Edoardo Napoli-Eternal Bleeding

Tunecore
2013

Edoardo Napoli's "Eternal Bleeding" is a huge undertaking. Let me just get that point out of the way first and foremost. At close to two hours in length(!) and with twenty-three total tracks this release, which is the debut solo album from this Italian muti-instrumentalist, is grand in it's undertaking if nothing else! Here on "Eternal Bleeding", with it's one (simply) sinister cover artwork, Edoardo Napoli (ex-Honourblast) handles everything and, style-wise, this a case where everything gets sampled into the mix. Other then a scant few numbers where there are lead vocals (which incidentally come across as a grittier Tom Araya)  the bulk material of this expansive collection is instrumental in nature. Either way though Edoardo Napoli shows that he's more then capable of taking charge of it all (vocals, guitar, bass, keys, drums, etc.) and then presenting it in such a manor as to offer a lot of bang for your buck! After two (highly effective) tracks that tackle the subject of thrash metal (or even progressive thrash metal) head on ("A.A.D. Cosa Nostra" and "Against the Cross") we find ourselves treated to a combination of classic Judas Priest and "Back In Black"-era AC/DC in the instrumental "Beyond the Shades of Fear". And yes, a number like that has quite a bit to offer in the appeal department! From there we move on to "Darkness Descends", which is progressive hard rock/heavy metal in all of it's (catchy) glory, and then such numbers as the Steve Vai-infused "Fly in the Space" and the heavy, Accept meets Dio cut "Fog". And that's only the first part of this album! Those couple of numbers put you at about 1/4 of way through and there is so much more to go! But, when you've got the album that's this good and (damn-right and damn-straight) interesting it's not as if you are going to complain! Whether it's piano-driven hard rock you're looking for ("I need to understand"), cool bluesy-hard rock ("Nexxus") or balls-out Metallica-like thrash ("Get the hell out of here") this album has you covered! There's more Dream Theater/Rush-like progressive material to be found (for sure) on "Eternal Bleeding" besides "Darkness Descends". Within cuts like "Let yourself fly away" and "Steal of your Dreams" Edoardo Napoli shows how he could easily step-right into a band like Dream Theater and contribute from day one if needed! The same could be said about any progressive/melodic power metal band that might need a helping hand on guitar as evident by "My Immortality". But then those Tom Araya vocals come into play on the Slayer-like "How did we come to this?" and the evil-incarnate, Deicide-influenced "Violence is my life"! The somewhat gothic thrasher (Metallica meets Type O Negative) "Living Nightmares" comes from out of left field, but again, so does a lot of the material on an album like this! The longest number here is the eight minute-plus "The Fight of the Unholy One" (epic instrumental heavy/power metal anyone?) while "When Spirits shook my Hands", which is technologically-advanced heavy & hard rock, falls in at just a hair over three minutes! Finding a favorite number would be nothing short of impossible as Edoardo Napoli is just so insanely talented at everything he does! Whether he's chilling out on a number like "I'll never let you flow away" or letting his hair down somewhat on a number like "Turbo!" all of the material here works in it's own way! It will be interesting (to say the least!) to see where Napoli goes from here as he has (apparently) assembled a full-fledged band and will (soon enough) be releasing a new album in the form of  "Roads to Nowhere". In the meantime though you can check out most of this album's (very cool and highly recommended!) 23 tracks at the bandcamp link below.  

http://edoardonapoli.bandcamp.com/album/eternal-bleeding

Joe Stump-Revenge of the Shredlord

Lion Music Finland
2013

With the full-knowledge that shred guitar fans will be doing a facepalm, and perhaps a well-deserved one at that, I have to admit that up until this album landed in my inbox I had no idea who Joe Stump was. Feel free to mock me to your hearts content, but even if I am starting to enjoy shred guitar more and more I'm just not that familiar with all the names in the game. While that could be looked at as a gross oversight on my part I will say that, as it was my very first time ever hearing the man play, I went into this one with no preconceived  notions that could have tainted my review. Sure, I do feel kind of stupid about it as this is his tenth solo release! Where have I been hiding out then? Here's the thing though. In addition to being a well-known and highly-respected solo guitarist ( Joe was named one of the 10 fastest shredders of all time by Guitar One as well as one of the 50 fastest players of all time by Guitar World magazine and one of the top 20 shredders of all time by Guitarist magazine!) he has played in The Reign Of Terror, Obsession, HolyHell, Raven Lord, Shooting Hemlock and way more bands/projects then could reasonably be mentioned here! So yes, there is no way that I shouldn't have heard of Joe Stump and his epic style of guitar playing. And yet here we are. Of course that does beg the question then as to what I thought about solo-album number ten from Joe. I've been on record in the past as saying that I didn't grow up loving shred guitarists and the neo-classical sort. In my high school days I found them terribly tiring. Yngwie fans will moan and groan, but I found him the worst kind of all. Before I go off into a tangent about Yngwie though (and trust me I could as the guy is beyond dull to these ears) let's talk about what I love about "Revenge of the Shredlord". In a very real way Joe plays music with meaning. It's not just a showcase for Joe's amazing skills as a guitarist, which is not in doubt at all, but rather "Revenge of the Shredlord" comes across as real heavy metal as played by a real band. In other words it's not just Joe standing online doing his thing and his thing only. Rather this album, despite being a "solo" release, sounds more like a band project from a really cool outfit. Musically this release is said to be heavier and more intense then his previous recordings. As it's my first time hearing Joe and his band-mates I'll just have to take their word on that one. I will however vouch for the fact that this release is heavy and intense! It's also a bit dark (which again is something the promo says is new) around the edges, but it's not one of those doom and gloom affairs. If anything you could simply look at this album as if it is a heavy rocker from an instrumental speed/U.S. power metal band. And speaking of band, on album number ten Joe is aided by bass player Jay Rigney (HolyHell and more), keyboardist Rock Jetstream (I'm assuming that's his Christian name!) and drummer Héctor "Blaster" Jaramillo (Kaala). Additionally Francisco Palomo (HolyHell) helps out on keyboards and together all of these musicians have created a album that sounds fantastic! Joe Stump's guitar solos are obviously insane, but there's real emotion behind the music and if you were to add a lead vocalist to this mix you'd be hard pressed to consider this simply "shred guitar"! Given that I had a blast listening to Joe Stump's "Revenge of the Shredlord" as it focuses on the overall picture not just crazy guitar solos that sacrifice substance for supposed "skill". I'm highly recommending this one to all metal fanatics whether you love shred guitar or not!

