Scale The Summit - In A World of Fear (2017)

Imagine yourself being outside, around a bunch of mountains in the middle of nowhere, being one with nature and all of the animals that live there. You take a deep breath, smelling the fresh air that breezes with its cold touch, coming from a nearby lake. Are you done visualizing? Congratulations, now you know how it feels to listen to an album that is made by the instrumental trio known as Scale The Summit, you can now celebrate with a quiet stroll in the woods, without looking for Pidgeys and Weedles on your Iphone/Android/Nokia 3310. Go ahead, I'll still be here when you come back.

Now that you have gotten your daily dose of reality, let us get back to the topic of this post, the examination of Scale The Summit's 6th full length release "In A World of Fear". The title might speak truer to founder and guitarist Chris Letchford more than one would believe, because he now stands as a lone founder, with two brand new members by his side, and releasing this record without the help of a record label. Just another example on that the music industry is a tough one.

Fortunately for Chris, he is not alone in this new journey. Besides his two new recruits, we have a bunch of guest artists throughout the record, including Scott Carstairs (Fallujah), Jeff Loomis (Arch Enemy, Conquering Dystopia), and Per Nilsson (Scar Symmetry). Knowing these guys and their main bands, you would think that Scale The Summit would turn up the heavy on their music in this album, but nope, they do not. Besides from solos and interludes here and there, I simply cannot tell that a particular song has had any influence by a guest artist, which just makes it all a missed opportunity. We do get some great Per Nilsson magic in "Goddess Gate", but only for two short moments, then it is back to the typical Scale The Summit calmness, and it makes you think why Per was even used in the first place.

Now, I am not saying that I want the band to play heavier, that is simply not a part of its personality, but I would love to see some new inputs here and there, something that shakes things up a bit. It definitely feels like the band is comfortable in their style, because even if they technically are doing different stuff in here, it all is on a similar level, making it feel way more boring than it should. They are almost being lazy in their comfy couch, relying all too much on those earthly tones. It sounds good and all, but it is too shallow, not enough depth to make it stick with you.

It is when you compare this album to previous efforts where the flaws are becoming even more obvious. Previous albums such as "The Migration" and "Carving Desert Canyons" are way more dynamic, bringing a whole different level of excitement to the table, while "In A World of Fear" is just a big blob of forgettable tunes. It tries to bring some diversity here and there, but it just is not enough for it to go around, making it really hard to separate the songs from each other. I guess "Astral Kids", Witch House", "Cosmic Crown", and "Opal Bones" are some songs that do stand out, even if they are not strong enough to stand on their own.

Although, I still enjoy listening to this album in a very casual way. Just like any other Scale The Summit album, "In A World of Fear" is probably at its best when you are laying in a hammock and taking in that summer sunshine, maybe even get in a nap or two. This is a chill prog record that may not stay with you for the future, but it is with you in the moment, and it takes quite good care. However, it does not move me emotionally, and it does not really bring anything new to the table, despite all of the guest artists and new members. It is a disappointment for sure, so let's hope the band comes back with a much stronger record when the chaotic dust has settled down.

Songs worthy of recognition: Witch House, Astral Kids, Cosmic Crown

Rating: 6/10 Opal Bones

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Steve Vai - Modern Primitive (2016)

It has been over 25 years since guitar virtuoso Steve Vai released his real breakthrough album "Passion And Warfare", a magnificent record that holds some to the greatest instrumental pieces out there, like "For The Love of God". It is the center piece of Steve Vai's career, so of course, he had to celebrate it, and he does so with a remaster, and a new album. "Modern Primitive" is the first out of two CDs for the 25th anniversary edition of "Passion And Warfare", and consist of of old songs that Vai wrote during the time between his debut "Flex-able" and "Passion And Warfare".

Anyway, "Modern Primitive" has been described as the missing link between Vai's two first album (or as he calls it, Cro-Magnon Vai), and it is something that is pretty noticeable when you glance at the artwork. There he is, showing off his cleavage again, and I just can't stop drooling. Just look at that handsome bastard, pure eye candy.

Enough of the album cover (for now), let us focus on the music. To no surprise at all, this does sound like old school Vai, which of course delights me. While Vai might not be as much in the front as in "Passion And Warfare", he still runs the show with an iron grip, delivering sweeping riffs and mesmerizing solos here and there. The groove in "Dark Matter" and the Dream Theater technicality of "Fast Note People" are some of the tastiest bits from him, but this is not a fully instrumental album, and the songs that have vocals on them breaks things up really nicely, like the catchy "Mighty Messengers". I do think that Steve is at his best when he  lets loose, but this works quite well too.

