Fuzznaut Premiere New Album Resistant Spirit in Full; Out Friday
The new Fuzznaut album, Resistant Spirit, will be released this Friday, Oct. 17. A release show is slated for the next night at Mr. Roboto Project in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where the solo-project of Emilio Rizzo is based. Resistant Spirit is the third Fuzznaut long-player, and its eight-song/35-minute run is comprised in part of material Rizzo has issued as singles over the course of the last year-plus. “Sufferlove,” “Spacerock,” “Wind Doula” and “Earbleeder” have each seen a standalone release, in that order, since Feb. 2024, so fair enough to bring them together along with the foreboding rumble of the title-track, which opens after the sample-topped, post-heavy “Intro” with a splash of noise before settling into a riffy drone, using space in the mix for effects, but definitely moving, even without drums. Soon enough this will become a theme for the album.
Dylan Carlson and Earth are acknowledged touchstones for Fuzznaut and have been all along, but I’m not sure Earth have ever so actively leaned into stoner-doom as “Earbleeder” does, evolving from an Electric Wizard-style nodder into a broader-reaching strum, then turning back to finish with a structure that, for a drone record, feels awfully straightforward. It may be Rizzo is heading that way in writing terms, as “Defiant Prayer” answers back later to the creep of “Resistant Spirit,” with some kind of percussion or beat being kept early on that reinforces the notion of Fuzznaut perhaps slowly evolving into a fuller-band entity, even if still a one-person outfit. I know better than to speculate. The variety of tone between “Sufferlove,” with its Jesu-y resonance, and the pointedly printed-in-the-infernal-method riff of “Wind Doula” — which expands on that with an Author & Punisher-aware thud in the first half and a topping solo layer in the second — alone is enough to make guessing silly.
“Spacerock” is the longest inclusion at 6:49 and is centered around resonance, and the riff underneath all that reverb changes over time but retains its basic ether-bound direction. The closer, “BRKN,” sweeps in and has a similar feeling of breadth tonally. I’m not sure if Rizzo is looping the rhythm line live and soloing over it, or overdubbing the lead track later, but he brings a sense of depth to the mix on what’s still a pretty minimal — if loudly minimal — almost-if-not-entirely-guitar arrangement. Presumably that’s where the benefit of experience comes in, but as one would hope for a third full-length from this or really any project, Fuzznaut has been able to internalize lessons and ideas from past releases and translate them into immersive creative progress here. As ever, Rizzo is venturing into somewhat uncharted ground from where the project began, and across Resistant Spirit, it sounds like he’s having fun doing it.
The PR wire below has a line about blurring the line between songs and soundscapes. I agree with that. That’s part of what’s happening. Consistently in Fuzznaut‘s work, though, there’s a feeling of evocation from the material. The music carries the listener in a different way in Resistant Spirit, both in that there’s more motion in terms of the riffs being played and the immersive affect of the tones, but for sure that’s still in balance with the fact of this as drone music. Earth, again, have a similar intention at times (also a full band), but Fuzznaut is further distinguished by the ground being explored, and that has let Rizzo develop the project on its own path. There are parts here where he sounds as entranced as you feel, and there’s just about no way that isn’t on purpose.
Resistant Spirit streams in full below, followed by more info from the PR wire.
Please enjoy:
FUZZNAUT is the solo project of Emilio Rizzo, emerging from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Resistant Spirit, his third album, arrives on October 18th via Leafy Brain Recordings.
Resistant Spirit is the new album from Fuzznaut bringing seven songs of genre blending alchemy of guitar based doom metal, shoegaze, post-rock, and drone.
At its core, Resistant Spirit is about the struggle to maintain individuality, from the mainstream forces of conformity, spectacle, and perfectionism. Using the power of the riff as an aural expression of resilience. From the mantra like opener to the distorted melancholic reverb drenched closing song BRKN. To heavy riff laden tracks Earbleeder, and Defiant Prayer, that weave seamlessly into atmospheric drone and clang of Sufferlove and Resistant Spirit. Fuzznaut’s heavy guitar layers conjure sonic textures, building a sonic world to get immersed into. The seven tracks in Resistant Spirit blur lines between songs/soundscapes.
Grounded in a staunch DIY ethos, Rizzo handles every aspect of the Fuzznuat project himself—recording the music, designing the artwork, booking, and performing live as a one-man band.
As of 2025 Fuzznaut has existed for 7 years. Rizzo’s debut EP, Form is Emptiness (2019), gained traction on Bandcamp in 2024 as an underrated doomgaze gem that was included in their Blissful Noise, Bad Vibes: A Doomgaze Primer, solidifying Fuzznaut as a foundational artist in the genre.
Credits
Resistant Spirit was Mixed by Fuzznaut and Mastered By Mario Quinetero (Spotlights/Audio MQ ) 2024-2025
Album artwork and layout by Chris Smith Grey Aria Design
OUT CD and BANDCAMP/AMPWALL/ BIG CARTEL
Tracklisting:
1. Intro
2. Resistant Spirit
3. Spacerock
4. Sufferlove
5. Earbleeder
6. Defiant Prayer
7. Wind Doula
8. BRKN
