~ June ~

Below are my top 12 tracks of June 2008. There was going to a be a link to a mixtape of them but the site was messing up and taking far too long to do so I gave up.

1. Justice - Sure You Will
2. Paul Gilbert - The Gargoyle
3. You Slut! - On The Count Of 13
4. John 5 - Sounds Of Impalement
5. Bullet For My Valentine - Ashes Of The Innocent
6. Joe Satriani - Starry Night
7. 36 Crazyfists - The All Night Lights
8. MGMT - Electric Feel [Justice Remix]
9. Slipknot - All Hope Is Gone
10. Tesseract - April Song
11. Metallica - Master Of Puppets [Old School Remix]
12.Queens Of The Stone Age - Millionaire

Paul Gilbert - Silence Followed By A Deafening Roar

After being lucky enough to see Paul Gilbert preform a few new tracks at London Guitar show a week or so ago I was holding out that I would go home and see his album for sale, I was Happy to see I would only have to wait a week...And a week I did wait.

"Silence Followed By A Deafening Roar" is Paul's 13th studio album and although his previous album "Get Out Of My Yard" being scorned as to much of a variation from Paul's Racer X days this stunning new album returns fans to a state of metallic shred bliss.

The self titled opening track throws you of course with its ballad feel and melodic slow intro but prevail to just over a minute and you can already hear the Racer X piercing the lining and giving you a taste of what is to come.
The second track is another of Paul's classically influenced tracks entitled "Eudaimonia Overture" which begins with some outrageous 3 fingered tapping and slips into what I can only describe as a beautiful little riff which raises spirits and send you rushing to the nearest guitar to attempt Paul's mesmerising sound.

My 2...Yes 2 stand out track's of this album are without a doubt Norwegian Cowbell & The Gargoyle which show Paul's inspirational guitar work at its best. Norwegian Cowbell is melodic and catchy with some of the best licks on the album. The Gargoyle could be described as Iron Maiden on speed with Paul's tone and use of classic sounding scales giving you an urge to make your hair big and stuff your trousers with the nearest implement available.

Its hard to judge a Instrumental album as you have to take into account skill of playing combined with the song structure to make sure it isn't just sweeping scales or basic riffs...Silence Followed By A Deafening Roar sums this up. Contender of shred album of the year without a doubt.

Paul Gilbert - Norwegian Cowbell.mp3
Buy Silence Followed By A Deafening Roar

You Slut! - Critical Meat

You Slut! are a 4 piece instrumental group from Derby and aren't very well known in the British music scene at this point in time, But they will be!

Critical Meat is an 8 track album that was only released in japan as the band didn't have enough money to produce it here and with reviews from magazines giving nothing less than 4 stars its makes you wonder why?

The album opens with "Cut & Shut by You Slut!" which introduces you very quickly into You Slut!'s sound. Next comes "On the count of 13" which in my opinion is the best track on the album as its melodic yet dramatic guitars simply pierce the mind and have you humming the tune for days to come and loving it!

The final track is a grand finale, "Mybloodyjesusexploreronfire" is the first track I heard by You Slut! and what a track it is. The guitar work yet again has you enthralled and with effects being used to epic proportions it really is a track to remember.

Overall Critical Meat is an amazing instrumental album open to anyone who isn't used to instrumentals and to those who are get ready for something new & fresh.

You Slut! - Mybloodyjesusexploreronfire.mp3
Buy Critical Meat

John 5 - Requiem

John 5 is a guitar virtuoso who is way ahead of the game in solo guitar playing, He fuses country/bluegrass with metal and rock to create a mix that's mindblowingly fresh and refuses to let anything stop him from producing more & more great albums. His previous three albums were received with open arms into the shred community and John's third album "The Devil Knows My Name" was voted best shred album of 2007 finally getting him the recognition deserved.

Fans of John 5 will not be disappointed with Requiem.

Requiem's opening track was released on John's myspace several months ago and was entitled "Sounds Of Impalement", this is a stunning piece of guitar work personifyng John's technique and signature sounds all in just over 4 minutes. Next up is "Heretic's Fork" which again displays immense handling of the guitar and techniques only John 5 can pull off such as chicken pickin and banjo rolls on the guitar, the opening riff to this track is powerful enough to have skeptics blown away and there minds changed.

This flows perfectly into Noisemakers File in which the intro shows a slightly more mellow side to John's playing with clean sounding guitars and typically country scales & themes being used, but once again this leads into a rock influence and John perfectly fused the two.

By now your thinking sounds good and whats with the odd track names, well John 5 decided to entitle all of the tracks on "Requiem" after unknown torture devices all of which should end with a "Requiem" meaning funeral piece of music. It just so happens Requiem is the final track on the album and what an ending it is. The slow tempo mixed with the slightly disturbing guitar lines leaves you satisfied that what you just heard was something rather special and unique.

John 5 - Sounds Of Impalement.mp3

Buy Requiem

- May Round Up -

This is my monthly round up some of the best songs of May 2008, Its been a mixed month with what seem to be the greatest tracks I have heard all year.

Elle Milano - Juliette's Dead - I wasn't keen on this band but this song is bloody brilliant, Unlike there previous work its very electro based with an amazing intro and lyrics that wrap there way around the mind.

Furyon - Souvenirs - Brighton based metal group progress into new realms with this 8 minute long masterpiece containing several intense solo's and a mid song cliffhanger that leaves you gasping for more.

Exit Ten - Technically Alive -New metal act Exit Ten's opening track to there latest alum is surely one of the best melodic metal tracks of the year, Not much can come close to Exit Ten.