y first impression of Alien Guitar Abduction was not favorable. It came when I popped the CD out of the case and read the jacket notes underneath. All I could think was, oh, please, how cheesey can you get? The copy goes like this:
"On November 13, 2005, I was taken and transported by an alien entity to another dimension. They tampered with my guitar and with my mind. I was left with an insatiable urge to record loud indescribable guitar music. I will continue to do this until I have learned the TRUTH."
But wait, that isn't all; there's more. At the bottom is a dedication. It says:
"This album is dedicated to every kid who has heard his parents scream, Turn that #$%@! down!"
Not an impressive or auspicious beginning. Come on, you have to be Joe Satriani, Randy Rhodes, Jimmy Page, Stevie Vai, or Slash to get away with that kind of rhetoric. That is, if you're going to get anyone to actually listen to your work. But I'm a reviewer, that's my job, so I put the CD in and listened anyway.
The first track actually started well: great guitar sounds, quick fingers, and slick playing. Until you get to the vocals, which are, "The aliens have landed" in a guttural sort of voice. Puke on the song. Ruined it. Luckily, the next song, "Axeman", avoided vocals and was damned good. And the next, "Noise", has great riffs, a heavy deep beat, and pretty quickly you find yourself headbanging. Not speed metal, but good hard-rock licks. The fourth song, "Eureka", is a slower song, with more emphasis on the melody. It's electric, but has an acoustic feel that is cool. It slows down from the previous songs and lends some contrast, sort of like clearing the palate.
So how did the rest of the album play out? Well, I have to admit, I kept fearfully anticipating the vocals to kick in, and with them the really juvenile crap writing. They struck again in "Eureka!!" which has an excellent slow melody and fine picking. I wasn't impressed with the voice, but at least the lyrics were less obnoxious than in the first song, if a bit trite: "Being old just doesn't pay. Not today." But frankly, the musicality of the song overwhelmed the lyrics and I'd put this one as one of my favorites of the album.
In the end, this album manages a lot of variety, some great guitar sounds that at times approach synthesized sounds, but are not. There are heavy-hitting songs; weird, haunting songs; and light, melodic slow songs. Despite my early reservations, this album is a buy for anybody who likes guitar rock. But, personally, I'd skip the first track.
y first impression of Alien Guitar Abduction was not favorable. It came when I popped the CD out of the case and read the jacket notes underneath. All I could think was, oh, please, how cheesey can you get? The copy goes like this: