THOM MATHEWS

Instrumental guitar albums generally either work or they don’t, there’s usually no middle ground: either utterly dull and clichéd or mind-blowing and infective. This promo from American shred-meister, Thom Mathews, fortunately falls into the latter, and then some! Having already released a debut solo album in 2007, this promo contains “rough mixes” (though you’d be hard-pushed to tell as the production on this, for a self-release, is fantastic) of tracks that were intended for a second album release that never emerged due to the demise of the label he was signed to, and make for an incredibly pleasurable listen. Mainly technical prog-metal in its leanings, with elements of clean and distorted neo-classical fretwork, and frenetic death metal riffing, it is particularly apparent that Mathews is not only one extremely accomplished guitarist, but is also highly skilled in songwriting ability. The structure, production and mixing of each song appears carefully considered, with all live instruments, including violin and cello (no tacky drum machines here!) taking their place aptly in his sonic shred concerto, and no one instrument seeming too high or low in the mix. Well deserving of finding a new label for his awe-inspiring guitar playing prowess and songwriting and if you appreciate excellent solo guitar work, this is seriously worth checking out.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Self-released

EP

PROMO 2010

Review by Hannah Sylvester

RUNNING TIME:

16:30

RELEASE DATE:

2010

TRACK LISTING

1) Meth Lab Explosion
2) Taming The Wyvern
3) The Tear Collector

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

USA

"...technical prog-metal in its leanings, with elements of clean and distorted neo-classical fretwork, and frenetic death metal riffing..."