By: Pete Pardo
he Journey of Life is an all instrumental release from Scottish guitarist Dean
McGinnes, a talented player who has put together 11 tracks full of melody, fire, and
emotion. While it's obvious that Dean grew up listening to some of the greats like
Satriani, Vai, Beck, and Van Halen, he has his own style that manages to come
through often along with his apparent influences. McGinnes plays most of the
instruments here, with help from drummer Eddie Lynch, and the songs range from
crunchy rockers, fusiony burners, and atmospheric numbers. While not a "chops for
chops sake" album, The Journey of Life does contain some strong pieces, like the
rambunctious "New Start", the heavy "Going Nowhere", the solo guitar mayhem
of "The Journey Man Ryan Carroll", and the Van Halen-meets_Eric Johnson "Get
Up and Go". There's some sweet wah-wah lines on "The End is Near", a dark
yet melodic number that shows Dean's emotional side. While some of the tunes are
upbeat, there's perhaps too many somber, laid back numbers, like "Mountains of
Echo", "Hypnotized", and the two part title track, which all sound a tad too
similar to each other and meander a bit. There's still plenty to recommend here
from this talented up and coming guitar slinger.
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