"Shedding Skin" is guitar-hero-in-waiting Kollman's third effort. While the overall style is instrumental fusion, Kollman separates himself from the numerous other players out there by providing strong, melodic compositions in which to display his fret wizardry. At times his songs are intense and heavy on a near-Sabbath level (such as "The X Factor"), but full of twists, turns and complex rhythms that keep things from getting stale. Rather than simply playing a few introductory riffs and then venturing off into soloville, Kollman's songs are well-structured and the parts have a purpose.

Among the stand-outs are the opening title track with its deceptively gentle acoustic Flamenco-styled intro leading into a lively fusion workout, "Fat, Mean and Nasty," a blistering grungy stomp with a beautifully-contrasting melodic chorus section and the George Benson-esque "The Color of Love," with some dazzling acoustic picking over a bouncy, Latin-flavored setting. It should be noted that there is also a Music Minus One jam-along disc available of this title for those who want some excellent backing tracks with which to work up their chops.