Comments:
The long time Winterlong axe monster Thorbjorn Englund releases a
solo instrumental virtuoso guitar album, and from the first riff,
you realize this has been a long time coming. WOW! The album is entitled
Influences and is just that a collection of metal guitar work
that encompasses Thor's passions. Rare is there a European that gets
the importance of strong metal riffing as well as all the speed and
dynamic fret board wizardry on an instrumental project.
The
first song "Jesus Stole My Harley" is as wild and crazy
as its moniker, but oh so much more. This sick bastard goes nuts but
never forgets his metal roots. Next up is the equally impressive "Heart
of Fire" which is like an early Satriani number on steroids.
The third track "Demonica" is one of the best "fast"
virtuoso guitar songs you will ever hear. The speeds are outrageous,
but even better, the scales and tones he uses are completely unique.
And the best part is the wonderful rhythm chosen to carry this Mach
3 journey. Well you get the picture folks -- this is the modern day
version of CACOPHONY. Yes you read that correctly, the material here
is as good as Friedman and Becker's project. Shit it's as good as
anything Satriani, Lynch or Vai have done in the past 10 years as
well.
This
project vaults Englund right into the Polak, Fareri, Eklundh mix as
Europe's best new fiddlers. The songs are relatively short, ranging
from 2 to 4 minutes, but all of them pack enough punch to stop an
elephant in his tracks. Englund is great at writing tight catchy melodies
too, which gives his amazing technique a home. He never seems to be
aimlessly showing off. The most intriguing track is "A Flame
of Flamenco" where his picking is superb and his sentiment out
of this world. There even is expert bass guitar thrown in for your
bassheads. Heck, he even plays the piano with breathtaking precision
on the guitarless "Beautiful Beyond."
Talk
about a complete outstanding effort. This guy can pick pluck and shred
his Viking ass off! This smells as an early candidate for album of
the year. So what the hell are you waiting for? Get your guitar loving
asses online and pick up one. And go to www.lionmusic.com;
it even has a great story from the man himself describing several
of the motivations behind these spectacular tracks.
Band
Members
Thörbjorn Englund - All instruments except…
Leif Erikson - Drums
Track
listing:
1. Jesus Stole My Harley
2. Heart Of Fire
3. Demonica
4. Siberian Nights
5. Winds Of Change
6. Wicked Child
7. Walking On The Edge
8. A Flame Of Flamenco
9. Flying
10. Princess Lane
11. Notes From The Dark Side
12. Devilina
13. W.A.M Goes Electric
14. The Abyss
15. Beautiful Beyond
16. Vikings Tomb
HRH
Rating: 9.3/10
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