Plini – An Unnameable Desire (Self Released)Plini is at the top of the instrumental pile for me, inspired by the legends of shred like Satch and Vai but also jazz fusion greats like Allan Holdsworth and even acoustic tappers like fellow Australian Tommy Emmanuel, his crossover/fusion/at this point unclassifiable sound has been gracing our ears and stages for many years now.
What makes Plini great is that he manages to make instrumental music interesting, the tonality and shifts in style, pace, genre always means his record are engaging and captivate in a way that is rare.
Whether you’re in love with the Djent grooves of
Now/Then, the more intimate style of the title track or the full on heaviness meets ambience of the brilliant Manala. Or perhaps the sweeping
Ciel (which features additional production from Devesh Dayal and a guitar solo by Jakub Zytecki), there’s something here for any taste and musical love.
An Unnameable Desire is his third full length and the man himself describes the record as a “playful” he spent time tinkering with them like always but when it came to refine them he wanted to take them to places maybe he’s been afraid to visit before, as he’s now an established name and composer in the prog/Djent/whatever world he wanted to push his playing further.
This gives a dynamic record with the heaviest metallic parts, the dreamiest ambience, the most technical fusion playing and more, just pushing further out of his comfort zone to make these tracks his most diverse and at times most complex yet.
Mixed by Simon Grove, who also chimes in with bass, auxiliary guitar, engineering and co production, and mastered by Adam “Nolly” Getgood, everything sounds big and clean and cinematic, from the crushing metal tracks (
The Time Will Pass Anyway), through the dystopian
Ruin to the joyous groove of the epic penultimate track
After Everything.
Plini’s incredible playing and composing is brought to life with Chris Allison (drums/percussion, engineering/co-production), Dave Mckay (piano/keys/synths) and John Waugh (flutes/sax). While the strings of Misha Vayman (violin) and Yoshi Masuda (cello) and arranged and produced by A.J. Minette, there’s a strong cast of supporting artists to make this album and these tracks the most versatile, vibrant and ultimately best so far from the Australian Alchemist.
10/10
Gus G – Steel Burner (Metal Department Records)
While his work with Firewind, is always pretty consistent, virtuoso axeman Gus G’s solo output is a bit more experimental, not only with genres but with approach too.
Starting out with two records that featured a glut of guest vocalists and only a few instrumental tracks, Fearless and Quantum Leap saw the band take the form of a power trio with Dennis Ward on production/bass and vocals, again it was a mix, though Quantum Leap was all instrumental.
Five years later and Gus returns to having that balance between sung cuts and instrumental ones, however there are fewer singers than in his first two records. Again having Dennis Ward behind the desk, he also plays bass on Nothing Can Break Me while Andrea Arcangeli adds four strings flourishes to Frenemy and Confession.
Other than those two Gus plays everything else, keys, bass, drums and especially guitar, shredding and soloing like the superstar he is as the genres move between Metal, Rock and AOR. The composition all show his skill as a musician though it’s the instrumentals that are the true measuring sticks for his guitar prowess.
Born after a period of heavy touring as a soloist and part of Firewind, these songs have been sculpted to have the right impact, meaning that the vocalists have been handpicked to fit the songs, be it tour mate Ronnie Romero who wraps his pipes around a heavy rocker and a Mr Big-like ballad or the grit of Dino Jelusick who goes metal on No One Has To Know.
Perhaps the higher profile additions of Doro Pesch on Nothing Can Break Me is worth more column inches but for me getting Matt Barlow on the dramatic Dancing With Death makes me want a full album of this. (A collaboration that would sell out arenas in Greece).
Steel Burner then is Gus G going back to where he began his solo career, with a record of music that may not work for Firewind, but shows of his skill as a player and a songwriter, aided by some high level vocals talent from his professional address book. Also the title track was written for a metal cutting machine company which is pretty niche! 8/10
Konquest – Dark Waters (No Remorse Records)
Konquest is the project of Alex Rossi, across two previous albums, and on this one he is the loan creator of all the NWOBHM inspired music you get from Konquest.
Playing everything means that like Haunt and Spirit Adrfit, he has full creative control over the music he makes and with this third record Dark Waters, Rossi is writing songs that link to the theme of overthinking, a brain that is in constant motion, thinking about everything all the time even alive and firing while sleeping causing dreams of other worlds and escape.
It’s a musical voyage through an exhausted psyche, longing for peace but pushing further into fantasy and delusion with dreams of giants, previous lives and “To stand within The Pleasure Dome, Decreed by Kubla Khan” as Rush once put it. Though Konquest also have a song about the mighty Mongols summer retreat, drawing inspiration from Coleridge’s poem as much as the Canadian legends do, but Konquest stick it plainly in the style of a Maiden epic.
It also feels like the title track borrows atmosphere from Coleridge’s The Rhime Of The Ancient Mariner, though not the Maiden song of the same name. Opener Turn The Lights Off however does sound a bit like Fear Of The Dark at the beginning, One Ticket For One Right brings NWOBHM gang vocals and those bass gallops, The Giant and Man With A Stone flesh out the classic metal sound with 80’s inspired synths.
That’s the main take away for Dark Waters, if you’re not a big NWOBHM/Iron Maiden guy then these Dark Waters won’t be for you, however if you are one of those guys you’ll love this record. 7/10
Since The Death – Entangled (Nordic Mission Records)
Swedish. Death. Metal. Oddly yes it does sound like what you’d think. Begun as studio project by Oscar Rask as a way of playing extreme music which is lyrically inspired by his Christian faith, Since The Death has transitioned now towards a live band to take their glut of work on the road.
Still in the studio Rask supplies drums, synths, samples, bass and vocals, as the guitars come from Richard Adolfsson, but Rask is determined to take the band and their three previous albums, on the road, which is probably why Entangled is a bit rawer, written to be performed live.
The themes of entrapment, resilience and belief are cocooned in a mixture of death, black and thrash metal where the speed is relentless but there’s mid-pace grooves, atmospheric meandering and proggy switches in tone. It’s extremity that’s not focussed on paganism or anything Satanic, but retains the same sonic power.
The distinction between dissonance and clarity is pronounced with a track like Hearts Are Getting Darker and the more deliberate slowness coming on As A Beloved Brother. There’s plenty of references to other Swedish bands here, not just death but black and thrash as well and chances are, if you like them you’ll probably like this one. 7/10
