Awakened is the third release from Norman and is a mix of vocal and instrumental tracks that can best be described as Metal influenced by classical music, progressive rock and modern heavy music, with a ton of shredding thrown in. The lyrics tend to focus on traditional themes such as courage, truth, darkness, and love. Themes all well suited to the music.

Norman is a Strat man, and all the eletrics guitars were recorded with Strats. He also used an Ovation Celebrity Deluxe and a Washburn Classical for the acoustic guitar parts. His electric tone is very compressed and sustained, typical of many shredders and metal players. Of course, this is purely a matter of taste, but I would like to have heard a little more variety in tone on some of the leads. Guitar is everywhere on this CD. Some stand-out guitar is found on the harmonized leads that open Marble And Stone and the extended solo called Shadows Born of Moonlight. Another nice moment occurs in the slower solo in the instrumental Destiny when Norman lets a little emotion break through his overwhelming technical display. And for sheer shredding in the neoclassical style there is Fantasia Suite Opus No.1 in E Minor which features a classical guitar interlude and a harmonized choir of guitars - very nice.

Obviously Alaska is not know as a musical hot spot, but with the price of recording gear constantly dropping while the quality goes up, anyone with enough talent and desire can release their own CD. And thanks to the Internet, make it available for the world to hear. I find this very exciting. This is exactly what Norman did. I asked him about his recording process and here is his reply in his own words:

"Yes I did record Awakened on a Roland VS1680. I do most of my roughs on my Kurzweil K2000 V3 keyboard. That is what I use to do the keyboard, drum, bass, strings, ect..., basic tracks on. From there I record all the guitars, then go to bass and keyboard. The very last thing I put down are vocals followed by the final drum tracks. I mixed down to a DAT and then mastered the DAT at a local recording studio. I recorded all my guitars through a BBE Sonic Maximizer. I think it helped fill out the sound. As far as amps go, I didn't use any! Believe it or not, I used a Rocktron Chameleon on-line processor for all my electric guitar sounds. I was and am very impressed with the amp/speaker simulators on that unit."

Awakened is a shred fest. Nearly track features some blazing guitar work showcasing Norman's impressive technical ability. Fans of Yngwie Malmsteen, heavy metal, or just plain shredding will find a lot to like here.