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When former
Megadeth guitarist release his much acclaimed debut solo release 'Return
to Metalopolis' back in 1991 it instantly won an army of devoted fans.
'Return to
Metalopolis Live' give the fans a chance to relive that album once more
only this time in the live arena with six tracks recorded at Mason Jar in
Phoenix Arizona. The Mason Jar may no longer be there, but the
spirit still lives on through this live performance.
Also included on
this disc are a couple of added bonus’s in the form of a unreleased studio
demo of the track ‘Pandora’, the B-side of the first OHM single, and a
rare video of OHM covering the Metalopolis classic ‘Alexandria’.
The album is a
must for all fans of Poland’s fret burning guitar style. As things
get underway with Chris asking for some water “as its mighty hot in
Phoenix”, things are about to get hotter with the opener
‘Return to Metalopolis’ itself, instantly the guitars rule the airwaves as
Poland just rips things up as only a true metal guitarist can.
Things continue
with the only vocal track on the record courtesy of Dave Randi on the
metal fest that is ‘Wake Up Dead’, with brother Mark thumping out the back
beat on drums, this is one of the stand out tracks for me.
Another
favourite of mine is the smouldering bass infused thumper ‘Khazad Dum’,
this time with Poland showing he can make the guitar soar as well as
shred, but not in a relentless bombardment of solos, but also with
spellbinding riffs, all intertwined with a pounding rhythm section on this
more mellower affair.
Brother Mark’s
drum roll lead us into another more refined lick strewn effort this time
on ‘Psycho Boy’, with Poland himself taking somewhat of a back seat on
this one as brother Mark and Dave Randi lays way with a stunning back beat
interwoven with Chris’s guitar work which comes into its own at the end of
the track, great stuff!
We pick up the
tempo a touch with ‘Nightmare Hall’, a song that reeks of Megadeth, the
only thing missing is Mustane’s vocals.
The last of the
live tracks is ‘Theatre Of The Damned’, another fantastic piece of metal
affluent guitar work by Poland which rounds off the live portion of the
album well.
The first of the
what I would like to call bonus tracks is the studio demo ‘Pandora’, a
more laid back track than what has gone before, with a more melodic hard
rock feel to them. Still the same excellent guitar work but this
time at a more relaxed pace.
Next up is the
almost futuristic tones of ‘Tin Man’, another soaring guitar effort that
sweeps the listener away with its humble yet majestic air and shows well
the diversity of Poland’s guitar and song writing.
If you quickly
take the CD out of the player and put it into you computer you can capture
the great man in action, well if you can pick him out of the darkness of
the Baked Potato where this footage was shot as OHM that’s Poland, Dave
Eagle and Robby Pagliari performing their version of ‘Alexandria’.
This is a must
for all those fans of Poland who bought 'Return to Metalopolis' first time
round and for those you haven’t bought it check out this new album and
then go out and buy 'Return to Metalopolis', you won't be disappointed.
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