Al Di Meola: Land Of The Midnight Sun (Vinyl Review)

Released: October 25th, 1976

Reviewed: July 29th, 2011

Record Label: Columbia


My rating: 10/10

Track Listing:

1. The Wizard

2. Land Of The Midnight Sun

3. Sarabande From Violin Sonata In B Minor

4. Love Theme From Pictures Of The Sea

5. Suite Golden Dawn:

    Morning Fire

    Calmer Of The Tempests

    From Ocean To The Clouds

6. Short Tales Of The Black Forest

Al Di Meola is undoubtedly a legendary musician, and despite the fact that I have devoted the best part of the last seven years of my life listening to heavy metal, I often came across his name, hearing and reading about how great and influential he has been, not only to jazz musicians but to musicians across the board. And when Glen Drover included a great rendition of Al Di Meola's "Egyptian Danza" in his solo debut "Metalusion" this year, it only succeeded in further piquing my interest. Other than that cover, I had honestly never heard his music. But now that I've decided to delve into the wonderful world of jazz, the first artist I'm laying focus on is none other than Di Meola. I wanted to start right from the beginning, so I paid a visit to Amoeba yesterday to pick up his debut album on vinyl. There was a sense of excitement and anticipation in me as I held that huge piece of artwork, took out the vinyl, placed it on my turntable and started listening to it.

"The Wizard" gives the album a very Latin start. Di Meola's guitar, synth and percussion combine together to create insane harmonies, as the song makes a journey through multiple tempo shifts. The tune is nothing short of mind-blowing, and makes a long-lasting impact on the listener's mind straightaway. The sheer range of Di Meola's musical abilities is quite evident even in these mere 6 and a half minutes. The title song keeps a similar style going, but in the process it provides yet more delightful musical passages that vary from each other but are brilliantly arranged together to somehow make the tune sound like a cohesive unit. The bass sound is also quite a lot more prominent in this one as compared to the opening track. The song is over 9 minutes long, but I have come across countless number of songs that are of equal or longer duration, and don't even come close to being as musically rich as this one.

A short acoustic guitar piece titled "Sarabande From Violin Sonata In B Minor" comes next. There is nothing quite as mentally liberating as the pristine sound of an acoustic guitar, and when it's being played by someone like Di Meola, it's even better. So needless to say, I'm glad that the album includes an acoustic guitar piece by itself. This is followed by another soft little piece of music titled "Love Theme From Pictures Of The Sea". Besides the sounds of the acoustic guitar, electric guitar and traces of percussion and synth, for the first and only time on the album you'll hear vocals.

Side B has just two tracks, the first being a three-part opus titled "Suite Golden Dawn". I would say the titles of the three parts, "Morning Fire", "Calmer Of The Tempests" and "From Ocean To The Clouds" are completely justified as the music creates images that go perfectly with their respective titles. The tune moves beautifully from part to part as they blend very smoothly into each other. Di Meola and his posse of musicians offer a whole plethora of music, creating 10 minutes that can truly be savored. The album comes to a perfect ending, with veteran musician Chick Corea joining in with a composition of his own, titled "Short Tales Of The Black Forest". Not only did he write the complete song, but also played the piano and marimba on it, making it quite a unique track that stands on its own when compared to the rest of the album.

Overall, this album is every bit as great as I had expected it to be, and then some. From this it's pretty clear that the brilliance of Al Di Meola was there for everyone to see, even at such an early stage of his career, and I can imagine how this album must have provided the ideal launching pad for the rest of his career, inspiring Di Meola to keep creating music that in turn became a huge inspiration for others who were fortunate enough to be exposed to this piece of music when it was actually first released, exactly nine years before I was born.

Interview with Glen Drover (Audio)

Interview with Glen Drover by Metalassault on Mixcloud

I did this interview with Glen Drover to talk in detail about his solo debut "Metalusion". Listen to the 15-minute chat above.

Interview with Alex Skolnick (Video)

This is an interview most Metal Assault followers must have seen already, but I'm posting it here because I feel it ties in appropriately with my album review. Watch the 3-minute chat if you haven't already.

Interview with Evan Brewer (Video)

I got to do a brief interview with Evan Brewer at the Key Club in Hollywood CA just a few weeks back, on July 10th, to talk about his solo album "Alone" and the tour with Animals As Leaders. Watch the 5-minute chat above. Thanks to Amanda G Hernandez for filming it.

Alex Skolnick performing at Heritage Guitars booth at NAMM 2011 (Video)

Here's another video I took of Alex Skolnick at NAMM 2011, this time at the Heritage guitars booth as he demonstrates some incredible slap-guitar techniques. This is one video I am more than a 100 per cent sure you will enjoy!

Alex Skolnick's AmpKit jazz guitar demo at NAMM 2011 (Video)

This is a video I took at this year's NAMM convention at the Anaheim Convention Center on January 12th, as Alex Skolnick from Testament/Alex Skolnick Trio demonstrates how a guitarist can get the best jazz sound from the AmpKit guitar app for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.

