I can hear a lot of people now asking who is Dimitar Nalbantov? Well I can tell you he hails from Bulgaria and was born in 1976,won "Guitar Player 2000" in the alternative music genre sponsored by guitar.ru and now with "Universe" he has unleashed a superbly crafted and played guitar rock instrumental album upon an unsuspecting world.

Before telling you a bit about the music I should point out that the sonics of the album sound fantastic. I don't know what budget Dimitar had to work to but I can say that his album sounds as good as any of the big name guitarists who release music in this genre. Some credit one feels should go to F.C Bester who mastered the album. Bester has also mastered music for Neil Zaza so is no stranger at capturing electric rock guitar sounds and textures.

The Album kicks off in fine style with "Purely And Simply" which bounces along full of energy and has an almost celebratory quality. It has a wonderful sense of melody and infectious riffing throughout. After listening to this track many times I can almost hear the words "Purely And Simply" being spoken by the guitars. Dimitar shows fabulous technique with tightly controlled picking and bursts of speed. The backing is intelligent and the drums have a great rock shuffle feel to them.

Next up is "Hypersonic" and what an apt name for a cracking instrumental romp. The opening riff brought to mind the Scorpions riff from "Can't Live Without You" in its rhythmic delivery. This song is a tappers delight as Dimitar goes from one end of the fret board to the other at blinding speed. There is truly delightful phrasing and once again a great backing to the whole track. Dimitar plays licks and passages which are a definite nod and a wink to the playing of the great Steve Vai. Dimitar has developed a very musical approach to the use of his wah inflected playing and his guitar has a lovely vocal quality throughout. "Not A Game" is a great chugging rock workout, which once again sees a heavy amount of inspiration from the school of Vai like playing. At the two-minute mark Dimitar plays a tapped passage, which segues into a great funky solo section with fabulous sweep picking and yet more tapped elongated runs.

"End Of Summer" begins with a nice rolling like acoustic introduction. The main solos are backed by big and wide acoustic strumming which gives the whole track a nice organic feel. Dimitar gives us one solo after another each with an individual flavour. There is great use of intervallic leaps and pinched harmonics and great melody throughout.

"Orpheus" is a wonderful exotic track. The arrangement is a sound scape of reverb-drenched guitar over a nice deep synth. Dimitar uses scales, which are unfamiliar to what one, would normally expect and at times I couldn't help thinking of the great Jeff Beck.

"Universe" sees Dimitar flexing his chops as he uses, fast, sweeping, tapping and legato runs. Harmonically there are a lot of Vai like sections and the use of double tracked note passages further brings Mr. Vai to mind. There's a spacey quality to the overall melody and also a nice clean guitar melody at the end of the track.

"The Wide" is a big stomping track which has wonderful legato passages in the style of Joe Satriani. The melody is milked for all it worth and endless tapped passages abound without ever really repeating themselves.

"Elegance By Soul" is very reminiscent of Steve Vai's "Boy From Seattle" with its chiming rhythm guitar. Dimitar digs in and gives us super wah inflected solo before going into a nice riff, which allows his solos to go to places previously unheard on the album.

"Jack Frost" has an almost cinematic feel to it. The melody is straightforward and effective and Dimitar plays things cool and restrained until he gives us a lesson in sweep picked and tapped runs. "Shade" has great riff at its heart, which sounds like a Steve Vai meets Greg Howe creation. Dimitar uses his wang bar to great effect warbling and scooping notes in a very musical manner. There are some really fiery bursts of plain old rock guitar on this track as well proving that Dimitar is a very well rounded player.

"Unknown Town" brings the album to a close. It has a nice reflective like quality and as it starts one can almost imagine Dimitar looking out of his window watching the world go by until he stands up and walks out into the world for a closer look.

This album is a splendid release from a very talented and focused player. For lovers of guitar playing in the style of Steve Vai and Joe Satriani this album is a must. Dimitar does wear his influences on his sleeve and doesn't hide the fact that he is a great fan of the aforementioned players He has borrowed heavily from both players in the way he arranges his music and also in his harmonic approach but at no point does this detract from a fine album by a player who is immensely talented. Every song does have a spirit and joy about it, which is sometimes missing from big league instrumental players and for achieving that Dimitar should be commended.

Rating - 7.8/10