Red Morris-Lady Rose

Self-Release/Independent
2015

The recently-released "Lady Rose" is the full-length debut album from Italy's Red Morris. The brainchild of Brescia-based guitarist Maurizio Parisi (who dedicated this album to his wife Rosa), Red Morris is as much a rock guitarist with a solid reputation in his home country as he is the driving force of this genre-jumping instrumental four-piece. On "Lady Rose" Red Morris/Maurizio Parisi is joined by bassist Renato Mombelli, keyboardist Beppe Premi, and drummer Claudio Amadori as well as two guest contributors in the form of Lou Longoni and Alberto Parisi*. The resulting album is a testament to guitarist Maurizio Parisi's youthful studies of classic guitar as well his devotion to classic rock bands such as Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and Cream and the work of Carlos Sanatana! On "Lady Rose" you'll find solid rock numbers like "Golden Angel", "Lady Rose", "Independence", and "Black's Eyes" nestled alongside the progressive "Mystery" (which is a jazz rocker of the highest caliber!), the Celtic "Celitica" and the bluesy "My Life Blues (Go Go)". It all leads up to the excellent "My Sea's Echoes" which closes out this heartfelt album in style! With a run-time that is over the 30 minute mark the soulful "Lady Morris" simply covers a lot of ground genre-wise. Even in-between the individual tracks on this instrumental album you'll find different genres dancing together in harmony. And yet "Lady Rose" is still very much a rock album. Every cut on this album has a simple rock groove which keeps you intoned with the action at hand. With "Lady Rose" only the first of hopefully many it will be fun to see where this Italian band goes from here. Red Morris is one band that I plan to keep an eye on! 


*Lou Longoni provides minimalist vocals on the jazz-infused "Mystery" while the apply-titled "My Life Blues (Go Go)" features rhythm guitar courtesy of Alberto Parisi.  

Mike Kerr-The Fire

Self-Released/Independent
2012

We're going to re-wind the clock a bit with this one folks. As you can see it's from "way back" in 2012 (June of 2012 to be exact) and it's the debut-release (and so far only release) from guitarist/composer Mike Kerr. Who you may be asking is Mike Kerr? Good question my friend and thank you for your participation! Mike Kerr is a Brazilian guitarist who has been calling the US his home since 2001. According to his official(?) website he "had access to the knowledge of the great masters of guitar such as Joe Stump, one of the fastest guitarists in the World according to Guitar Player magazine and professor at Berklee College of Music, and Arlen Roth, the famous blues guitarist, who shared the stage with Mike Kerr in Edgartown on the summer of 2009." Well, there you go. Oh, and he's also recognized by major companies such as Voodoo Amps, D’addario, Planet Waves, Graphtech, Dimarzio, Floyd Upgrades, Road Rage, Wampler, Rjm, Eventide and Graphtech. All of which is fine and dandy (as mid-day brandy) I hear you saying but what about "The Fire"? Instrumental rock is the name of this game my friends. Yes, instrumental rock. Funny enough this is actually my second review of an instrumental recording this week! The previous one, "Pictures Of A Broken Heart", was from guitarist Kosta Vreto (Wardrum, Horizon's End, Vavel, Jade Star) and showcased some pretty sweet instrumental metal. In that regard they are a bit different. You know, metal verses rock* and what not. Still, I've gone months without having one instrumental recording cross my desk and here I am this week covering two! Crazy stuff. Anyway, Mike, who worked with producer/guitarist Jota Vox on "The Fire", is backed here by a solid group of musicians that features the lovely Kumari Miker on bass, guitarist Ven Thangaraj (sporting a wicked Havok t-shirt in his Metal Archives profile pic!) and drummer Joe Bertola. Guests include the likes of Joe Stomp, Eduardo Ardanuy (who plays in a band called Dr. Sin), Kristen Capolino and guitarist/producer Jota Vox himself. As far as this being Mike's debut album you'd be hard pressed to guess that given the fantastic job done by all involved. From the musicians who backed up Mike to this album's production it's all stellar. "The Fire", which runs over an hour in length(!), sounds great and the heavy rock on display here is top-notch. While I'd hesitate to call this one a heavy metal or shred release like the Metal Archives does it still offers plenty of "crunch" and the lead solos, well, let's just say that in regards to everyone involved in said department they are freakin' furious! For those who love emotional playing where it feels as if the guitarist is pulling out his or her own heart and putting it on display with their performance then this is one album that you need to hear! Instead of just going off half-cocked and playing the kind of over-the-top solos that are impressive but meaningless Mike plays with passion and that comes across crystal clear with "The Fire". That's not to say that his playing is any less impressive. There's an obvious reason he is recognized by all kinds of major companies. The guy can play. I mean, he can seriously play! As in "Light up the sky!" play. All of which makes "The Fire" that much more enjoyable! While I would love to see what he could do with a talented lead vocalist in place I do understand the joy that a lot of these great guitarists get from just playing their music as is. This is another recording that I'll be returning to soon enough trust me!

