This is a very unique, creative, and enjoyable album. This a guitar virtuoso album that is packed with material yet does not become tiresome becuase of it's quirky and eccentric vibe. Mattias "IA" Eklundh plays with a superb tone and a well developed, unpredictable sonwriting style. You can enjoy several songs over and over again for a few reasons: 1) The songs are short (well except for "Time to Breathe"), 2) the shredding is put into cohesive melodies and not just thrown into a sloppy solo for the sake of being fast.
This is NOT a Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, or Yngwie Malmsteen sounding album. It is very colorful and comes from a completely different perspective. Asuming that most people do not know of this album, it is difficuilt to explain but if this review is intriguing you, then give it a chance and pick it up. Try off of amazon.com or something like that. I haven't found it in many stores...it's kind of obscure i suppose. Anyway...
1. Apparatus:
An earthly, funky song with some very cutting-edge melody lines. The extremely high-pitched lead may come unexpected, but the song functions well with them. The song switches between a softer, more soothing feel to harsher parts again and again. Also noteworth are the incredible machine-like, laser sounds that are coaxed from the guitar.
8/10
2. God - The Mechanic:
A more intense thrashy song, with atonal guitar lines vowven in nicely between the pounding main riff. This song creates a uniquely energetic atmosphere, but not in a corny way. It sounds very gloomy and dark.
9/10
3. The Gray Hat of Compromise:
One of the slower pieces on the album, a ballad of sorts. The lead playing is tasteful and not overdone. This is a good song to listen to if you have a hard time getting into gutar-master music.
8/10
4. Lisa's Passion for Heavy Metal:
A quick song, but one with infinite replay value. The driving main riff and mind-boggling shredding in between is absolutely masterful. The over-the-top, almost machine-like quickness that reminds me of some of Buckethead's material is displayed here with great flourish. An unbelievable display of six string talent.
10/10
5. La Bamba:
An extremely quick reworking of the traditional "La Bamba" with a great rhythmic backdrop and a distinctive, bluesy feel to the lead playing. Excellent.
9/10
6. Evil Shower:
This is a very strange song. The guitar playing is excellent but this song takes so many unexpected songwriting twists so early on that it demands replay. A confusing listen at first perhaps, but a good song.
(7/10)
7. When Sam Played it Again...:
One of the quirkiest songs thus far, yet in under a minute it seems to accomplish its goal and it is an enjoyable song.
7/10
8. Midsummernight in Hell:
Possibly the greatest song ever written by anyone. Ever. Seriously...find this song and listen the hell out of it. It absolutely owns in its breif time of 2 minutes and 1 second, with one of the greatest melodies one could ever wish to hear, and some badass lead in the middle of the song as well. I cannot overstate how great this song is. A masterpiece of music.
10/10
9. Numb:
Decent song with great shredding, and a distinct metallic-techno vibe.
8/10
10. (Friday Afternoon) In a Galaxy Far Away...
Ummm...yeah. Just a bit of strange machine-laser sounds not really put into a song. Interesting for a few listens but by no means necessary.
2/10
11. The Satanic Moonwalk:
Building off another powereful rhythm guitar foundation, this is a really cool song. For the most part the lead is pretty subdued, and you might not expect that becuase the rhythm and overall sound feels like there is going to be lots of shredding included, but no. However, change is always welcome, and the song does not suffer from it.
8/10
12. Cornholed:
Another favorite. The lead is very quick and the changes in the main lead part occur at a very awkward time to the ear, no matter how many times you listen to it. That rapid, nintendo-game-like melody just sticks out and it is very intriguing to hear the unorhtodox phrasing in this song.
9/10
13. Detroit Rock City:
A Kiss cover, without the lyrics and played entirely acoustic. This works better than might be imagined and it offers a break from the heavy sound if you can only take small doses of thrash riffs and shredding.
8/10
14. The Territorial Thing:
Decent song, with varied lead playing, and another thrashy riff in the tone of "the Satanic Moonwalk." A little stranger than some of the past cuts but a good song, nonetheless.
7/10
15. Time to Breathe:
A 10 minute acoustic ballad to sooth you and prepare you for the second batch of shredding coming up. A very mellow, and relaxing song, but i do think that 10 minutes is a little excessive. I would suggest to just kind of hear this song, and not really scrutinize(sp?) it, or else you might get bored. Just sit back and take it in, don't concentrate on it. Relax...
6/10
16. Mumbo Jumbo:
Great song. The melody line is simply fantastic, and the entire song is very ubpeat and light. One of the better songs on the disc.
10/10
17. The Mud Man:
An abrasive rhythim guitar riff with lead lines that emit a funny vibe. The complex veaving of guitar and drums for the main riff is very cool, but the song seems to lack in some parts...not sure what, but it just doesn't shine like some of the others.
7/10
18. Dr. Pangloss Goes to Lisbon:
A very odd song made ever more odd with the spoken quote part at the end. As for the lead, it is again very quirky. Describing this song is quite hard here...you'll have to listen to it to understand it strangeness.
7/10
19. The Black Page:
Another metallic song with wild lead guitar lines and a simple, pounding rhythm. A decent song.
7/10
20. Revenge of the Bambi Loving Terrorist:
This song features an excellent rhythmic backdrop with some of the most eerie lead playing you could find. The tone and feel to the sound is very unusual. I suspect that he is using a middle-eastern-ish guitar scale or something to create that intriguing, gloomy vibe. A great song.
9/10
21. Squirrel:
The only song with lyrics by Eklundh himself, and the only song with spoken parts beisdes "Dr. Pangloss Goes to Lisbon." This song is very smooth and jazzy, but also very humorous, and the vocals add and do not take away. A great song to put at the end of a manic album such as this.
9/10
22. Our Man in Beijing:
The closing track to this goofy, intense, and unpredictable album. A ballad with thick bass, and crisp acoustic guitar strums behind the soft lead playing. Combined with "Squirrel" this creates the perfect ending...soft and gentle to an album dominated with wild n' wacky lead guitar spectacles.
8/10
In summary, this is a great album to get if you like guitar virtuoso music but become bored with typical shredding. It is also a good album to get if you want to get into insturmental music. Or you could just get it becuase it's really unlike anyhting else. It has a unique flair, and it is sure to make you laugh a little bit while putting some great six-string talent on sisplay.
Also..."Midsummer Night in Hell" is another good reason to buy this album. It's easily one of the best pieces of music ever created.
Thanks for reading...