But somewhere, in the middle of this jungle, I hear a familiar voice, a voice that makes me excited like a giggling school girl. It is the voice of Devin Townsend, whom sings in "The Lost Chord". This is not surprising by any means, since Devin started out his musical career as a vocalist for Steve Vai between 1992 and 1994, giving him an appearance on "Sex & Religion". Devin's addition to this track is just marvelous, his smooth vocals takes me back to one of his albums, more specifically the earthly "Terria". Add some emotional guitars, and you got a killer track. This is a combo I wanna see more of, can't these good friends create a new project of some sort please, that would be sweet.

A interesting thing about the album is that it has such a weird start and finish, for two solely different reasons. The album starts with "Bop!", a really quirky track that is like a mash up of Seinfeld and Monty Python. It will make you go "What the fuck am I listening to?", but it will also make you laugh, so it is a very fun way to start things off. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same to "Pink And Blows Over", the end song(s) of the album. It is split into three parts, and they all are slow and boring. I get that he want to wind the album down in the end, but this is the wrong way to do it. All of the three parts adds to a total of 19 minutes, part 2 alone being 13 minutes long, which is just excruciating. If he would have left this out completely, we still would have had 50+ minutes of music, which would have been fine. Thank god that this is at the very end of the album.

For being an album that is made out of almost 30 year old songs, "Modern Primitive" sounds really fresh and uplifting, an album that seems time less. It is obvious that Steve was on fire during the late 80's, and I am so glad that we got to hear more of the material that eventually led to one of the mightiest fully instrumental albums out there. While it may not be the strongest effort from Mr. Vai, it is still a record that provides a lot of enjoyable moments and several songs of great quality. An excellent work from one of the finest guitar players out there.

Songs worthy of recognition: The Lost Chord, Dark Matters, Mighty Messengers, Lights Are On

Rating: 7,5/10 Bops!

Yngwie Malmsteen - Wolrd On Fire (2016)

Despite being such an icon and being acclaimed as one of the most influential guitar players ever to have lived, more or less a living legend, I was actually pretty indifferent about Yngwie Malmsteen releasing another record. There are certainly a lot of reasons to why I felt that way, but the main reason was pretty straight forward, the man has not put out anything spectacular lately, it has just been more of that neoclassical guitar wanking goodness that he has perfected throughout his 30+ years in the business. Nothing wrong in itself, but it is not something one would get overly excited over.

Yngwie took his sweet time to record his next installment, taking a total of 4 years, which is the longest time between two Yngwie records ever. Sadly, it seems like he had not used up his time well, because not only is the title really bland (possibly stolen from Slash), but the song material is nothing too special, which is kind of a let down since his last album, "Spellbound", at least had some fresh ideas.

Once again, Yngwie presents us a album that is more of a pure solo effort than a band effort, especially since Yngwie himself takes on a ton of work, including the vocal duties. This does not necessarily have to be a bad thing (after all, this is his band), but I feel like he would benefit with some help, someone to take off some of that weight from his shoulders. At least get a singer, because it is fairly obvious that he is not all too comfortable in that role, seeing as there are only three tracks that includes vocals, and all three of them are really basic, so this could as well have been an instrumental album, something I would have been totally fine with. The vocal additions on this album are more or less unnecessary, even if they are some of the better tracks in this album.

As for the instrumental parts of the album (which there are a lot of), they do very little to impress. The guitar lines are typical Yngwie Malmsteen work, and you can easily hear that he has recycled a lot of them, from the structure of the solos to the mood that they are trying to express. It is of course impressive that Yngwie can pull of this much out of a guitar, but we already know that he could do that, this simply is nothing new to us, nor him. As for the rest of the group... well... I cannot say anything too specific about them because they simply do not get enough room to shine on. It is solid work all the way through, but it is extremely obvious that the guitar is in front, and never leaves the center stage for the entire record.

The only redeeming quality "World On Fire" has is that the technical execution is at a high level, which is far from a big surprise. There aren't many songs in here that are good or memorable, but out of the three songs with vocals in them, "Soldier" is the one that strikes me the most with its epic and emotional moments, making it one of the more unique song in this album. Among the instrumental songs, "Top Down, Foot Down" stands as a good contender with a good, solid execution on a lot of levels. I also enjoy the change of pace in "Largo" and the power in "Abandon (Slight Return)", but they (and every other song on this record) gets tiresome rather quickly.