*The more I listen to this one the more it feels like a hard rock release or maybe even a hybrid of rock, hard rock and some heavy metal. Whatever you personally choose to call it though it's still a cool release and one that keeps the listener engaged and interested!

Kosta Vreto - Pictures Of A Broken Heart

Steel Gallery Records
2013

"Pictures Of A Broken Heart" is the second solo album from Kosta Vreto (Wardrum, Horizon's End, Vavel, Jade Star). Hailing from Thessaloniki, Greece (and well known for his nail-picking style of playing) this metal guitarists has also played for the likes of Paul DiAnno and Uli Jon Roth. Along with fellow Wardum and Horizon End's band-mate/drummer Stergios Kourou (also ex-Death From Above and ex-Escape) and a few guests (Just to name a few we have Uli Roth's Corvin Bahn, Muris Varajic, Horizon's End's Sakis Bandis, and Psycho Choke's George Motesnitsas) guitarist Kostra Vreto, who also handles bass and keyboard duties here, gives fans of Joe Satriani and Steve Vai someone new to idolize! Serving as the follow-up to 2008's "Skin on Strings", "Pictures Of A Broken Heart", which is much better then the owner of a broken heart (Sorry, but couldn't help myself with the Yes reference given the album's title and all!), finds this Greek guitar hero showing off his natural, "God of Rock"-given talent and doing it in such a way that I can't help but find myself being drawn deeper into the rabbit hole that is instrumental metal. For fans of said genre this is one release worth investing in as I'd like to think that this is one new name that we'll all be hearing more of in the near future!

SANGE: MAIN: MACHINE-BY YOUR SIDE EP

Street Symphonies Records
2012

Released at the tail end of 2012, this 7-track EP is the latest from Italy's Sange: Main: Machine. Wondering about the strange name? Well, the band is lead by former Tarchon Fist front-man Luigi "Sange" Sangermano so that should help clear up the name game somewhat. Even if it doesn't clear things up it's the music that matters most right? Here we're talking about a group that's on the heavier side of melodic rock or, for the sake of easier understanding, more in line with classic hard rock. So what does that entail then you might be asking? As this EP features a cover of Kiss's "Creatures Of The Night" that's a good starting point. By Kiss we're talking about the mid to late eighties Kiss not the disco-era Kiss (The less said about that version of Kiss the better!). With one track sung in Italian there is a bit of a novelty vibe to this EP and, for the sake of informing fans of this rock/metal group, three tracks out of the seven were previously released on different compilation albums. I'd wager though that, like me, most reading this review have never heard of  Sange: Main: Machine. That's fine as all you need to know about "By Your Side" can be wrapped up in a few choice words. Those words would be "high energy (rocking) hard rock/heavy metal with melody and musicianship to spare!". Find out more about this splendid act at their Facebook page below.

https://www.facebook.com/SangeMainMachine

Orianthi-Heaven in This Hell

Robo Records
2013

Let's face it, "According To You", Orianthi's 2009 hit single, is as much of a blessing as a curse. For as talented a guitarist as she is (and make no doubt about it she is insanely talented!) she just may end up getting stuck with that horrible tag "One Hit Wonder". Up front I will tell you there are no "hit singles" on Orianthi's 3rd studio album. Not that it matters. "According To You" might have brought her greater fame and notice, but this one-time lead guitarist for Alice Cooper (live) is far more then just a catchy single as this new album showcases. Produced by David Stewart (best known for his work with the Eurythmics) the new album fell into my hands thanks to my local library. I love being able to hear new rock and (some) metal albums with the swipe of my library card and have actually discovered some pretty sweet music this way (I first heard Black Tide's debut-album thanks to my library!). After checking it out on a whim, as I will admit that I dug "According To You" (I also liked her "Highly Strung" song which featured Steve Vai-both of which were on her second album, "Believe"), I threw this disc in while I drove around running errands. For what it's worth the album opens strong with some nice radio rock. Sadly though the album doesn't sustain the momentum. While there is nothing wrong with her wanting to branch out into country on this album (as well as blues) the material tends to be one-dimensional in nature. As she looks to adapt to country music and the blues she needs a slightly better co-writer to help her achieve the perfect balance between technical skill and memorable music. Since I secured a copy of this album for free I didn't feel like it had to meet any particular expectations but still, for a woman who was scheduled to be Michael Jackson's lead guitarist for "This Is It" concert series, it would really be something if she could translate her skills into a lengthy solo-career filled with classic albums. As five of these songs already came out on her 2011 EP, "Fire", I'd imagine hardline fans felt a bit cheated. Either way Orianthi is still a sign that women can be powerful and in-charge without selling out to cheap expectations. For that I admire her and hopefully, with time and a tighter group of musicians backing her, she will end up a household name for other reasons then just a hit single.