, but then gets heavier as it explores loneliness: “Walk past me / Don’t ask me / And please just don’t attack me.” The phrase “carrying the fire” is a reference to Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. It’s repeated by the two main characters in the story, and is a metaphor for maintaining your humanity amidst despair and suffering.
Track seven, “Endless Summer,” sees things in a more existential way as Gatta repeats, “It’s a cloud you’re under / Not an endless summer” in the chorus. It’s an upbeat early 2000’s-feeling indie rock-type energy, ripe for headbanging in the car or elsewhere. This song also contains themes of doubt, with the lyric representing the constant repression of hope as he tells himself the endless summer isn’t real.
Sic Semper Tyrannis was recorded from 2022-2024 at Retromedia Sound Studios in Red Bank, New Jersey. It was produced by Adam Vacarelli and Paul Ritchie, mixed by Adam Vacarelli, and mastered by Grammy award-winning engineer, Alan Douches at WestWestSide Studios.
Gatta has a couple events coming up including two shows in his home state of New Jersey, and two at The Delancey in New York City.