Never in my life have I heard something that sounds this fast, this thrilling, this flaming, and this boring all at the same time. We get it, Yngwie Malmsteen can take a guitar and set it on fire just by looking at it, but this guitar wankery has almost gotten out of control. "World On Fire" is just more of the same old everything, nothing new or innovative comes out of this album, which once again, is disappointing since "Spellbound" at least tried to bring something new to the table, hinting that the Swede were on his way towards a new destination, but nope, he did a U-turn and went home again to safer ground. "World On Fire" is technical and shows once again that Yngwie is still one of the greater guitarists out there, but this album makes me wonder if he is a one trick pony when he handles all of the work by himself. Hope he isn't...

Songs worthy of recognition: Soldier, "Top Down, Foot Down"

Rating: 4,5/10 Largos

The Algorithm - Brute Force (2016)

Even though the metal world has endless amounts of sub genres that has been developed over several decades, it seems like there is no stop to the evolution of metal. The next step might just be here, and it is named The Algorithm, a French duo consisting of Rémi Gallego and Max Michel that mixes electronic music with some djent influences.

The band has previously released 2 other albums, but on "Brute Force", they take on a heavier approach, letting the guitar being more involved in the music, and also adding heavier drum works. Judging by the name of the album, this was not a surprising move, but it is certainly one that is welcome, because it is always a risk to add something that is far from metal into metal. Sure, the electronica parts are still the biggest factor in the music, but now it feels like a perfect fusion of the elements instead of just layering in the guitars and drums afterward.

The whole sound of the album is very futuristic, like if someone had to describe The Matrix or Tron, only using sound. The electronica leads the charge with its captivating melodies and an overall dystopian feeling. I am absolutely not bothered with the electronica at all, but when it takes too much room and tries to force in even more, it can come out as some obnoxious dub step, but fortunately, that happens very rarely in "Brute Force". It often comes in with finesse instead, adding to the music instead of shoving its way to the front.

"Brute Force" has one clear strength, and that is its consistency. All the songs in here hold a good, fairly high standard while also staying within the same type of sound, making this album a very dense, cohesive force. However, this is also the album's greatest weakness. Since every song is within the same range, and the fact that this is a fully instrumental album, it does take some time and thinking to separate the songs apart from each other. I would have loved if the guys could have had some more diversity in this, like adding a really slow and a really heavy song, just to break this thing up. So the consistency is ultimately like a two edged sword in this album.

As an entity, "Brute Force" works really well. The power these guys produces are enough to run the toughest of processors without any lag. It is an interesting album from an interesting band, but to get the next level, I want to see some more diversity in the music. Good quality can only take you so far. Nonetheless, "Brute Force" is one of the most unique releases of this year, and whether you are along for the ride on the electronic parts or not, I still recommend that you at least give this well calculated album a chance. The evolution continues to places unknown.

Songs worthy of recognition: pointers, brute force, userspace

Rating: 7/10 deadlocks

Júlio Stotz - Dark Ravishing Energy EP (2015)

About a year back in time, I reviewed a EP made by Brazilian-German music composer Júlio Stotz called "Suspended In Reverie", a beautiful instrumental EP that mixed heavy djent inspired riffs with more fluent and vibrant piano melodies. An all in all great effort that still to this day is one of my favourite EPs that I have reviewed on this blog.

The same guy has now come with "Dark Ravishing Energy", a EP with more of the same, sweet thing. 4 brand new songs that will cleanse your mind with beauty and emotions. All of the songs displayed here are nice individual works that ties together perfectly in both style and sound to create a grand unity.

All 4 songs are worthy of a listen, for different reasons. The opener "Will To Power" succeeds in telling a story, without uttering any words, while "Delusions" shows some good technicality with its epic synths, sustained guitars, and oddly satisfying drum beats. Then we have "Verstonnen" (German for thoughtful), a calm song with no guitars, only beautiful piano melodies that never seem to end. Finally, we have "In Spite of Everything", a nice, epic song that includes guitar solos from Olaf Thorsen (Vision Divine, Labyrinth) and Ivan Mihaljevic (Side Effects).

The song line-up certainly matches the one in "Suspended in Reverie", but because this EP was named "Dark Ravishing Energy", I expected something that would resemble the name, something more feisty. And just like with the last EP, I would have loved to heard more. 4 songs  with a combined play time of 17 minutes is just not enough to satisfy my needs for good music.With that said, I still think this EP is another fine release from Júlio. Here he shows again that he knows how to create a stunning mood and accompany it with great musicality. A marvelous EP of unique and stunning music.

