This will work!

A mediados de los 80, en pleno apogeo del Hard Rocky y del Heavy Metal surgió toda una legión de guitarristas dotados de una técnica asombrosa, directamente influidos por el por aquel entonces Dios de la guitarra Yngwie Malmsteen , y en menor medida por Van Halen Michael Schenker y Randy Rhoads. Se publicaron una serie de discos instrumentales, casi todos ellos publicados por el sello Shrapnel Records, el por aquel entonces hogar de casi todos los héroes de la guitarra de aquella época , gente como Vinnie Moore, Tony Macalpine , Jason Becker, Marty Friedman , Joey Tafolla…todos ellos increibles guitarristas que parieron una serie de discos acojonantes repletos de guitarras asesinas y  solos increibles llenos de tecnica y melodía sin dejar de lado unas composiciones exquisitas.De aquella hornada surgieron también Joe Satriani y Steve Vai que lograron el éxito masivo con sus discos primero y uniéndose a otras bandas después . Vai estuvo con David Lee Roth y Whitsnake previo paso por los Alcatrazz de Grahamm Bonnet y Satriani giró con Mick Jagger y pasaría por Deep Purple. Todos ellos nos dejaron un legado de discos asombrosos y fueron la pesadilla de los críticos más snobs que flipaban con Mark Knoplfer

VINNIE MOORE

TONY MACALPINE

JASON BECKER

MARTY FRIEDMAN

Otro de un súper grupo, en esta ocasión se trata de Devil´s Slingshot, una banda que nada más de ver quienes la componen hace que uno se cuadre sin decir nada: Billy Sheehan en el bajo, Virgil Donati en la batería y Tony MacAlpine en la guitarra y teclados, nada más para darse un mega quemón.

Los músicos se tomaron un receso de sus proyectos independientes para untarse y grabar este disco que va mucho en la tónica del proyecto Bozzio/Levin/Stevens, otro grande del progresivo, aunque debe aclararse, sin conseguir alcanzar las expectativas que una alineación as´ñi despertó en su momento.

Y es que el disco no es malo, al contrario, es una gran muestra de prog metal con tintes de jazz siendo los tres músicos duchos en el jazz de improvisación, el progresivo y como no, el metal, sin embargo les faltó algo, como decimos en México, tal vez fueron güebos y ahora explico porqué.

Si bien los pasajes de algunas canciones (tanto en melodía como armonía y estructura en general no tienen error alguno, es decir, están excelentemente bien constituidos) la verdad es que al parecer nos quedaron a deber, digo, si yo veo en un disco que estos weyes, o alguno de los tres, me espero de verdad algo impresionante, y Devil´s Slingshot no lo es, no al nivel que se podría esperar.

Los riffs son poderosos, por lo que al metalero más que al progresivo le va a gustar por momentos, pero no convence del todo, repito, creo que el disco se hizo de rápido, como al ahí a ver qué sale, y aún así tiene canciones enormes como la abridora Nederland, Lay Off, Injustice Line y su peculiar línea rítmica, Flamed y una batería completamente fuera de tiempo completada con líneas poderosas de guitarra y bajo y la chidísima Hourglass.

Repito, el disco no es malo, pero se podría esperar más de estos monstruos del progresivo, el metal, el jazz y la música contemporánea en general, en fin, para todos hay.

Acá está el material, si te gustan los proyectos como Bozzio/Levin/Stevens, Gordian Knot o Liquid Tension Experiment donde el instrumental predomina vas, ni lo pienses.

Carpe diem.

Gran canción del virtuoso estadounidense que podrás encontrar en el disco “Master of Paradise” de 1999. Extrañamente (o no) este disco es desconocido para muchos. Un trabajo en el que MacAlpine realiza las tareas de guitarrista, cantante, teclista, compositor, ingeniero de sonido y productor.

En fin, un disco totalmente recomendable.

Pulsa el icono HQ para escuchar el tema con mejor calidad.

Tony McAlpine looks about 15 in this one, makes you sick. The basics of his legato playing are all there though.

One aspect of guitar playing that I have not really gotten too deeply into is slide and steel-string guitar. I am quite a fan of many players who have shown their potential through the style. Steel string is such an interesting mix of American musical influences. Southern Blues, Southwestern rock and Country, and obviously some Appalachia for good measure. Or maybe it’s the other way around, where those genres were influenced by steel string playing.

The first musician that comes to my mind is John Fahey, the late steel-string master who actually grew up nearby in the Takoma Park neighborhood of Washington, DC. He died in 2001 and I didn’t have the fortune of seeing him live (though I did see Leo Kottke around that time, when he was hosted by the Smithsonian Institute). His official website has a lot of interesting information surrounding his life and recordings, including his more well known ones like The Dance of Death (and Other Plantation Favorites).

John Fahey played in plenty of fun, crazy tunings and had a pretty interesting sense of humor in his work. My friends have mentioned he’s usually grouped in together with fellow DC-local crossover guitarists Robbie Basho and the aforementioned Leo Kottke. All three have made original efforts to further the dynamics and tradition of the steel-string guitar.

