Technically…. Y’know, this is grade eight stuff and beyond. The solos soar, they amaze and astound. There are some ballsy riffs underneath the dazzling lead work, too, helped along by some faultless drumming and bass that’s as tight and sturdy as it comes. So what’s the problem? Well, the fact that it is technically incredible, the fact that it is all about the grade eight and beyond, the fancy fretwork that goes on and on and on…
And then there are the irksome track titles which are every bit as painful as the album title itself: ‘Thingz Happen’; ‘Lyfe Support’, ‘V.U.S. veryuncomfortableshooz)’ Oh, please….
The instrumental pieces may in and of themselves be passably brief, with none exceeding three minutes. But they bleed together to slide into one eternal solo that spans a full dozen pieces. Pretty much one tempo. Seemingly, one key. Nothing to really differentiate the tracks, other than the one that’s a bit thrash against the one that’s a bit industrial, the one that’s a bit nu-metal and the one that’s a bit whatever. It’s all a bit Yngwie Malmsteen. Once you’ve heard one colossal exercise in flash hard rock / metally guitar showmanship, chances are you’ve heard as many as you’re going to need.
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Rene Benton Online
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