Apparently while the Nordic hordes slept, a law crept into existence stating that if you're from Scandinavia, you have to play a blonde Strat just like the one that favorite son Yngwie plays & you have to update classical music just like him too. Hopefully this new crop of duty bound citizens doesn't have the... uh...non-existent self esteem issues Mr. Malmsteen has so charmed his audiences with.This CD is what Vernon Reid's album should have sounded like. There is some vaguely metal-ish stuff on here, though none of it'll make you wanna head bang till you need medical attention. There is evidence of much guitar proficiency, finger tapping, and the patented Yngwie-esque classical music treatment and about what you'd expect from a guy whose scant liner notes includes information on how to hire him as a guitar teacher. If this CD is designed to be an advertisement in order to earn him new students, I'm sure he will succeed at that goal. In the process, if he isn't careful, he just might gain himself a fan base as well.
There were plenty of 'Oh wow!' moments & jaw dropping guitar licks on here, so I guess I'm gonna hafta give him 5 stars, even though he has a name that's hard to spell & impossible to pronounce & I have no idea what kind of ego someone of this skill level must have. I guess living where it's always dark & cold & everyone has a sauna is just the recipe for producing guitar virtuosos of this caliber. Watch this guy, I just betcha Satch slaps him onto the G3 tour circuit quick, along with Steve Vai (who he also mentions in his liner notes) & his Yngwie muse.