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Another guitarist, whom in recent years has really shown himself to be talented with the slide, is Derek Trucks. He’s been around for ten years already, even though he’s still in his twenties. I remember seeing stuff about him in guitar magazines when I was a kid, but I didn’t actually hear him until pretty recently. I mean, in general, even back then I figured most guitar-mag guys were crap!

There is a pretty good video of him playing steel-string guitar with Warren Haynes. Warren Haynes is the singer/guitarist for the great southern-rock power-trio, Gov’t Mule. It’s likely Haynes and Trucks met through their mutual affiliation touring with the Allman Brothers Band, which has a pretty well-known rotating line-up of famous blues musicians. Gov’t Mule itself started as an offshoot of some of the new additions to the Allman Brothers Band. One of the founding members of Gov’t Mule, who has since passed away, was actually a fellow named Allen Woody. Yeah, I thought that was wild. If Woody Allen isn’t aware of these guys, he ought to be ashamed of himself.

Here’s another laid-back video with Derek Trucks, where using the slide, he demonstrates some raga-like techniques taken from Indian classical music (Ali Akbar Khan, specifically!). Pretty cool, accessible stuff. I was always a fan of Shawn Lane’s Indian fusion, but I never heard him implement the slide.

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One other name worth mentioning on the subject, is Michael Lee Firkins. From hearing his playing, you’d think you were hearing some completely modern, original spin on slide-guitar, but Firkins actually emulates the slide by using his whammy bar. The sound is completely distinct and beautiful.

Firkins actually became somewhat well-known as a cross-over “shredder” — someone who played metal-fusion guitar but gradually moved into a bluesy direction. I believe some of his albums were released on the infamous Shrapnel records label and as a friend of Jason Becker, he recorded the electric guitar parts in the well-known orchestral Becker opus, “End of the Beginning”.

In recent years, Firkins has developed a really nice hybrid style with a distinct tone that I recognize immediately. And he’s had a really versatile career. Say whatever you want about shred — the guys who start in shred and branch out into other styles (Tony Macalpine, Chris Poland, Greg Howe) always have incredible melodic dynamics, physical control and ability, and versatility. Not that other folks don’t have the same, but there are not that many other branches of electric guitar playing that emphasize such fundamental chops!

Check out a couple of MLF songs on Youtube (sorry, but it’s better than posting 1-2 minute mp3 samples!):

Michael Lee Firkins – 24 Grand Avenue — absolutely gorgeous harmonizing here!
MLF – Rain in the Tunnel – a nice variety of his rock and “twang” playing is showcased.

Shred and metal folks will do well to start with Firkins’ early albums, but he has some straight blues and blue-grassy-fusion albums later down the line. Dig it!

Стиль: neo-classical metal / hard rock

Состав:
Tony MacAlpine – Guitars, Bass, Keyboards
Deen Castronovo – Drums
Atma Anur – Drums
George Lynch – Guitar on “Tears Of Sahara” and “The Vision”
Jeff Watson – Guitar on “The King’s Cup”

Треклист:
1. Autumn Lords (3:22)
2. Hundreds Of Thousands (3:13)
3. Tears Of Sahara (3:46)
4. Key To The City (4:36)
5. The Time And The Test (2:37)
6. The King’s Cup (3:25)
7. Sacred Wonder (4:12)
8. Etude #4, Opus #10 (2:05)
9. The Vision (3:29)
10. Dreamstate (3:26)
11. Porcelain Doll (4:27)

Формат: mp3 320 kbps

Тони бесспорно заслуживает достойного места среди таких ветеранов гитаристов-виртуозов как Ингви Мальмстин, Стив Вай и Джо Сатриани. Именно на этом альбоме наиболее ярко прослеживается жанр, под названием “Неоклассик Метал” (шред). В целом альбом очень мелодичен. Все вещи очень хороши и сыграны очень профессионально. Особенно потрясны вещи: “Hundreds Of Thousends”, “Tears Of Sahara”, “Key To The City”, “Sacred Wonder”, “Vision” и “Dreamstate”.

Стиль: Neo-Classical Metal Fusion

Состав:
Tony MacAlpine – guitars, keyboards, bass on “The Taker”
Billy Sheehan – bass
Steve Smith – drums

Треклист:
1. Wheel Of Fortune 03:43
2. The Stranger 03:57
3. Quarter To Midnight (Live Solo) 02:24
4. Agrionia 04:28
5. Interlude 00:56
6. Empire In The Sky 04:56
7. The Witch And The Priest 03:32
8. The Taker 03:21
9. Chopin, Prelude 16, Opus 28 01:20
10. Edge Of Insanity 04:17
11. The Raven 04:11
12. No Place In Time 04:11

Формат: mp3 320 kbps

На первом диске для Тони подобралась отличная команда в лице виртуозов: басиста Билли Шихана и барабанщика Стива Смита (ex-Journey), которые представляли угрожающую ритм-секцию и придали необходимую динамику и напор альбому. Сам же Тони блистал, как гитарист и отличный пианист (МакАлпайн весьма высокотехничный пианист, страстный поклонник Шопена, что можно не раз заметить на его альбомах).