Songs worthy of recognition: All four songs are worthy

Rating: 8/10 Delusions

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Joe Satriani - Shockwave Supernova (2015)

The instrumental land scape has changed fairly drastically in about the last decade or so, seeing a bunch of bands blooming out, trying to take it as far as possible with complex rhythms, technical playing, and reinventing the genre again and again. Fortunately, there is at least one thing with the genre that has stayed the same since the 80's, and that something is Joe Satriani. The American guitar virtuoso has been working in a steady pace throughout his career, releasing new material every other year, and shows with each release that he not only masters the guitar like no other, but also know exactly how to make a great instrumental album come to life.

Judging from the cover and the name of the man's 15th studio effort, I almost thought that "Shockwave Supernova" would be a very different Satriani album, a more powerful and heavier effort. But no, he fooled me there. It is the same Satch boogie that has been dazzling us for years, with a broad range of inspirations from the worlds of jazz, blues, rock and more. This broad range can be tough for some listeners who has limited taste in music, but it definitely shows just how well diverse the man really is.

There is an overall nice flow to the album, but I did wish that it had some more personality to it. The overall structure is awfully similar to the one in "Unstoppable Momentum", making it seem like Joe just used a "paint by number" approach to the whole song creation process. But in the end, it is the quality of the craftsmanship that really matters, and you know that Joe will bring out a stunning display.

There are a couple of songs that stands out from the rest of the pack in this album. The opening title track has a really good flow, almost telling a story without uttering a single word. Then we have "On Peregrine Wings", that is just a stunning track where Joe is showing off a bunch of different techniques and styles, but still manages to make the song sound like one whole piece. And that beautiful riff on the "chorus" is just magic. "A Phase I'm Going Through" shows just how good of a shredder Joe is, giving us the most technical riffs and solos he has done in years. Also listen to the beautiful "Lost In A Memory", the crystal clear "Cataclysmic", and the sweet cruising "If There Is No Heaven".

Yep, Joe Satriani has created another well constructed effort here in "Shockwave Supernova", a album with great variety and fantastic showmanship. But there is something with this humongous variety that bugs me, because I want to see Joe create a full album that focuses on one main style, instead of just showing his whole tool box album after album. We know you are a well rounded artist Joe, and that is fantastic, but now I want to see some concepts, a album filled with songs that steers in the same direction. Can you do that for me please? Of course you can, I believe in you, but it is ultimately up to you if you want to do it or not, and to be honest, I am fine with it either way, just do your thing and bring out some stunning music.

Songs worthy of recognition: On Peregrine Wings, Lost In A Memory, A Phase I'm Going Through

Rating: 7,5/10 Scarborough Stomps

Conquering Dystopia - S/T (2014)

One of the fastest evolving genres in metal right now is the instrumental metal music. Several bands like Animal As Leaders and Scale The Summit has gained some good recognition thanks to their fine musicality and ability to create a story without any lyrics. Then we also have the already established artists like Steve Vai, Buckethead and Joe Satriani that started the genre and has helped it move forward. One of the newer exciting acts in instrumental metal is Conquering Dystopia, a death metal band formed by former Nevermore guitarist Jeff Loomis and current Merrow and Demisery guitarist Keith Merrow. Together with the bassist Alex Webster (Cannibal Corpse) and the drummer Alex Rüdinger (The Faceless, Ordinance), they create a hard hitting quartet that takes the instrumental genre to new undiscovered territory.

Since there are already well experienced artists in Conquering Dystopia, you can be sure that the instrumental skill level is good enough. Keith and Jeff shares brotherly between the solos while Alex R. charges with fast double base and crunching blast beats. And Alex W. is also doing a very solid work, even if he is not as prominent as his companions.

My main concern before listening to the album was if the band could make different types of songs so it all would not sound the same. That concern disappeared quickly after the first listening session. "Conquering Dystopia" offers a good range of songs, from the neck breaking "Inexhaustible Savagery" to the more delicate "Lachrymose". This diversity makes the album a whole lot easier to listen to, and it is also allowing the members to show off their whole registry.

Musically speaking, I would say that "Conquering Dystopia" consist mostly of technical death metal beats with some very small intentions from the djent scene. And the musical structure is clearly stable enough support the songs both individually and as a whole album. But somewhere in the music, I can almost hint that this project initially was considered as a "normal" band with vocals. I am ultimately glad that they did not add a vocalist to the line up since this instrumental approach feels more original and more interesting.

I for one, welcome Conquering Dystopia's arrival and its music. It felt like it was only a matter of time before death metal would do its debut on the instrumental scene, and it feels good that someone has finally made it happen. "Conquering Dystopia" is a very promising start for this newly started project, and I hope that this band is the start of a new era in the instrumental metal scene.

