Staten Island Native Musician Releases Debut Solo Album Today: Cult Leader By Adam Tilzer
Staten Island Native Musician Releases Debut Album This Thursday: Cult Leader By Adam Tilzer
Editor’s note: We previously covered an album release by Argentine-American songwriter Alejandro Meola at a concert in New York City. We also covered earlier today the album release by Miley Cyrus, paired with a creative film featuring music and videos from her new album, viewable live in New York City one night only.
Adam Tilzer’s album features an experimental style of music that islanders may enjoy, with a heavily electric vibe. The vocals pair well with the metal sound, and electric guitar features prominently in the tracks. One can hear the influence of punk rock, along with a heavy metal feel to some of the backing guitar. Preview will be available at Amazon once the album has been released.
From his publicist:
Allow me to introduce you to the Staten Island-based experimental rock artist, Adam Tilzer. The longtime producer and engineer who’s produced more than 300 songs in his career and performed with bands such as Avon Junkies and The Defectives, is stepping out with his first solo album, Cult Leader, slated for release on June 13, 2025.
Adam Tilzer was born and raised on Staten Island, where he still resides.
On Cult Leader, Tilzer uses a unique lens to examine what ails modern-day society and wrestles with how to exist within it. For him, that means finding slivers of light in community and connection, even when the bonding agent is a shared angst.
“I’ve been lucky enough to produce and work with a crew of people who constantly support and lift each other up, and because of this, people have nicknamed us ‘the cult,’” Tilzer says of the story behind his solo debut.
“It took me a little while to realize how free my choices could be for what I do and who I ask to be part of it,” he states. “Cult Leader was an opportunity to bring all my friends together to help me achieve a vision.”
From the earlier announcement:
When Adam Tilzer declares, “I guess I’ve started a cult, I swear it’s the good kind,” on his forthcoming album, he pays homage to the talented musicians he’s surrounded by and the community they have created. After spending the past two+ decades as a producer and singer/guitarist, touring up and down the East Coast and opening for Less Than Jake, George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelic, and Big D and the Kids’ Table, among others, Tilzer’s first solo album, Cult Leader, marks the first project built solely on what feels necessary for him to say in this moment, with a release that coincides with his 40th birthday.
“I didn’t set out to write a message-driven album,” Tilzer says. “It’s what I was thinking about and what was bothering me. I think a lot of people can relate to what I’m saying in some of these songs, but might think it’s too extreme for them to say out loud themselves.”
“It can be angry and aggressive,” he continues. “I’m calling out injustices and questioning everything.”
Throughout the album, Tilzer spotlights the talented crew of musicians he works with regularly, accumulating more than two dozen artists who contributed to the project. “Everyone I asked to be on the album is someone I picked specifically because I wanted their voice on it,” he says. “But I didn’t tell anyone what they should do with their parts. I knew they would understand the assignment and lay down what was best. It was a surprise every time.”
Classifying his sound as diverse experimental rock with shades of punk, Tilzer combines influences ranging from Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix to Less Than Jake, The Slackers, and Leonard Cohen for a finished product full of heart.
Release party. Image Credit – Adam Tilzer
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