rock

Eternal Essence (Progressive, Instrumental, Rock/Metal)

May 3, 2009 By Corey Bray Leave a Comment

Let me start out by saying that Eternal Essence absolutely rocks. This is so good, I have to grab my pair of Sennhiser headphones for another listen while I write. My initial impression of this band was that it was heavily influenced by Dream Theater. You can just feel it in the mix–especially if you focus on EJ’s machine like tight drum work, which is just all around superb. The use of piano and synth throughout, which provides a backdrop to work with, helped to give each piece a lot of genuine atmosphere and character. Even the bassist brings something to the table, interjecting subtle details of noted intricacy that add a nice touch when needed. The guitar work, which is oddly well tempered for a band of this genre of music, keeps with the spirit of the overall thematic approach that this band has crafted so well from one song to the next. And if I had to hazard to go out on a limb, I would risk saying that this band is going to continue to put out more awesome sounding tracks. In fact, I look forward to it. But, don’t take my word for it. I urge you to have a listen for yourself. And be sure to drop me a message to let me know what you think about Eternal Essence.

To check out Eternal Essence, please visit:
http://www.myspace.com/eternalessence

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Filed Under: Band Reviews Tagged With: 2009, Atlantic City, Atomic Finger, band, corey bray, EJ, Essence, Eternal, Gary, Greg, instrumental, Josh, May 3rd, metal, New Jersey, progressive, review, rock, Sunday

Jonas Tamas (Progressive/Instrumental Rock)

April 12, 2009 By Corey Bray Leave a Comment

It is time for all my loyal readers to join me inside the fall out shelter for a special announcement. It is my pleasure to present to you the axe master from Budapest Hungary, Jonas Tamas. In the short time I’ve known about Jonas, I’ve just been amazed by his ability to handle a guitar. Normally, I tend to be quite critical of instrumental guitarists. Many who go down the instrumental path tend to spend too much time focusing on extreme lead playing and forget that the goal is to actually bring a balance to the music that aims to be appealing to the audience. What makes Jonas different is that he has a very deep sense of how to develop the landscape he intends to play against from one song to the next. When he brings up the lead, you can really hear him deliver a flawless performance as he dazzles you with engaging musical phrases and a superior picking technique that will leave you speechless.

On the occasions that I have had the pleasure to speak with Jonas over email, I have found him to be a person who truly appreciates his fans. And it is because he exhibits this quality, along with being a superb musician, that I believe he is deserving of your support. Recently, Jonas has released a new album called, “Sharp Guitars From A Flat Planet.” It’s a project that I know Jonas has put a lot of hard work and effort into, as I followed his updates on the various stages of the recording project over the last few months, reading the many comments he left for his fans on Facebook along the way. The somewhat haunting lead on Mosquito Bite and the emotional energy in the track Tight Squeeze, really stand out as works that demonstrate that Jonas has a dynamically melodic side as well as an ability to shred with the best instrumental guitarists around. So, be sure to pick up the album from CDBaby by following the link on our main page.

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Filed Under: Band Reviews Tagged With: album, artist, Atomic, band, cd, CDBaby, Finger, Guitar, Hungary, instrumental, Jonas, Mosquito Bite, new release, progressive, review, rock, Sharp Guitars From A Flat Planet, shred, Tamas, Tight Squeeze

A Closer Look at Michael Angel Batio

March 20, 2009 By Corey Bray Leave a Comment

We all dream of it: a two car garage, a job we absolutely hate, and even looking forward to coming home at night to flop down in front of the boob tube to waste what remains of those few precious moments we refer to as life. If we are lucky, we’ve even got a nagging mother-in-law and a couple of obnoxious screaming brats to keep us further entertained. And if we are really lucky, we might have a decent amp, a nice guitar, and a few effects pedals to enjoy behind closed doors. You know, that special place you go to crank it to 11 so that you can’t even hear the ringing in your own ears anymore? But, if you are Michael Angelo Batio, your home studio and rig is likely a little more over the top than the average player’s.

MICHAEL ANGELO BATIO’S HOME STUDIO

Let’s face it, you don’t get to be one of the world’s most famous shredders by being normal. No, you throw out the whole 9 to 5 desk and/or cement mixing job and put most of your time and effort into trying to figure out what properly harmonizes with some crazy mode of the major something scale in 5/4 time, while kicking your bass player around to help keep focus during band practice. Okay, I don’t actually advocate picking on your bass player, but bassists know it’s part of the job if they have been around the industry long enough.

Now, being a world class shredder gives Michael Angelo the right to use a little creative license when–uhm’ well, Interpreting! Yeah, that’s it, Interpreting the work of a late legendary guitarist like Randy Rhodes.

MICHAEL ANGELO BATIO’S INTERPRETATION OF RANDY RHODES WORK

That was perhaps a little over the top in spots, but amazing nevertheless. So, while you are stuck at work trying to figure out how to stick it to the man, just remember that Michael Angelo is somewhere out there rocking hard.

