Review: Challenger Deep – Point of No Return

Cover art by Jeramy Muxworthy

Style: Progressive rock, progressive metal, post-hardcore, math rock (instrumental)
Recommended for fans of: Strawberry Girls, Plini, The Fall of Troy, Intervals
Country: Georgia, United States
Release date: 1 August 2025

It’s no secret that prog musicians, on the whole, tend to be better instrumentalists than songwriters. In a genre rooted in innovation, virtuosity, and expansion beyond traditional rock song structures, it’s unsurprising that many of its practitioners would end up focusing on killer solos and gnarly odd-time riffs over such base, plebeian concepts as hooks and memorability. This holds doubly true amongst its instrumental subgenres; hordes of Plini acolytes armed with headless seven-string guitars and programmed drums churn out interchangeable instru-djent from their bedrooms, jumping at the chance to shed the shackles of lyricism and any semblance of verse-chorus structure in favor of unorganized riff salad drenched with the onanistic dressing of shred. Even proper instrumental bands, including undeniably talented ones like Polyphia, so often squander their tight rhythms and solid ear for melody on disjointed, garish, “more is more” compositions that shove 15 riffs into passages that only have space for three or four.

Perhaps this is why Challenger Deep grabbed my attention as hard as they did. The Atlanta instru-prog quartet first caught my ear when I saw them open for OK Goodnight in a small local venue, impressing me not just with their energetic stage presence and seasoned musicianship but also just how melody-focused their compositions were. Taking the base ingredients of twinkly math rock and guitar-forward instru-prog riffage and adding a giddy, post-hardcore influenced energy and tunefulness, their sound had the potential to elevate its familiar components into something truly special. Still, though they had released a couple of solid records already, both were basically glorified EPs: breezy, sub-30-minute listens full of enjoyable yet inessential instru-prog that didn’t quite live up to the promise they showed on stage. But now a different beast approaches: Point of No Return, an hour-long leviathan of an album that makes the last two look like guppies. It’s being positioned as the definitive Challenger Deep album, their proper debut as a band truly coming into their own. But just how much of a splash will it be able to make?

As it turns out, a damn big one, and said size doesn’t just apply to the runtime. Challenger Deep have never been a particularly subtle band, but Point of No Return sees them crank their amps straight to 11, blasting out titanic riffs, chunky basslines, and exhilarating harmonized leads one after the other with few spaces to breathe. It’s an approach that could easily become exhausting over a full hour, if not for the fact that the band’s melody-first approach to songwriting has somehow leveled up even further. Guitarists James LaPierre and Jason Murray have packed the album from stem to stern with hooks gargantuan enough to catch a kraken, utilizing soaring, tuneful refrains that serve much the same function that a chorus would in a song with vocals. It’s rare for an instrumental song to get stuck in my head, but every so often these past couple weeks I’ve found myself humming the melody lines from opener “Elrond Hubble” or the unlikely earworm that is “Shimmer” – a testament to their compositional acumen for sure.

Of course, a full hour of straightforward guitar-led instru-prog would be bound to get a bit monotonous no matter how catchily composed the tunes are, but here, too, Point of No Return keeps things interesting. There are plenty of delightful little twists thrown into individual songs to make them stand out, from the killer violin shredding¹ in “Scavenger” to the playful layers of cowbell and other percussion that Grant Wallace sprinkles heavily throughout “Tasty Danger”. However, the most notable source of sonic spice, and the biggest evolution from Challenger Deep‘s previous work, is the band’s increased willingness to get heavy. Tracks like “Give Them Teeth” and “The Cruelty of Fangs” waste zero time in going straight for the listener’s throat with jagged, punishing riffs that pull from metalcore and djent, and though their signature melodicism eventually bleeds through, the overall mood feels far more dark and dissonant than the band’s usual fare. The overall effect, then, is to give Point of No Return a few extra notches of room on its dynamic knob, allowing the music to range from the effervescent math-rock arpeggios and upbeat major-key leads of its “shallows” to the bludgeoning aggression of its “depths”, incorporating plenty of variety while still keeping its foot resolutely on the gas.

For all of the many things Point of No Return gets right, though, it still falls a bit short of masterpiece status. Of course, there is the ever-present issue of length; despite the many compositional tricks Challenger Deep pull to justify the runtime, the bare fact remains that this is a lot to sit through, and it’s hard to muster the same excitement for back-half cuts like “Soul Stone” that I had for the album’s opening salvo. But the main thing keeping it from the rarefied heights (or murky fathoms, if you will) of the true instrumental greats is how… straightforward it often feels. Sure, all four members are clearly very fluent musicians, with tasty phrasing and solid solos aplenty, but despite the numerous shifts in style, I was seldom surprised or taken aback. So many songs have the equivalent of a simple verse-chorus structure, and for a band with roots in math rock, there’s shockingly little that ventures outside the confines of 4/4 time. If they could expand upon the hints of adventurousness shown in lengthier later tracks like “Golden Hour” or grand finale “Longing for the Ether”, perhaps future releases could see them exploring places no one has gone before rather than treading familiar waters.

Still, just because Point of No Return isn’t extremely challenging or particularly deep, that doesn’t keep it from being a damn fun time throughout, and a clear recommendation for any fans of rip-roaring instrumental rock with killer melodies. It’s the instru-prog equivalent of a high-quality action blockbuster like, say, Pacific Rim: an unabashedly joyous thrill ride that sells its tropey narrative with such technical verve, heartfelt earnestness, and raw cool factor that its lack of characterization and nuance is almost beside the point. Eminently relistenable, it augments its copious amounts of flash and spectacle with immaculately designed hooks and a few slight twists to keep things interesting without throwing people off. So hop on board the SS Challenger Deep, and prepare yourself for a thrilling submarine voyage, even if it’s one that only makes it part of the way to the bottom of the sea. No promises on whether you’ll come back, though.

Recommended tracks: Elrond Hubble, Scavenger, Shimmer, Golden Hour
You may also like: Nuclear Power Trio, Feather, Coevality
Final verdict: 7.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Independent

Challenger Deep is:
– James LaPierre (guitars)
– Jason Murray (guitars)
– Jake Russell (bass)
– Grant Wallace (drums)
With guests:
– Martin Gonzalez (guitar solo on “Elrond Hubble”)
– Cameron Richardson (violin on “Scavenger”)
– deathx_xhead (production on “A Tasty Interlude”)

1.  Courtesy of guest Cameron Richardson, though I had to do a fair bit of digging to uncover that fact and initially assumed it was a synth. Credit your dang guest features more clearly, guys! ↩︎