Mainstream heavy metal and hard rock seem to be on the upswing, with some surprisingly good releases over the last year or two. This Marty Friedman album has solid production. Riff wise there is not a lot of repetition at all. The riffs and solos just keep coming. There is an interesting mix of 80s technical /melodic thrash and some neoclassical progressive stuff. His solos have always been fairly complex and virtuosic. The extended solo on the first track calls Malmsteen to mind. The song goes on a long time, and makes it clear the album is mostly for musicians to listen to, for inspiration.
Sorrow and Madness is a very fun operatic sounding instrumental which has some slower heavier beats as the song gets going. A very catchy and inspired tune. Overall, the album is sounding much more inspired, and heavier than some of the other solo albums from him I had before, such as Music for Speeding. I have to say , I am honestly impressed with the obvious display of his understanding of music theory, as evidenced by the chord progressions in some of these tunes. I will probably not go on and on reviewing this album , especially since the songs are often over 6 minutes long, and sound more like a movie film score than a traditional album. This is an album I am probably looking to pick up a physical copy of and drive around a lot and listen to.