Do you remember the really good stuff on Joe Satriani's
'The Extremist'?
No ideas above its station. No faux ethnic influences. No fret melting wankery. Just full on, white boy guitar rock with great melodies, ranging from the eloquently lyrical to the heartstoppingly visceral.
Using that release as the benchmark, '
Firehearted' gets pretty damn close. The instrumentals may be short on originality but they're long on imagination, melody, verve and that old fashioned virtue, joie de vivre.
This the 3rd solo album from current
Sonata Arctica axeslinger, Elias Viljanen. Good band too - with the help of one song apiece from guest vocalists, Tony (SA) Kakko and Marco (Nightwish/Tarot) Hietala, plus Jari (Evergrey) Kainulainen on bass, Mikko (Apocalyptica) Siren on drums and Henrik (SA) Klingenberg (who nearly steals the show) on Keys, Viljanen shoots off tangentially into a world where power metal, symphonic rock and melodic hard rock merge into one colourful, adrenaline pumping noise.
Crowd pleasing opener
'Fire Hearted' is a ringer for
Gary Hoey at his most accessible, scoring a direct hit on
Van Halen circa 1984.
Restraint isn't usually a word you associate with rock or metal guitarists, but on
'Last breath Of Love', Viljanen's measured spurts and bursts of lightly metalised symphonic rock are an unlikely counterpoint to Hietala's typically bombastic delivery.
'Cruel Groove' is more metal than rock, drilling down deep into an industrial strength groove.
Viljanen shows his mastery of the catchy hook on the slick, streamlined pop metal of
'Kiss Of Rain', assisted by Kakko, and from there it's a seamless shift to
'Head Up High's graceful, deft, Neal Zaza like axework.
Elsewhere, Viljanen's skill in intensifying a simple, tuneful riff to the point where it becomes exhilarating and relentless works beautifully on
'Up To Speed' and '
Supernatural'.
Absolutely no fillers here. 'The
Triumph' and
'Showstopper' power back into the arena, rocking hard, while the acoustic, intimate
'My Guiding Light' swings to the other extreme. This guy can do it all.
Don't miss this.
Written by
Brian Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Show all reviews by BrianRatingsBrian: 7.5/10Members: No members have rated this album yet.
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