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I've always believed
that instrumental albums, especially
those based on the guitar, are created
by musicians and they mostly refer
to musicians without having much to
offer to the average metalhead. But
the American guitarist Ken Steiger,
with his latest release called "Defiance",
comes to prove me wrong and makes
me re-evaluate things.
Here we're also dealing
with a "guitar hero", but
his main advantage is that he manages
to keep our attention from the beginning
to the end. You won't get bored after
the first 2-3 tracks and have this
"solo headache", which is
a known symptom for all instrumental
albums. With "Defiance",
Ken Steiger proves that he is a mature
and "non-chatty" musician,
whose play won me over from the very
first moment. The high quality of
the compositions is also emphasized
by the very good and polished sound
that was produced by Ken Steiger and
Derek Sherinian, with the help of
Sharon Farias.
A special reference
must be made to the guest musicians
that are performing on this project.
These are: drummer Virgil Donati (Steve
Vai, Planet X, Freak House), bassist
Tony Franklin (Jimmy Page, The Firm,
Blue Murder) and keyboardist Derek
Sherinian (Dream Theater, Malmsteen,
KISS, Alice Cooper). Now don't tell
me that these aren't enough for you
to go out and search for this excellent
release!!!
Before closing I'd
like to mention that the artwork and
the design of "Defiance",
made by Ken Steiger himself, could
be better, but it's fine as it is
and this note of mine shouldn't discourage
you from a possible purchase. After
all, music is all that counts. Unfortunately
I don't know if you can find this
cd on the stores and how much it costs
so you'd better check it out on Ken's
official website, www.projectsteiger.com.
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