Mörglbl - Brutal Romance

Holy crap, Christophe can play. And it's the best kind, where it's heavy, melodic and appropriately self-aware.Man, I love me some crazy instrumental guitar. And damn if Christophe Godin isn't a bona fide phenomenon much in the vein of Matthias Eklundh or Steve Vai. Not to take away from his unique style, but like the aforementioned six (or seven, in some cases) string wizards, all of the ingredients you'd expect in an amazing instrumental guitar album are here with a [seemingly obligatory] Zappa-esque sense of humor and rule-bending in the service of musical virtuosity. You could call it jazz metal if you like, but to be fair, there's lots of things you could call this music and still not encompass all that's on display here.

Amidst all of the insane fretboard gymnastics, the rock solid rhythym section of Ivan Rougny (bass) and Aurelian Ouzoulias (drums) hold everything together (kind of like a cargo net trap dropped over a raging lion) making it work much to the thrill of shred-loving listeners. If you're still wondering what to make of it, uhhh, think along the lines of Primus meets...Bill Frisell?

The Bottom Line: Godin and company have made a fine guitar instrumental album that rightly takes its place amongst other such instrumental luminaries' works, such as [Steve Vai's] Passion and Warfare, while still managing to blow me away with incredible technique.

Tracks That Make You Say "Damn!" on Several Ocassions: Gnochhis on the Block, Le Surfer D'Argentine, Fidel Gastro

- Genghis nearly had finger cramps trying to air guitar to this one...

Freak Kitchen - Land of the Freaks

Holy shit, guitar lovers, Matthias Eklundh is a monster. Or should I have said "freak"?You never quite get used to the idea that there are some really amazing musicians in the world that most people will never hear of, simply because they're not in some high profile gig with a major pop star or tearing up the charts of some country's music industry. Of course, this is a terrible injustice, because I am a huge fan of amazing guitar and the kind of music that only the most talented artists are capable of creating outside the confines of the kind of musical supercomputer that substitutes for actual talent in the music business these days.

Such is the case with Swedish prodigies Matthias Eklundh, Christer Örtefors and Björn Fryklund, who collectively form Freak Kitchen. Relatively unknown outside of Europe, they have made some truly impressive music in the last few years. Their album Land of the Freaks was actually released in 2009, but has gotten re-released in late May this year so that others Americans may discover their talent.

The real star is Matthias, whose boyish looks and mannerisms onstage belie his musical sophistication. The man's a fucking monster on guitar, folks. And Land of the Freaks is a great showcase for these guys and their tongue in cheek metal. Matthias sings as well, ably delivering subversive lyrics over the satisfying metallic crunch with a Dave Mustaine growl - the album as a whole reminds me of Chris Poland's work on Damn the Machine or Return to Metalopolis only with the guitar taken to a higher level.

The Bottom Line: Matthias and company deliver a great metal album that comes a bit across as Frank Zappa meets Megadeth; virtuosic guitar driven metal that kicks ass without taking itself too seriously.

Tracks to Make You Start Searching YouTube for Live Freak Kitchen Footage: God Save the Spleen, Teargass Jazz, Honey, You're A Nazi, The Smell of Time

- Genghis just wishes there was any chance of this band playing here in Houston...

Trioscapes - Separate Realities

Not all jazz metal is good, but Trioscapes is really good jazz metal. Can you dig it? I knew that you could.I can't tell you how good it feels to know that no matter what the musical climate is globally, there are always crazy-talented guys like Dan Briggs (bass), Walter Fancourt (tenor sax/flute), and Matt Lynch (drums) out there who approach their art with fearlessness and - most importantly - a sense of wry self-awareness. Especially when it leads to amazing albums like [their band] Trioscapes' Separate Realities.