Would you like to be a world class shredder, but just don’t have the desire to practice day in and day out? Now you can pawn your old guitar for good this time, because the iAirGuitar is finally here. Get your hands on a copy for your iPhone and iPod Touch today. Visit:

www.iairguitar.com

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Filed Under: Ultimate Guitar Experience Tagged With: Atomic Finger, corey bray, Crazy Train, Dean, Fender, Guitar, Guitars, metal, Michael Angelo Batio, Mustang, pro tools, racks, Randy, Rhodes, rock, shred, studio, ultimate

Operatika (Power Symphony)

March 11, 2009 By Corey Bray Leave a Comment

Normally, I’m used to bands like Operatika having a male singer fronting the group. Forget that! Definitely better sounding with a woman fronting the band. Seriously, you’re going to want to give the volume knob on your stereo a turn to that Spinal Tap #11 for Slava Popova’s memorable vocals. I should also note that Bill Visser’s stellar performance on guitar is, shall we say, fast, furious, melodic, and flawless. I’d hate to be doing his daily metronome work out. I bet he plays guitar in his sleep just to keep his fingers in the zone like that. So, for those of you who are into that over the top metal symphony sound, Operatika is definitely the band you should be checking out.

To check out Operatika for yourself, please visit:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=11579189

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Filed Under: Band Reviews Tagged With: 11th, 2009, 6 Mushroom Clouds, Atomic Finger, band, Bill, corey bray, March, melodic, metal, New Jersey, Operatika, performance, Popova, power, roadie rage, rock, Slava, Spinal Tap, Stellar, symphony, Visser

Spiral (Progressive rock, Alternative)

March 2, 2009 By Corey Bray Leave a Comment

When I first ran across the band Spiral, I half expected their music to be modeled after the Japanese anime by the same name. The dark disposition of their music would seem to suggest that they might be Blade children in disguise, but we would have to check to see if they are missing a rib to be certain. On a more serious note, this fabulous group comes to us out of Poland. Their music at times strikes me as sounding rather tribal, not what i would expect to be a huge focus of Polish culture from the homeland of my own ancestry. I would even go as far as to say that their sound verges on being a little psychedelic at times, which makes this band all the more interesting to listen too. Their songs definitely retain an alternative flavor. So, be sure to check out Spiral and let me know what you think.

To check out Spiral, please visit:
http://spiral.pl

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Filed Under: Band Reviews Tagged With: 1st, 2009, alternative, anime, Atomic, Blade, Bray, children, corey, Finger, March, Poland, progressive, psychadelic, rage, roadie, rock, Spiral, tribal

The Japanese Connection

February 20, 2009 By Corey Bray Leave a Comment

By Corey Bray

It’s evening in the city and the light dims through your apartment
window. Kicking back in your computer chair, you decide to enjoy a few
music videos on the web. Who can blame you, it’s murder to have to put
up with the daily grind and sometimes you just need something loud and
rock’n to help your nerves regain their composure. That’s when you run
across this video featuring Paul Gilbert and Freddie Nelson.

WASTE OF TIME: PAUL GILBERT & FREDDIE NELSON

Okay, that was a good primer, but let’s check out Paul in Japan.

PAUL GILBERT & TJ HELMERICH IN JAPAN

When you think of Japan, you don’t usually think of their being this
big Rock & Roll scene around. But, the more you ponder the idea, you
begin to imagine more than hanging gardens and compact cars. In fact,
it strikes you a little odd that so many virtuoso level guitar players
seem to gravitate over to Japan. That is, players like Marty Friedman,
who has become a guitar icon on Japanese television. But, how did Marty
pick up Japanese in the first place?

MARTY FRIEDMAN: TEACH YOURSELF JAPANESE

Before you know it, you run across a video of Gilbert and Friedman
in Japan working together. Is this a conspiracy?

PAUL GILBERT & MARTY FRIEDMAN

So, does this mean that the U. S. is slowly losing its virtuoso
guitarists to Japan? Or, is this just a passing phase? Though the
thought of the guitarists you grew up with all migrating over to Japan
is a little disturbing, you wonder if there isn’t more to this story
than initially meets the eye.

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Filed Under: Ultimate Guitar Experience Tagged With: connection, conspiracy, correspondence, course, deal, Freddie, Friedman, Gilbert, Guitar, Helmerich, Japan, Japanese, Manga, Marty, Nelson, Oklahoma, Paul, record, rock, roll, speak, teach, television, TJ, university, video, virtuoso

Megaphone (Rock)

February 10, 2009 By Corey Bray Leave a Comment

Maybe this is a sign. The second band from Florida I’m reviewing in a row. Actually, I had never heard of them before, but someone sent me an email and told me to check Megaphone out. I always take my talent scout’s requests seriously, and so I dropped on to their MySpace page for a quick listen. It’s the kind of rock that goes well with driving to the beach on a hot summer’s day. The rhythm is steady and the lead guitarist isn’t afraid to kick on the wah/wah from time to time to bring in a little of that old school talent missing in much of modern rock. I can kind of hear a little Foo Fighters influence in their work, and enjoy when they kick off the juice and let the acoustic artistry come out and play. It’s rock with a good vibe that your friends will enjoy too. So, I hope my readers will give Megaphone a listen. They are certainly a great sounding band. And don’t forget to vote for them.
To find out more about Megaphone, visit:
www.megaphonemusic.net