Songs worthy of recognition: Inexhaustible Savagery, Prelude To Obliteration, Lachrymose, Destroyer of Dreams

Rating: 8,5/10 Doomsday Clocks

Júlio Stotz - Suspended In Reverie EP (2014)

If you think that the cover suggests that this is not a metal release, then you have obliviously forgotten the old saying "Do not judge a dog by its hair". The Brazilian music composer Júlio Stotz have in "Suspended In Reverie" created a four song instrumental EP that mixes the delicacy of the piano with several djent/progressive metal beats. It is a slightly weird combination, but Júlio is doing a really nice job of balancing the different components together.

All four songs are pretty slow and beautiful, but thanks to the heavy djent riffs, they also have some edge that gives them an extra level. Well, except for "An Der Elbe" that only has piano loops. And of course, as a metal lover, I feel that the songs lifts when the guitars enter the stage. Especially the steadily increasing epicness in "Dreamlike Perceptions" gets me rocking my head back and forth every time I hear it.

The EP as a whole is very even, but short. I would have loved to see one more song in it, or keep the same amount, but making one long and epic song to see how far the artist can take it (the longest song by the way is around 5 minutes). Júlio himself describes his music as instrumental progressive metal with a djent touch and piano/orchestra vibe, but I do not see very much progressiveness in the music. Of course, I would also label this as progressive music, but I think he can take it even further to really show off something impressive.

I would definitely love to see a full album of this kind of music, and I am certain that if Júlio ever gets the tools to complete this full length album, he will do a marvelous job. "Suspended In Reverie" is unique, beautiful and very interesting. A nice choice for both lovers of progressive metal and more classical music.

Songs worthy of recognition: Dreamlike Perceptions, From A Restive Slumber

Rating: 8/10 Essences of Thought

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Joe Satriani - Unstoppable Momentum (2013)

The world have seen many guitar virtuosos come and go, but no one is more respected then Joe "Satch" Satriani. Not only has he learned big names like Steve Vai and Kirk Hammett to play, but he has also a own signature guitar called the Ibanez JS Series. His skills on the guitar are only matched by his amazing ability to catch the listeners attention with his marvelous melodies and riffs. He can play cool songs, slow songs, fast songs and several other types. "Unstoppable Momentum" is Satriani's 14th studio album and his latest effort, "Black Swans And Wormhole Wizards", was a delight to listen to (even though I felt that it was a bit uneven in the musical department).

Just as the title hints, "Unstoppable Momentum" holds a stable momentum through the album that does not stop entirely. It keeps on truckin' until the very end. Now, this album may not be a new "Surfing With The Alien" where Satriani is pushing himself to the limit, but sometimes is simplicity better then fast shredding. What really matters is how good the end product sounds and "Unstoppable Momentum" sounds very pleasing overall. One great example of the simplicity is in "A Door Into Summer". Soothing tempo, soft riffs and beautiful solos. Just enough to create a good song.

Most of the song has the same tempo and style, but the duo "Jumpin' In" and "Jumpin' Out" has some sort of Fusion Jazz style that both seems weird and enchanting. The main reason why I like these two songs is that they are shifting in shape several times which makes them very interesting and not so dull. But the high point of the album is the following song "The Weight of The World". It is a beautiful song that has a distinct and memorable riff that you can hum all day long. And even though the keyboard sounds sligthly weird, it still gives you the sensation of that you are playing a classic game from the 90's. So the nostalgia factor is the reason to why you should listen to this song.

Strange enough, some of the songs in "Unstoppable Momentum", like the title track and "Can't Go Back", actually reminds me of Buckethead, another awesome instrumentalist. I do not know if it was meant to be a celebration to the man with a KFC bucket on his head or an influence or if it is a pure coincidence, but either way, it throws me off a bit and it ultimately does not feel like something Satch have done by himself. So it does not matter that it sounds good, it feels like plagiarism, but it does not mean that I wont still listen to it.

All in all, this album is still a blast to listen too. Satch shows once again why he is one of the best guitarist and instrumental song creators on the planet. Joe does not have to shred like a maniac to show off his skills, he has already done that and can instead focus on improving his song writing technique, which is already good. So even though this album has some problems with identity issues, "Unstoppable Momentum" is sure to be one of the best instrumental efforts in the year of 2013.

Songs worthy of recognition: The Weight of The World, Unstoppable Momentum, Jumpin' Out

Rating: 7,5/10 American Dreamers