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...