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Filed Under: Band Reviews Tagged With: Atomic, band, corey, February, Finger, Florida, Megaphone, music, Orlando, rating, review, rock, summer, vibe

Matador (Indie Alternative Rock)

February 1, 2009 By Corey Bray Leave a Comment

I was having a really rough morning the other day, wading through a ton of audio crap and otherwise mediocre bands, when I stumbled upon the music of Matador. As usual, myspace was slow to respond and acted like it didn’t want to serve their music up. I was almost ready to bolt off the page, when finally the sound started pouring into my ears. Pulling my hands off the keys, I leaned back in my chair to have a listen. And then it hit me. Here is a band that really gets it.

What I really like about this band is that you can actually feel the distance because of how the lyrics were brought down in the mix to blend more closely with the instruments than usual on some of their tracks. Their songs sound like dark waves of depression mingled with a teasing glimpse of hope that could fade and die out at any moment. It’s like music I look forward to listening to when cuddling with my ex-girlfriend after she said it was over for the last time. It just has that sort of intimate quality to it, like you are supposed to share the listening experience with someone you know on a deeper level.

It will be interesting to see how this band chooses to grow artistically as it continues to write and release tunes. So, I highly recommend that my readers check out Matador and share the listening experience with someone close.

To find out more about Matador, please visit:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=17796657

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Filed Under: Band Reviews Tagged With: alternative, artistic, band, corey bray, dark, ex-girlfriend, experience, Florida, gig, indie, intimate, listen, lyrics, Matador, music, myspace, Orlando, review, roadie rage, rock, songs, swap, tracks, tunes, waves

Peter Murr (Instrumental, Rock, Blues, Power Pop)

January 26, 2009 By Corey Bray Leave a Comment

This week I’m kicking back and enjoying the work of Peter Murr from Brisbane, Queensland Australia. Pete’s music reminds me of Tangerine Dream meets a tame version of Andromeda. The Andromeda band I am referring to here was a fictional instrumental space rock group featured on an episode of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century back in the late 70′s and very early 80′s. For those who may not remember the Buck Roger’s seriel, the band Andromeda played mind altering music that caused those who heard it to go crazy for a time. With a surreal landscape of synthesized mood enhancing color and a gritty electronic sounding rhythm guitar to complement the feel, Pete’s sound really does give the hearer a sort of futuristic presence. Pete has also been known to collaborate with guitar virtuoso Jonas Tamas from Budapest Hungary, which I believe is a pretty awesome sounding combination from the clip I heard on Pete’s MySpace page. So, if you are into interesting instrumental-type music, I highly recommend checking Pete’s music out for yourself.

To find out more about Peter Murr, visit:
http://www.myspace.com/petempage

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Filed Under: Band Reviews Tagged With: 25th, Andromeda, Australia, blues, Brisbane, Buck, Century, corey bray, Dream, instrumental, Jonas, landscape, Murr, Peter, pop, power, Queensland, rock, Rogers, Tamas, Tangerine, virtuoso

How Jazz Helps Your Groove

January 26, 2009 By Corey Bray Leave a Comment

By Corey Bray

You are probably wondering why I am bothering you with jazz. What does jazz have to do with becoming a great shredder or even a great guitarist for that matter? In all honesty, jazz is the doorway to moving beyond the ruts and boredom of everyday repetitious playing. Some of the most exciting passages I’ve created in my rock instrumentals came from being able to add a touch of jazz to the mix to give the work that much needed spice. Though you may not want to become a full blown jazz guitarist, what jazz helps you to do is to think more coherently about how you are approaching the use of chords and notes in your playing. Here is a simple example of how to approach chords differently than in, say, a strict rock setting, which can help you to start thinking outside of the box.

JAZZ ANTICIPATION

This next video gets more into the heart of jazz and helps you to focus in on working in a walking bass line with your chord changes, which could be used as a nice break from the normal rock approach, to demonstrate that you have more to offer with your playing than just a jumble of quick notes.

WALKING JAZZ BASS

So, I hope this little introduction to jazz technique has helped you to recognize not only how jazz opens the door to greater freedom in your playing, but also how it can make a piece sound more interesting, even if used in a subtle way to enhance your songs.

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Filed Under: Intermediate Guitar Lessons Tagged With: bass, bumping, chords, door, fill, five, fresh, groove, Guitar, half, ideas, instrumental, interesting, intermediate, Jazz, lesson, one, passages, play, progression, rock, scales, Spring, step, two, videos, walking

Eternal Essence (Progressive, Instrumental, Rock/Metal)

Jonas Tamas (Progressive/Instrumental Rock)

A Closer Look at Michael Angel Batio

Operatika (Power Symphony)

Spiral (Progressive rock, Alternative)

The Japanese Connection

Megaphone (Rock)

Matador (Indie Alternative Rock)

Peter Murr (Instrumental, Rock, Blues, Power Pop)

How Jazz Helps Your Groove

Artist Interviews

On The Edge With Ockhams Raiser

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