Apparently, the lads got together to polish up their rendition of a Mahavishnu Orchestra tune and had so much fun with it, they felt that there was an album's worth of tunes in them that came together quickly later that year; their mutual love of 70s fusion and the psychedelic extended jams that it often entails (the title track is 11 and a half minutes) is apparent to fans of the genre throughout the album's half a dozen tracks. This stuff smokes, man. I just love that there are young musicians out there carrying the torch who were probably in diapers when this kind of music first came out - and they're kicking ass at it.

God bless music.

The Bottom Line: Dan, Walt, and Matt come together to celebrate their mutual admiration for 70s fusion with a healthy dose of modern aggression and self-awareness - to great musical success.

Tracks to Make You Consider Going Vinyl: Blast Off, Separate Realities, Curse of the Ninth, Celestial Terrestrial Commuters

- Genghis loves him some old school jams with modern sensibility...

Mirrormaze - Walkabout

Yes, it's another progmetal band that sounds familiar, but that doesn't mean they don't know how to lay down some good music.Okay, I'm not going to tell you that this progressive metal band, Mirrormaze, has redefined the subgenre with their debut album, Walkabout. Everything you'd expect from this well-established portion of the metal spectrum is here, all the tropes progmetal fans should know and love (shifting time signatures, impressive displays of virtuosity on everyone's instruments, and esoteric lyrics vaguely about the doubts, fears and desires of all humans), and it's totally satisfying.

And therein lies the only criticism. This album suffices. They've managed to cover all of the bases that the proto-progmetallers laid down so well, they perhaps forgot to add their own touch to it. Please, don't get me wrong, this is really good progmetal album; these guys do pretty much everything right, I mean the riffs are heavy, groove really well, everybody rips and shreds in perfect sync. It just sounds like so many other progmetal albums before it.

The Bottom Line: If you're a fan of bands like Fates Warning (Ray Alder guests on Deeper Signs, by the way) and Dream Theater, you'll probably dig this album pretty well - and you should, cuz it rocks. But if you're looking for a band to shake things up the way the aforementioned bands did when they came on the scene, keep looking.

Tracks to Help You Understand My Review: Earn Your Answers, Deeper Signs, Walkabout & Broken Soul

- Genghis hopes it came across that he really liked the album...

Diablo Swing Orchestra - Pandora's Piñata

Okay, so it looks like the album cover was created on the iPad, but it works, just like the unconventional music on this CD.One of the coolest things about metal as a [sub-]genre [of rock and roll] are the myriad sub-genres that continue to come out of it. And now there's one more. Diablo Swing Orchestra is a dizzy mix of swing, tango, metal and jazz that will likely either intrigue or repel based on that description alone.

As crazy as that may sound, these Swedes have managed to put together one of the more interesting eclectic metal bands in recent memory without straying over the line into sheer gimmickry. That is to say, it works. And I would love to see a video for Voodoo Mon Amour with a dance hall of people in leather, spikes, tattoos and poodle skirts alternately jitterbugging and moshing.

DSO's key to success is to not go too heavy with the distorted guitars. It would be easy to take something like Benny Goodman's Gotta Be This or That and just add massively multi-tracked Zakk Wylde-like guitars tuned down a step. But these guys approach their tunes with the crunch as just another part of the instrumentation of a larger group with interesting results; Black Box Messiah sounds like the theme song to some surreal Japanese animated kids' show, while Exit Strategy For A Wrecking Ball is more like Sevendust meets U2 with Tito Puente guesting (dude, I'm telling you), and Mass Rapture is like a merengue by way of Pantera. Amazing.

The Bottom Line: Keep in mind that you don't want to approach this music like traditional metal with a horn section over it. This is basically latin-flavored, big band music with some balls and chunk - and a nice sense of humor to hold it all together. I can only hope to some day see these guys in person. Think of the pit!

Tracks That Make You Wish There Was Such a Thing as Swing Moshing: Voodoo Mon Amour, Kevlar Sweethearts, Exit Strategy For A Wrecking Ball & Mass Rapture

- Genghis is really just amazed at this album...