So you just got the delicious Guintini "Project III" disc and thought it was the greatest discovery since sliced bread. Yet, you hunger for more. What is the ravenous music listener to do? Well, Frontiers has the perfect solution for your dilemma. They just re-released Guintini's previous disc,
"II". It has been about seven years since it was widely available on the market, and only the most dedicated followers of Martin likely ran across the record during the original print run. I believe it was independent only and limited to Italy, making finding a copy a real rarity.
"II" is written along the same formula that "III" follows. A mixture of Black Sabbath, Dio,
Yngwie Malmsteen and Rainbow, fronted by the fabulous pipes of Tony Martin. Only, for this 1998/99 disc, the songs are not quite as epic or as polished as the ones found on "III". Which doesn't mean it is not worth your time, surely it is. It just is not in the same league as the new one. Giuntini's guitarwork is as blazing as ever and you can hear a Misha Calvin influence running around in his axe slinging too. As for Tony Martin, he sounds fresh, inspired, and oftentimes downright dastardly.
They blaze through alot of music here, fifteen tracks in all that range from typical furious rockers topped with lavish vocals such as
"Dead Ringer" to melodic power rock a'la "Headless Cross" material like
"Resurrection Day" (killer guitar here too, by the way) to the doomy slower works like
"Letters From the Dead".
"Shadowlands" has a fantastic chorus and screams through with passion and power. The chorus is looped a bit much, but you get so caught up in the clash between melody and metal that it doesn't matter.
The double dipper instrumental extravaganza of
"House of Spirits" and
"Spiteful Ghosts" make a good case for including vocal-less tunes. A little strange, a bit eerie but filled with guitar pyrotechnics,
"Ghosts" turns vicious and extravagant without becoming tedious.
Lyrically it is a bit silly at times, with demons rising and love affairs with dark minded vixens turning sour. The songs Martin help pen have a better lyrical flow than the others, since they are tailored to his voice. Then you get something like the driving
"Reactor", its heart turned towards enviromental affairs that cut just as scarily as hearing about another resurrected devil. All hell is going to reign down from the nuclear reactor craze and the reality of fallout stills the heart just as cold as the fantasy yarns.
The album flexes its power with might and sees plenty of opportunity for Aldo to run wild with crazy guitar solos and fat, driving riffs. It has a more classic rock feel than "Project III", and sees plenty of rockers that are heaped with that driving, Sabbathy sound. It is easy to see how this disc was polished and built upon to become morphed into the fantastic followup.
The bottom line is that if you have been pining away for some more hot "Headless Cross" action and haven't found the disc yet that fills up that gaping void, then this is exactly what you have been looking for. Anyone that found "III" to be intriguing should pick up a copy of this too, it is the perfect compliment to the new album, and since it hasn't been in circulation for awhile, has probably slipped the minds of the audience the disc was intended for. A rock solid purchase for fans of crazy guitar antics too and a real bargain considering the amount of music packed into the disc.
Written by
Alanna Friday, June 16, 2006
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