SENES

Senes actually refers to guitarist Steve Senes, a new name for me although the press sheet states he's "played with various bands over the years". 'dE-eVolution oF thEorY' is his first solo instrumental album which has been entirely composed, performed, produced, engineered and mixed by the man himself, rather admirable considering the quality of each of those elements during the 50+ minutes duration of this release. The press sheet also informs that he's attained a wide array of playing styles through the disparate bands within which he's played - "from Rock, Metal, Country to Funk, R&B and Soul". A little digging on Senes' website likens his fretboard skills to just about every iconic guitarist from the past thirty years with mention of Vai, Satch, Becker, Malmsteen, Gilbert, Santana, Van Halen, Johnson, Lynch and Bettencourt. Talk about building a guy up for a big fall with comparisons to such legendary virtuosos although, fortunately, fall he does not, rather the music and playing on 'dE-eVolution oF thEorY' serves to consolidate these high claims. Stylistically, the twelve instrumental tracks that comprise the album are actually as diverse as the press sheet would have you believe and, most importantly for an album of this nature, sustains listening attention throughout with both said diversity and some melodiously engaging music, interposed with passages of breath-taking shred that will please those who thrive on filling their ears with fretboard speed and more notes per bar of music than the brain can digest. Despite the aforementioned diversity, it's perhaps apposite to describe 'dE-eVolution oF thEorY' as a rock/metal album at core as a large portion of the music pertains to a rock/metal vibe with some divergences such as the acousto-centric first half of 'Ruth' and the 70s style funk essence of 'Cop Show'. After listening to 'dE-eVolution oF thEorY' in its entirety, I can easily see why Senes won high acclaim last year with 'Guitar Player Magazine's Superstar 2009'. So, a new name for me like I said, but one I shall be keeping an eye out for in the future. As far as instrumental guitar albums go, this one is up there with some the best.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

DR2 Records

Album

DE-EVOLUTION OF THEORY

Review by Mark Holmes

RUNNING TIME:

51:16

RELEASE DATE:

8th Nov 2010

TRACK LISTING

1) The Swami
2) Greaseball
3) Ruth
4) Highball
5) Cop Show
6) Facecheck
7) High & Mighty
8) Colossus
9) Angel
10) Jam Bomb
11) Mare Tranquillitatis
12) The Afterglow

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

USA

"As far as instrumental guitar albums go, this one is up there with some the best."