Glen Drover: Metalusion (Album Review)

Released: April 5th, 2011 
Reviewed: April 4th, 2011
Modified: July 28th, 2011
Record Label: Magna Carta 


My Rating: 9.5/10

Glen Drover is better known to the metal community as the former member of King Diamond and Megadeth, and to a lesser extent as a member of Canadian power thrash metal band Eidolon which he formed with brother Shawn. And this year with the help of some illustrious names in the industry, he unleashed his solo debut "Metalusion", and as the name suggests, it's a combination of metal and jazz fusion.


Five original tunes and five covers make up the 10-track album. The first of the original compositions is the album opener "Ground Zero", featuring Chris Poland of Megadeth and OHM fame along with Vinnie Moore from UFO. It's an immensely delightful track that nicely sets the tone for the rest of the album. It has quite a strong progressive jazzy feel to it, and with the presence of three jazz connoisseurs in Drover, Poland and Moore, I expected nothing less. Even though it is largely a jazz-speed bonanza, this song has a sufficiently prominent thrash element that should please fans of Megadeth's Poland-era albums. It actually has something for metal fans of all kind, with the guitar harmonies giving it a traditional metal touch as well. "Frozen Dream" is next, and features Steve Smyth from Forbidden. Another excellently composed track, this is highly enjoyable from start to finish, and what stands out here as much as the guitars obviously is Jim Gilmour's contribution on the keyboards which creates a musical trinity that's similar to that of track 1. Paul Yee's bass and Chris Sutherand's drums also add a lot of punch to this tune, thus proving that Metalusion is after all a band effort and not merely a solo album.


The next original track is "Colors Of Infinity" which does not feature any guests and is composed by the Glen Drover band on its own. This being the debut album, the jury would be very much out on Glen's abilities as a composer and band leader, and after listening to this song no one would be left disappointed or dissatisfied, as the incredibly pristine guitar sound that's the focal point of this beautifully powerful tune rings through the listener's grateful ears. "Illusions Of Starlight" comes across as a brilliant follow-up. It offers much of the same guitar goodness but in a slightly more upbeat and up-tempo manner as compared to its predecessor. The last of the original tracks "Ascension" comes in at number 8 in the track listing, another slow, mesmerizingly beautiful piece of music that highlights the genius of Glen Drover.


Other than these, the album includes five cover tunes that pay tribute to Glen's jazz heroes, namely Frank Zappa, Jean-Luc Ponty and Al DiMeola. While doing justice to the original versions of these songs, Glen has certainly given a more 'metal' twist to them, making it more suitable for metal fans. One of the JL Ponty covers features Opeth's Frederik Akesson as guest guitarist while the other boasts of contribution by Nevermore's Jeff Loomis, both musicians giving a lot of oomph to the already powerful music. I'm sufficiently glad listening to how Glen combines with these amazing guest musicians, but given the style and magnitude of this stellar effort, I'm only surprised that it doesn't feature the likes of Alex Skolnick and Devin Townsend. Food for thought for the next album may be?


Overall, this album is more of the kind that progressive rock fans and connoisseurs of virtuosic guitar would appreciate more than your average Megadeth fan would. The fact that it's an instrumental album gives complete opportunity for Glen Drover to present himself in a way he has never been able to do in any of his previous bands. If you previously didn't think much of Glen's abilities as a guitar player and composer, you're in for a pleasant shock.


Featuring some of the most wonderful virtuosic guitar you would have heard in a long time, this is a blissful hour of music which everyone should treat themselves to. To sum it up in one word, I would just say, "Wow!!"

Track Listing:
1. Ground Zero [Special Guests Chris Poland and Vinnie Moore]
2. Frozen Dream [Special Guest Steve Smyth]
3. Egyptian Danza [Al DiMeola Cover]
4. Colors Of Infinity
5. Illusions Of Starlight
6. Don't Let The World Pass You By [Jean-Luc Ponty Cover, Special Guest Fredrik Akesson]
7. Mirage [Jean-Luc Ponty Cover, Special Guest Jeff Loomis]
8. Ascension
9. The Purple Lagoon [Frank Zappa Cover]
10. Filthy Habits [Frank Zappa Cover]

Alex Skolnick Trio: Veritas (Album Review)

Release Date: March 29th, 2011
Review Date: July 16th, 2011
Label: Palmetto 


My rating: 10/10

Ever since the Alex Skolnick Trio released its fourth studio album 'Veritas' around 4 months ago, I've been a huge fan and a constant listener of the brilliant masterpiece. Because this is supposed to be primarily a metal outlet, I was apprehensive about reviewing it on here. But because I just finished reviewing Alex Skolnick Trio's bass solo jazz fusion album, I have opened my mind to more reviews of non-metal albums involving musicians better known for playing in metal bands. 'Veritas' immediately came to my mind, for it's surely an album that deserves to be written about.