Maxxxwell Carlisle‏-Full Metal Thunder EP

Power Dungeon Music

2013

When it comes to rock, hard rock and heavy metal (as well as crossover, thrash, death and countless other genres) the city of L.A. is a well known and highly respected hotbed of talent. When you look at the list of who's who (band-wise) you see names like Armored Saint, Suicidal Tendencies, Dark Angel, Dokken,  Mötley Crüe and Guns N' Roses. The thing is that's only the tip of the iceberg as those were just a few of the names that came to mind as I was preparing to write this review. With that being said, we're now going to want to add hot-shot* guitarist/competitive bodybuilder Maxxxwell Carlisle to the list. In addition to having his own band, which (incidentally) has also released 2 full-length albums, 2 singles and one additional EP,  the very talented Maxxxwell has also spent time as a touring guitarist in Deathriders (The thrash band lead by former Anthrax vocalist Neil Turbon) and is now a member of  L.A.'s Hellion. When you take into consideration that neoclassical/shred guitarist Maxxxwell Carlisle has also worked with Michael Angelo Batio (Nitro), Tina Guo (Solo artist and Cirque du Soleil / Michael Jackson Tour), Ethan Brosh (Angels of Babylon), Nita Strauss (The Iron Maidens and Femme Fatale), Simon Wright (Dio, AC/DC) and Bjorn Englen (Yngwie Malmsteen, Tony Macalpine) then it's even more impressive that he has found the time to have his own, self-named heavy metal band! And what a band it is! Falling just shy of 30 minutes, this 6-track EP is chock full of wicked shred solos that sit snugly atop a cool combination of straight-up heavy metal and U.S. arena metal! With a new vocalist on hand (Michael Yancy) and guest guitar solos by Nita Strauss (The Iron Maidens) and Rick Renstrom (Rob Rock, Mistheria) this EP offers just the right blend of shred-your-ass-off  guitar solos and in-your-face-heavy metal riffs as to appeal to both the shred crowd and fans of traditional heavy metal. In addition to Carlisle and new lead vocalist Yancy you've got the rhythm section of bassist Frank Mullis and drummer Anton Peterson. Now, as to whether or not Frank Mullis actually played base on this EP? Well, that's a good question. Especially as the Metal Archives lists Maxxxwell Carlisle's instruments of choice as being lead guitars, keyboards (supposedly from 2007-present) and, you guessed it, bass guitar! Whatever the case may be, in now way, shape or form does it impact this album's strong heavy metal vibe or it's epic sense of energy! In a way I admit that I was reminded of Kane Robert's (Former member of Alice Cooper's touring band) solo career when I listened to this EP,  but Maxxxwell Carlisle seems as if he's much more of a straight-laced metal musician then Cooper's former guitarist. And, even if guys like Chris Impellitteri and Yngwie Malmsteen are among some of Maxxxwell's influences, this band, or even just this EP, isn't a over-blown indulgence of neoclassical nonsense. And let's be thankful for that my friends. There is nothing worse in this world than what I like to call "musical masturbation". This band doesn't blow it's wad with run-away guitar solos that are slick enough in concept, but lack anything resembling emotion. Often times its those kind of stylish solos than ruin guitar rock and make me want to stuff dynamite in my ears, light the fuse and have my head explode. I'd sooner lose my head then come close to going bat-shit crazy over long, over-drawn neoclassical crap that doesn't even come close to being enjoyable! Thank the maker then that our man Maxxxwell has enough sense to rein his playing on this full-tilt heavy metal boogie of an EP and skip the over-inflated guitar solos. Instead this EP  shows how you can play with style and still rock the socks off of your intended audience! This one comes with my stamp of approval and I just might have to do a rewind and check out some of his other materiel!  

*In this case "hot-shot" is a more then fitting term and it is nothing but a compliment as Maxxxwell's guitar playing is superb!