На диске прослеживается линия Ингви Мальмстина, заложенная в Steeler, Alcatrazz и в его шедевре “Rising Force”. Тот же shred, но какой-то не мальмстиновский. Причина в более классическом подходе к написанию композиций у Ингви, а Тони – больше приверженец фьюжн. Собственно, по сути МакАлпайн представляет американскую нео-классическую школу, можно сказать крестный отец этого направления, чьи идеи впоследствии были развиты Винни Муром, Марти Фридманом, Бейкером и др.

Стоит обратить внимание, как отличается саунд Ингви от всех американских шредеров второй половины 80-х. И хороший показатель – работы Тони. Американский шред больше тяготеет к блюзу, “флиртуя” и находясь где-то на стыке со фьюжн. Именно нео-классический шред/фьюжн от Макалпайна стал его фирменным стилем, как сейчас принято говорить, визитной карточкой, повлияв коренным образом на упомянутых последователей.

Así de fácil lo hace Tony MacAlpine… o mejor dicho, nos hace ver fácil lo que realmente es complicado.

Directo de bastante mala calidad (no he encontrado otro video mejor) en el que el magnífico guitarrista interpreta el tema The Taker de su disco “Edge of Insanity” de 1986 junto al bajista Kevin Chown (Artension, Edwin Dare) y al baterista Mike Terrana (Rage, Artension).

As a teenager, I loved me some heavy metal guitar, especially those guitarists that are now known as “shredders” who could play insanely fast. These were, and still are, some of my favorites, in alphabetical order, by surname (because it’s hard to put them in order, they’re all great):

1. Jason Becker– He and the next guitarist were the tandem in a group called Cacophony that was probably one of the fastest guitar-playing bands I had ever heard. Loved them. Becker was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) in 1989, one week after joining David Lee Roth’s band as Steve Vai’s replacement. He was given five years to live. He’s still alive. For more on his incredible story, see his site with links to his MySpace page, where videos round out his story (of which I had no idea until I read it last night).

2. Marty Friedman– Friedman is now in a band called Lovefixer in Japan with vocalist Shinichiro “Sin” Suzuki. Here Friedman is by himself:

3. Paul Gilbert– I first heard Gilbert with the group Racer X, and later, of all places, heard him play a solo on a Christian rock album, Revelations by The Darrell Mansfield Band. However, this is probably the song that I will never forget:

4. Greg Howe– A friend introduced me to both Howe and the next guitarist, I believe, as well as Racer X.

5. Tony MacAlpine (site not updated recently):

6. Yngwie Malmsteen– I would be remiss if I didn’t include him.

7. Vinnie Moore– Perhaps my favorite guitarist ever. I still have his album Mind’s Eye on LP and had a neighbor record it on to a casette, which I completely wore out. He now plays with the British supergroup UFO:

8. John Petrucci-- lead guitarist from possibly my favorite progressive metal band Dream Theater:

9. Joe Satriani– Teacher of the last guitarist on the list and Kirk Hammett (of Metallica), and then became famous for this album:

10. Steve Vai– Still one of my favorites for performances like this:

The visual quality of this video is poor but the sound is OK. Awesome drums and bass, but I don’t have a clue who they are. Any ideas?

Maravilla de tema de Mark Boals y los suyos. Pedazo de DVD en directo que se marcarón estos señores en Tokio.

En el video puedes disfrutar de la guitarra de mi idolatrado Tony Macalpine, del teclado de Vitalij Kuprij, de la batería de Virgil Donati y de la peculiar voz de Mark Boals.

Neither of the two live versions of this online have particularly good sound quality, so I’ve added the CD track from Edge of Insanity below the live version.

Edge of Insanity version

The very young MacAlpine here, but the basic technique and musical direction is all there, still recognisable today.

Nueva banda descubierta. Que suerte tengo. Aquí tenemos el proyecto del guitarrista Tony Macalpine (Planet X, Ring of fire), el bajista Billy Sheenan (Mr.Big) y el baterista Virgil Donati (Planet X, Soul Sirkus): casi ná.

Jazz metal (si lo quereis llamar así) elegante, técnico y muy asimilable. Nada de infinitos solos ni demostraciones de maestría instrumental, sólo melodía y música en mayúsculas.

Este tema pertenece al único disco que tienen por el momento: “Clinophobia” de 2007.

Más info en: http://www.renacerelectrico.com/discos/c_clinophobia.html

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/devilsslingshot

Una de mis canciones favoritas de este gran guitarrista. Perteneciente a su disco “Evolution” de 1995, que aunque fue alabado por la crítica es (inexplicablemente) uno de sus discos menos conocidos.

En este disco podrás disfrutar de la maestria del baterista Mike Terrana (Artension, Rage, Masterplan…) y del magnífico bajista Tony Franklin (Derek Sherinian, Eros Ramazzotti :S )

Yo desde aquí te recomiendo que escuches este tema un par de veces mientras haces otras tareas; verás como la música fluye hasta atraparte. Lo dicho, para mi es un temazo.