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Artist: Jose Del Rio |
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'Journey Into The Fourth Dimension' is the second of two instrumental albums released by Lion Music this month, both visionary and both different. 'Journey Into The Fourth Dimension' is a shed guitarist delight with South American guitar virtuoso Jose L Del Rio firing on all six (strings). The sheer breakneck speed of Del Rio’s guitar playing is as phenomenal as it is breathtaking. The album features not only the skills of Del Rio, but also the magical keyboards of Vitalij Kuprij, the drum skills of Marco Cerda, and also feature top soprano Mrs Pilar Aguilera, who lends her amazing operatic tones to the only non instrumental on the album ‘Nel Mezzo Del Cammir’. The album opens up with a haunting cinematic-metal introduction before the speed fest begins with ‘Phantom Shadow’, a track were all three musicians show what they can really do as they unleash speed and majesty on to an unsuspecting listener. But this album isn’t all about full on speed as things slow down a touch with the sombre tones of ‘Battlefields of Glory’. A track that slowly builds from humble beginnings into a pillar of double kick drums and rampaging keys and guitars a track that carries you on towards victory and beyond. Things take on more of an Eastern feel with ‘Oriental Fantasy’, a track that mixes electric coral Sitar with the more traditional electric guitar and takes the listener on a journey full of Eastern Promise. ‘Through The Darkness’ is track that features heavily the outstanding keyboard skills of Kuprij who shows he can match del Rio for speed and intricacy. The multi-talented del Rio shows that he’s just a shred fiend and gives us a master class on what can be done with the classical guitar on ‘Dremas of Wizdom and Prophecy’. The neoclassical element of the album is never more present than on the aptly titled ‘Epic Dramatic’ for Electric Guitar and Keyboards and it is just that a fantastic piece of over the top fantasy metal of the highest calibre. The tone is once again slowed down with the atmospheric ‘Psychophony’, before things pick up pace once more with the title track ‘Journey Into The Fourth Dimension’. This one starts with a choir singing harmonies before the band set about taking you on a trip that dips and climbs along a magical musical path that will a times leave you breathless, and at other times will leave you simply mesmerized at its sheer class and majesty. This has to be my favourite track off the album. Now the only non-instrumental track on the album comes in the form of ‘Nel Mezzo Del Cammir’, another monumental track this time featuring Pilar Aguilera and Bernardo Rosselot on vocals. The neoclassical feel of the album continues with ‘Beyond The Pillars of Hercules’, a track that has a medieval feel to its beginning, but then builds into a Olympian style effort that retains the choral majesty left over from the previous track and once again builds to a furious finale, then back to the medieval feel of the beginning. The
album closes with a bonus track that is a real shredders delight the
short but impressive 300 bpm version of ‘Flight of the Bumble Bee’
and rounds of a quite brilliant and unique musical experience that may
not be a favourite of all, but will those of you who like something new
and expeditious will simply adour this. |
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Tracklisting:
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All content copyright of The Mayfair Mall Zine unless otherwise stated. |
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