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InsaneGuitar.com
presents...
January, 2004
The
site updates are coming early this month, sort of an early
Christmas present! Things have slowed down a little from last
month, so this time we are on the usual scheme of two reviews per
update. Just in time for the holidays—as they say on TV ;D
And
by the way, I got pretty stupid with these reviews so just ignore
the redundancies. I had a bad day at work and am feeling kinda
sick.
If
you would like me to write about your music, please email me at
carter@insaneguitar.net.
You can find my ICQ and AIM information by checking out the forum
or by sending me an email.
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Osiris
Jarle
H. Olsen
 Upon
receiving Jarle's review request, I was a little discouraged. I
was afraid that his one song demo would leave little for me to
write about.
However, listening
to the available track, “Osiris,” quickly changed my
fears into feelings of excitement and anticipation. I would never
have believed that a six-minute song could hold so many sounds
and movements!
The track opens
with some ambient noise, which is something I don't hear very
often in instrumental guitar music. This “musical noise”
is soon joined by a beautiful clean/acoustic guitar and
eventually the thrash-tastic, distorted guitar parts we all love.
“Osiris” sports a progressive feel, an effective
formula if done tastefully.
At
around the 1:37 mark, a very exotic recurring theme begins.
“Osiris” is full of these little ear-catchers; Jarle
gets the listener used to one sound and then completely changes
moods. The same thing happens later at 4:31 with a series of
unusual sounding arpeggios.
Jarle
Olsen has obviously spent a great deal of time making sure each
and every note is in the right place, and that diligence is what
makes him a real musician.
Oh
yeah, and there's plenty of shredding, too!
Things to Check Out:
·
Jarle
H. Olsen
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Train
of Thought
Dream Theater
 Yep,
just another Dream Theater album. Nothing special about this at
all...
No, I'm
just kidding!
It
may break my own rule of not comparing artists, but I think some
common association is necessary here. Train of Thought
seems to be a little like Dream Theater's take on the direction
Metallica went with St. Anger (“Stanger”). The
only difference is that Train of Thought retains all of
DT's musical integrity and, well, doesn't suck.
Actually,
that was a horrible comparison. I bet it got you guys reading
more closely, though, eh?
Train
of Thought is without a doubt one of the heaviest albums I've
heard in months. I don't know if it's detuning or just 7-string
goodness, but the guitar parts are just as crushing as the bass
lines.
I am always amazed with
how John Petrucci's playing keeps improving. Where does he find
the time to practice like he does? The solos are deafeningly
intense and reflect many untold hours of careful, exhaustive
practice.
Vocals are seldom
something I give much thought to these days, but James LaBrie's
singing on this album is nothing short of stunning. He has a
powerful voice with a great vibrato; it makes me wish I could
sing!
As
always, I just can't get enough of the progressive style and
complex rhythms Dream Theater employs. I'm really bad about not
being able to pick the bass out from the other instruments, but
the drums are absolutely killer (the keyboards are surprisingly
sparse in most of this album). Dream Theater always reminds me of
those message board posts where you're asked to build a band with
your favorite musicians. There are simply no other musicians that
work so well together.
It
is way too tedious to give a track-by-track rundown of Train
of Thought since all but two of the seven songs are over 11
minutes long. I believe the album is best experienced as a whole,
an hour and 10 minutes of just great, inspiring
music.
Instead of watching
television tonight, consider popping in Train of Thought. Look
at the lyrics as you listen; it's really an awesome experience.
Things to
Check Out:
· Dream
Theater
· John
Petrucci
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