Shredder albums - yes or no? If you're a "no" person, you're better off leaving right now, because Tony MacAlpine made a proper shredder album right here, one that includes no vocals and doesn't hold back on the technicality. However, if you're in the "yes" camp, you'll be very happy about Death of Roses since this comes close to being the richest and most imaginative collection of instrumental guitar pieces that I've heard in the last few years. The Planet X guitar wizard has promised to deliver a second half of this collection in the near future, yet more than a year after the first half I haven't seen any sign of a completing chapter. Nevertheless, 30 minutes of excellent music is far superior to an hour of snooze-inducing noodling and self-indulgence.
Apart from the song titles, which are very cool, MacAlpine likes his guitar pedals, which - as with most solo guitarists - are also very cool. On Death of Roses, the arrangements are cool too though, and that's what I like best here. Even while upping the stakes with technicality, this guy seems able to relax, never taking the songs through too much heavy-duty fret-melting but oozing with cool and calm as his favourite pedal - a kind of nostalgic long delay effect - displays. It's something that has improved Marty Friedman's solo work of late, while another feature that the two six-stringers share is a tendency to use djent riffing styles and rhythms to back some of the heavier moments, even if MacAlpine is equally fond of jazz and Dream Theater's brand of keyboard-friendly progressive metal on 'Axiomatic Jewels'. (See what I said about the titles?) That means that his hired hands of once-upon-a-time 3 Inches of Blood bassist Pete Griffin (isn't that the dad from Family Guy?) and new face Gergo Borlai need to work hard to keep up, though both execute their parts with aplomb, Borlai particularly skittering around the racing keys in the aforementioned bejewelled number and dropping fills behind the mastermind's leads.
To some extent, each track seems to begin again when the previous one has drawn to a close, especially as 'Synthetic Serenity' plays around with piano and electronics and opener 'Chrome Castles' shows older, rockier influences that nudge shoulders with the sadly deceased Ecuadorian star Hittar Cuesta. That means that MacAlpine is not concerned with continuity, although the instrumental tones remain consistent throughout the seven songs, helping to make this seem like a focused effect rather than as being accepting of any and every idea, as some solo projects are. That said, the platforms that the guitarist uses for unleashing solos become gradually less effective as the experience wears on, meaning that 'Entropy' feels less enjoyable than 'Electric Illusionist', more as a result of the running order than any great discrepancy in quality.'Shundor Prithibi' is a sensible closer for Death of Roses, introducing itself quietly with soothing piano before veering off on tangents of askew keyboards and warmly aggressive riffing, as well as some playful lead work; however, given the intensity of concentration that the busier arrangements elsewhere require, I feel it might have been better placed in the midst of the album to allow its natural dynamics to refresh the listener before the lead guitar overwhelms.
As I mentioned at the beginning of the review, Death of Roses finds MacAlpine in extremely creative form and playing generally out of his skin without intimidating the listener. Even among the 30 minutes released here, there is already a wealth of material for fans to explore: choose a song a day and listen to it 10 times, then by the end of the week you'll see just how richly developed the compositions are. Granted, some of the music here feels like hard work to listen to over extended periods, but it's the same kind that rewards the listener who can stick to it beyond the first impression. Roses may have a limited lifespan, but Death of Roses proves itself potent and long-lasting.