It's About Time

Shred guitar. The double edged sword of heavy metal. On one hand it can unveil the incredible abilities of a guitarist, his marvelous touch of both melody and fast lightning speed. On the other it can be cut down to mundane, mindless noodling and fretboard acrobatics. This is something that even the most critical acclaimed artists of the "genre" have not escaped from; even giants like Yngwie Malmsteen or Joe Satriani. So what about this particular guitarist, Rafael Greco? I can tell you right from the get go that Rafael is NOT a virtuoso. He simply does not try that much to be accounted for one. However he manages to write decent songs while showcasing his abilities in the six string deity.

If we are discussing about an instrumental guitar album, we have to address something really important here : because it is an album centered around the electric guitar we have to treat this main instrument as the "voice", the "singer" of the album. So things like the tone, the melodic approaches and the overall compositions play a more essential role than in a non instrumental record. Overall Rafael manages to balance himself on the rope of some cliché ideas and riffs and some exceptional ones. I really admire his passion to create both more classic heavy metal ideas and also some more groovy passages. Those groovy parts set the field for his solos better and reminded me a lot of James Murphy's "Convergence"; more shuffled, riffs that also challenge the listener's ears and grab its attention. Prime examples of this are the songs "Leaving fast" and "Under control". Should you juxtapose them to songs like "Wanna turn up the heat?" or the opening tack and you notice the difference.

But how does Rafael stand in the main aspect of this record- the solos? Well I have to admit that I was quite dumbfounded when I heard the album. This Brazilian guitarist succeeds in sounding technical but also melodic at the same time. This is what literally saves the abovementioned mediocre standard heavy metal attempts from coming out as completely dull. Greco starts shy on the improvisations; first a lick or two followed by some more meandering sections; then he just fully sends it! What also serves as an artistic grace is his choice to first introduce us to new ideas before attempting his next solo "journey". For the more "challenging" songs - the groovy jams as noted above - the artist enhances the "shred" feeling by showing no hesitation and attacking the strings in every way imaginable!

Noticeable is also the tone and the production. Here the facts speak for themselves. This is a digital record so it makes sense for the production to be such. After all this attempt was released back in 2016. There is no reason to spare time talking about the rhythmic section; it serves its sole role which is the support of the "voice". So let's talk about the tone. While digitally programmed Greco's tone is exceptional. The mixing and recording is meticulous and with a stellar distortion. A few effects, such as a "wah" and a vocoder, are being used here and there which is just the icing on the cake for this self-made but professional recording.

Just like the underground of black metal is filled with the so called "bedroom" artists the very same thing can be said about "bedroom guitarists". People who just take a computer, a guitar and write an album just to show off or boast about their skills. Alas this is just not enough and for a guitarist to be recognized he has to have more than just skills. Rafael Greco though succeeds in all of the areas that we mooted. He does not invent the wheel nor does he fully escape the pit of overplayed banality that plagues shred guitar, but his overall musicality exceeds his shortcomings.

60/100