Hess
|
|
|
Review of "Opus 1"
|
By: Nicky Baldrian
ollowing the paths of Yngwie Malmsteen and Jason Becker comes Tom Hess, a
passionate guitar player from the US who is influenced by the progressive
neo-classical metal genre that spawned the likes of the aforementioned
Malmsteen and Becker..
His compositions are beautifully crafted and the melodies just flow with
thrilling passion and inspiration.
Tom's CD "Opus 1" is exquisite. 'Exploration' is a heavy pounding
neo-classical piece a'la Vinnie Moore as is the excellent 'Homeage' and
'Golden Coliseum' both of which thrive with melody and passion, whilst
showing edges of Becker and Marty Friedman's Cacophony is 'Empire' which is
a fast instrumental piece is totally captivating.
'Imperial' is where the Becker/Friedman influences really show and offers a
variation of mood and superlative quality and is Tom's best track, which is
closely followed by the symphonic 'Through Space And Time'. Another
favourite song is 'the Latin based and totally beautiful ballad 'Queen Of
Me' which shows passages similar to Friedman's solo albums, I just love this
piece, totally orgasmic. The atmosphere on the finale track 'Palette Of
Shadows' takes influences again from Friedman's works with hints of Shawn
Lane and is a lovely soothing piece that could easily be soundtrack music.
I think Hess on the standard of this wonderful instrumental piece could very
well find himself signed by one of the guitar labels such as Lion Music.
|
©
Nicky Baldrian / Fireworks Magazine
|
|
