Marty Friedman - Inferno

Been wondering where the hell Marty Friedman went? Well, he's back, tough guy! And he's ready to shred your face...off...your face.Ex-pat Marty Friedman virtually disappeared 15 years ago after a memorable stint with Megadeth leaving the newer of his converts wondering "where can I get more of this guy"? Certainly older shredheads know of his legendary work with Cacophony and even his work in between playing with Megadeth, which included one of my favorite instrumental albums of all time, Scenes.

The closest he comes to the Eastern leanings that began to show on that highly Asian-influenced album (co-produced by Kitarō, no less) is Undertow with Greg Bissonette and Tony Franklin, one of many impressive collaborative efforts. Horrors, co-written by his old Cacophony co-hort Jason Becker, is unsurprisingly an amazing piece of work complete with acoustic interlude à la [Becker's] Air. The world beat-friendly Wicked Panacea bears a delightful, heavy Latin flavor thanks to guest Mexican duo Rodrigo y Gabriela, who are known for their strong connection to heavy metal music. Lycanthrope features some shred-off exchanges between Alexi Laiho and Marty that never descend to mere brinksmanship. There are plenty other moments on this album where Marty is content to share the stage with his peers rather than just name drop on the label while wanking away. Simply put, this album is a great example of how a great shredder can grow into a bonafide master musician that serves his muse - rather than just hoisting up her shirt from behind to show off her tits to the crowd.

Oh, one final note to give you an idea of Friedman's inventiveness as a collaborator, musician and songwriter: check out Meat Hook with jazz-metal saxophonist Jørgen Munkeby (Shining) where Marty and Jørgen trade off some amazing phrases in a frentic but controlled solo section that builds to an abrupt climax. Great stuff.

The Bottom Line: Marty makes a triumphant return to American ears with a highly collaborative album that shows an impressive and very satisfying degree of diversity and depth. Friedman's matured nicely into a shredder's shredder and I couldn't be happier about it. Arigato, Hebimeta-san!

Tracks That May Make You Appreciate Instrumental Guitar Albums Again: Wicked Panacea, Meat Hook, Sociopaths, Lycanthrope, and Horrors

- Genghis is is digging through his cassettes...