Chris Goss does more than just write songs, he seemingly sculpts them into new worlds. For over four decades, the enigmatic frontman of Masters Of Reality has walked his own path through music's wilderness, merging mystic blues, molten rock, and kaleidoscopic psychedelia into a sound that’s as elusive as the man who creates it. Now, after a 16-year absence, Goss and his ever-evolving band return with The Archer, an album that’s less a comeback and more a creative rebirth.

Produced by Goss, The Archer brings together longtime collaborator John Leamy on drums, Paul Powell on bass, and the inimitable Alain Johannes on guitar. It’s a lineup that pulses with chemistry and restraint, trading the crushing riffage of earlier albums for something deeper, looser, and more meditative. It’s still Masters Of Reality, just maybe not as you last left them. “This album intentionally broke away from the heavier riff rock that we dominated for over three decades,” Goss says. “The ‘stoner and desert rock’ riffing was a reason for Masters Of Reality to break away on this record and present our blues in a different light for a minute. Blues isn’t a three-chord riff progression. It’s life itself.”

Goss knows a thing or two about evolution. Beyond his own band, he’s quietly served as one of rock’s most vital behind-the-scenes architects. His producer credits read like a hall of fame for modern rock’s shadowy vanguard - Queens Of The Stone Age, Kyuss, Mark Lanegan, the Cult, Foo Fighters, and even Russell Crowe. Wherever there’s a groove with a dash of mysticism, Goss is likely nearby, tweaking knobs or lighting the fuse.

But The Archer isn’t interested in legacy. It sounds like the work of a songwriter still searching, still curious enough to go left when the road turns right. It's a daring, blues-drenched turn from a band that helped invent the very sound they're now subverting. “I can easily provide a thousand heavy riffs at the drop of a dime,” Goss shares. “But I dare any self-proclaimed heavy riff band to have the balls to throw the curve ball that we’ve thrown with this album.”