Metal Fusion…Son reis project: Payment plan

By George W. Harris - October 13, 2025

You talk about Power Trios-WHEW

I still can’t believe only three guys make up this band, as Jason Goessl/b, Jason Reisdorf/ts, and Ryan Thomas/dr make up enough sound and textures that make you wonder at times who is doing what. The overall feel is kind of 90s period King Crimson or Metallica throwing in a tenor sax, as the mix of rock, funk, jazz and a ‘whats that sticking on the wall’ attitude make for a high energy collection of originals.

Goessl’s bass is as thick as molasses on the dark and relentless “101” that mixes Ventures surf music with heavy metal thunder. Goessl and Thomas ricochet off of each other like caroming 38s as Reisdorf long boards over the avalanche of “Coke Type Thing” while Thomas is featured on the tricky lines of “Seven”. Dark ominous clouds and synthetic effects hover over Thomas’ hyper’d sticks on the thick and palpable “Payment Plan” while Reisdorf sears through the funky backbeat of “Slinky”. There are times of repose as well, with Reisdorf’s tenor rich and warm around the spacey frame of “Galileo’s”. These guys light the fuse of fusion.

expose’

by Jon Davis, Published 2026-01-06

Here’s something new and exciting from the nether reaches of Wisconsin. Jason Reisdorf (saxophone, effects), Jason Goessl (Bass VI), and Ryan Thomas (drums) have come together in a group they call Son Reis Project, which operates in the area between jazz and rock. Payment Plan is their second album, coming after a self-titled release in 2024, and they hit the listener hard on the opening track, a crazy surf-inspired piece called “101”. This high-energy piece features the overdriven Bass VI and some wild sax work, coming off like a warped take on something The Ventures might have done. Goessl is mainly known as a guitarist - we’ve encountered him before in the mathy jazz-rock of Trimtab and the avant-surf of The Pornadoes - but here he handles the low end with a very guitar-like attitude, and his gritty fuzz tone is one of the defining features of this band. Reisdorf’s tenor sax ranges from melodic lines (sometimes augmented with effects) to intense screeching, and he never sounds schmaltzy. Thomas is a great drummer who balances busy parts that would sound at home in metal with a loose feel that is much more spontaneous than built from patterns. The track “Galileo’s” shows another side to the trio, with a cleaner sound on the bass, harmonized sax, and rolling figures on the toms. “Coke Type Thing” and “Slinky” include sections where the fuzz comes to the fore, bordering on avant-noise rock. “Seven” may be named after its time signature and sound a bit like King Crimson crossed with a raucous fusion band, but it’s not the only excursion into odd meters among these eight tracks. This band delivers on all of the different facets of their sound, bringing together a wide range of inspirations into a unique combination.