The 'fusion' aspect of a jazz-fusion album allows for a whole world of possibilities when it comes to exactly how the jazz sound is presented to the listener. With 'Veritas', AST have given their music a distinctly exotic touch that can be felt throughout the album, starting from the brief opening instrumental tune "Panna", right until the final moments of the hour-long piece. "Bollywood Jam" is certainly one of the most compelling tunes I've heard this year, and as an Indian I'm delighted by the fact that connotations referring to my motherland can be seen not only in the song title, but can also be felt in the music, specially by those who are familiar with Indian music.


Besides Bollywood Jam which has turned out to be the main attraction for listeners so far, the album consists of plenty of other tunes that are equally as powerful in their own unique ways. While "Song Of The Open Road", "Veritas" and "The River Lethe" can be described as slow, soft and sensual, the tunes "Veritas In Brooklyn", "Path Of Least Resistance" and "Flection" come across as intensely dark and melodic tunes that carry a lot of emotion in them. Then there's also the upbeat jazz rock-type tune "99-09" to change things up, treating the listener to a joyful 4-and-a-half minutes. In addition to the nine original tunes, the trio has added the metal touch with an astoundingly soothing cover of Metallica's "Fade To Black". Listening to this tune is an out-of-this-world experience in itself, and is further proof of the kind of impact music can have on the human mind. And as if all this wasn't already worth 100 times the price of the album, they've thrown in an interesting club remix of Bollywood Jam to bring the album to a close.


Overall, Veritas is 60 minutes of unrivaled awesomeness, and a must-have album for any music fan. I wholeheartedly thank Testament for introducing me to the genius of Alex Skolnick, as a consequence of which I began to explore his works in other styles of music.


If you saw me at the NAMM convention this year and if by any chance I came across to you as an Alex Skolnick stalker, here's your answer. Just listen to Veritas.

Track Listing:
1. Panna
2. Bollywood Jam
3. Song of the Open Road
4. Veritas
5. Fade To Black (Metallica cover)
6. Alone In Brooklyn
7. 99/09
8. Path Of Least Resistance
9. Reflections
10. The River Lethe
11. Bollywood Jam - Club Remix Version

Evan Brewer: Alone (Album Review)

Release Date: June 28th, 2011
Review Date: July 16th, 2011
Label: Sumerian 


My rating: 10/10

Evan Brewer, better known to the metal world as bassist for The Faceless, has come up with a solo effort of his own, a very unique bass-only album titled 'Alone'. This is most definitely the first time I've come across an album of this kind. I admire his work in The Faceless, and obviously as soon as this was announced, I was more than excited. After listening to these mesmerizing 27-and-a-half minutes, my respect and admiration for Evan Brewer has grown ten-fold.


For starters, you would think I'm lying when I say that each and every note on this album has been created merely by using a bass. But it's in fact the truth. Brewer's work here is true testimony to what a skilled musician can achieve with his instrument. The album is quite simply titled Alone because Brewer is the sole creator and performer. It engages the listener into complete attention right from the outset, with the incredible opening tune "Actualize". Even though it's a short-ish track of 4-minute duration, it's full of twists and turns that would even make prog rock legends proud. I'm pretty sure I'm going to run out of superlatives by the time I'm done with this review, but oh well, I'll give it a try.


"Contraband" sounds every bit as good as the opener, and then some. While it has heavier undertones as compared to the opening track, it also offers a bit more of the melodic aspect that only a genius of the calibre of Brewer could have created on the bass, an instrument certainly not known for melody. "Currency" is dark, spacey and melancholic, a very gripping, almost hypnotic 4 minutes of music. At times you'll hear not one, not two, but three layers of bass. As I said before, you'll really have to listen to it to believe it.


"Altered Perspective" Parts 1 and 2 further enhance the melodic aspect that can be found in the first three tracks. Part 2 is more 'upbeat' than Part 1, and the sheer number of notes you can hear in such a short time interval is quite spine-tingling. The following track "Vertigo", and indeed the rest of the album doesn't disappoint either, and would leave the listener stunned in complete amazement. It's always fascinating for me to think about how song titles for instrumental tunes comes about, to think about how the musician maps his music on to a word or a phrase. Somehow, every title makes perfect sense in this particular album if you get deep into the music.


I always like to see musicians in metal bands attempt to create something of their own on the side, and whether or not it's strictly "metal" doesn't matter to me. But in the end I do owe it to metal to enable me to open my ears to all these different styles of music, purely because of the association I can make between the musician in focus and the metal band I've known him for being a member of. This album also should prove to be a major stepping stone in the endeavor to forever bring to end the common notion that members of metal bands aren't as skilled as musicians outside of the metal sphere.


Whether you're a fan of jazz fusion or not, take it from me that you won't regret picking up Evan Brewer's "Alone". I would suggest you to listen to it exactly the way it should be, sitting by yourself in a quiet room, with headphones on. Because if you do so, this album will quite literally take your mind to another planet.

Track Listing:
1. Actualize
2. Contraband
3. Currency
4. Altered Perspective One
5. Altered Perspective Two
6. Vertigo
7. The Decline
8. Degenerate
9. Looking West
10. A Climate For Change