At first glance, this album doesn’t seem like one this is going to make a huge mark. It’s a guitarist-type album, i.e. an album created by guitarists, for guitarists. However, this is a guitar album that achieves the perilous balance delivering both total guitar dork wankery while still resulting in a collection of well-crafted songs. Sometimes these kinds of albums can end up going off the rails into self-indulgent crap. This album from Wes Hauch (Black Crown Initiate/ex-The Faceless) and Keith Merrow contains all of the fretboard gymnastics that will sate the guitar wonks, but they never let it get out of control. The technical flourishes don’t overwhelm the songs. In addition to the technical flash of the solos, the riffs and arrangement choices made throughout this album are really interesting and creative. As a result, you have an album that I have been coming back to over and over throughout the past year.
Release date: 1/6/2017
Personnel: Wes Hauch-guitar, Keith Merrow-guitar
Origin: Portland, OR
Rating: 4.5 flip flops out of 5
The list so far:
10. Alluvial-The Deep Longing for Annihilation
11. Byzantine-The Cicada Tree
12. Sorcerer-The Crowning of the Fire King
13. Zaius-Of Adoration
14. Royal Thunder-Wick
15. Steven Wilson-To the Bone
16. Pallbearer-Heartless
17. Spotlights-Seismic
18. Cavalera Conspiracy-Psychosis
19. Ancient Ascendant-Raise the Torch
20. Galactic Cowboys-Long Way Back to the Moon
