The Quest: the metal heartland

As I mentioned not long ago in my article about my next project, I'm striving for something new. The ingredients for my next album need to be fresh and unique, yet still completely aligned with my love of heavy, melodic music. Although I have recently become friends with a number of metalheads here in Bozeman, the common theme amongst them leans too heavily toward death metal and guttural vocals to be the right fit for me. I need the contributors for this next album to come naturally to melody; they must be forceful and graceful all at once. And, as I previously mentioned, the most sensible place to look for those musicians is where most of my favorite bands come from: Finland and Sweden.

The plane tickets are purchased, my family's summer has been scheduled. In mid-August we will embark on our quest, combining the goal of seeing Amaranthe perform in their home territory, with my own goal of making the first round of connections I need for the next album. Earlier this year we had hoped to accomplish the family goal, and see Amaranthe at the House of Metal festival. Nancy, Kiley and Zane are all crazy about Amaranthe, and we were immensely excited until we learned that the House of Metal show was not all ages; neither of the kids would make the 13 year old cutoff. Those were sad days in the Hearst-Reynolds house but they planted a seed that continued to grow. A few months later, while preparing my Amaranthe blog article, I was looking at their website and noticed a show planned for August at the Liseberg Stora Scenen. Being part of a family-oriented amusement park, I quickly contacted the park representatives and learned that, yes, there will not be an age limit. With that information, the quest became reality.

Centered around the Amaranthe concert, we will spend a week in Sweden and a week in Finland. I hope to make advance contact with various studios and engineers in Helsinki, Stockholm and Göteborg. I'm attempting to find someone that can act as a champion and coordinator for the project, someone that I will pay for their responsibilities but who will also immerse themselves in the vision. Ideally, this person will be able to assemble a collection of musicians, a drummer, a bass player, a keyboardist and a singer, that are perfectly suited to this project. Then, the coordinator/engineer/producer will help me establish the monetary and temporal logistics for the project. I hope to visit with various engineers and producers, and tour their facilities, so that we have enough opportunity to recognize the right fit when it shows itself.

As a family, there will be more to this trip than architecting my next album. We will see the sights, experience the culture and, hopefully, spend some days outside the city, most likely exploring the Finnish wilderness. But, for me, the trip really hinges on my quest. I will strive to gather enough data to make the path to the next album clear. I will also endeavor to gain enough familiarity with the cities and their music scenes so that I'm prepared for a potential return trip. I suspect, budget-wise and time-wise, it will make sense for me to track guitars here in Bozeman, however, I do think that it makes sense for me to take part in as much of the other tracking as possible. Depending on scheduling, perhaps I can be present when basic tracks and vocals are being laid down.

We will see how it all comes together. If you are a heavy musician in Finland or Sweden and have an interest in the project, please contact me. If you are a recording engineer, producer or studio owner in Göteborg, Stockholm or Helsinki and think you could help me accomplish my vision, please let me know. I would be happy to communicate before and to meet with any and all of you in August. If the vision seems still a bit nebulous, you are right, I'm trying to leave a lot of room for it to define itself, based on the creative people involved. I firmly believe in the magic of collaboration and that "my" vision is really more of a catalyst than an exacting road map. For more information, clarification and questions, please do not be shy, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

The Merits of Kissin' Dynamite

Those of you that have been paying attention will know that I have relatively broad tastes in heavy music. I'm not one of those who believes that a single sub-genre from a particular 3 year period is the sole defining element to good metal. I remember a time when there was no metal, period, and I've enjoyed watching the evolutionary development and ever-broadening of the metal umbrella. Even with that in mind, though, there are some areas of more commercially "polished" metal that lead to a little guilty pleasure for me. I was going to G.I.T. in Hollywood right in the middle of the hair metal boom and MTV's rotation of bands like Ratt, Van Halen and Poison. I recognize that era eventually reached levels of excess that burned it down and opened the door for grunge. No arguments there.

With that background, you can understand the twinge I got when I saw a promo picture for Kissin' Dynamite. Like some strange convergence of the classic Judas Priest leather and mainstream hair metal excess with an unexpected infusion from Flock of Seagulls, clearly these guys were not in any of the goth, symphonic, thrash, death or black metal camps. Fortunately, my first exposure didn't involve any promo shots, just MP3 audio plus the album front cover and all it took was a minute or so of "Money, Sex & Power" to get my attention.

Yes, there's a dose of good ol' 80s hair/glam metal. But somehow Kissin' Dynamite has straddled the line between the Scorpions/Judas Priest branch of straight ahead, upbeat, melodic metal and riff-based, tongue-in-cheek glam metal seasoning. Powered by a wall of Germanic guitars, and straight-ahead bass and drums, Kissin' Dynamite immediately made me feel at home. Hannes' vocals often make me think back to Axl's work in the class Guns N' Roses material, but that's more about the timbre and edginess; his melodic lines fit more closely in The Scorpions and Accept camp.

I recommend listening to their latest release, "Money, Sex & Power" from top to bottom. If you need an entry point, "Club 27" is a great song to whet your appetite. If you are a big fan of a little fun in your metal, how can you not like a band that writes songs like "Dinosaurs Are Still Alive"? And just when you think you've got the band figured out, they hit you with the closing song on the album, "Six Feet Under", revealing both a lyrical cleverness and musical breadth that's surprising. I'm sitting here right now listening to the album, and I just can't keep that stupid smile off of my face. Good stuff!

Charon: Sorry to see you go

I have VonGoober radio to thank for my first exposure to Charon. This was back when Steve Shumake ran his own Live365 station and I was a loyal listener. Every time I tuned in I discovered bands that I'd never heard of, many of them hailing from outside the U.S. During one such listening session, I heard "Unbreak, Unchain" from Charon's album, "The Dying Daylights" and my musical life changed.

Charon's music captures a unique blend of melancholy and power. Typically they are classified as gothic metal and utilize keyboards and female harmony vocals, traits consistent with the style. Many of their lyrics involve fire and death but the effect of their music for me is mostly soothing and engulfing. Their strong, steady rhythm tracks and harmonic motions lay down the perfect foundation for Juha-Pekka Leppäluoto (aka JP).

This in no way is meant to detract from the contributions of his bandmates, but Charon's sound, their entire mood, is thoroughly entwined with JP's voice. He has an incredibly deep, rich timbre, which allows him to communicate deep emotion without relying heavily on rasp or growl. His voice evokes some hints of Sisters of Mercy, while capturing some of the darker side of Johnny Cash and yet, JP is unique and stands on his own.

I spent much of my musical growth years admiring vocalists like Bruce Dickinson, Rob Halford and Klaus Meine, all great singers in their own rights. Heavy metal has a long, glorious history of near-operatic vocalists, male and female singers that deliver power in their upper registers, many of them delivering their melodies without much rasp or grit. When I discovered Charon, my definition of a great metal singer expanded to cover a much lower range of pitch. I still love the bands whose singers are way up there, the ones who can hit unbelievable highs and leave you imagining shattered wine glasses. Honestly, thought, if I actually had a say in it, I'd be in a band with a singer like JP. Or better yet, the singer would be JP.

Sadly, Charon only released one more non-compilation album after "The Dying Daylights". In 2005 they released "Songs for the Sinners", an album that has grown to equal status with its predecessor in my collection. It's hard to pick favorite songs, but I highly recommend starting with "Unbreak, Unchain" and "Religious/Delicious" from "The Dying Daylights". On "Songs for the Sinners", I suggest listening to "Colder" and "Deep Water", then go on from there. After a long period of inactivity in the studio, Charon released "A-Sides, B-Sides and Sucides" compilation in 2010. Then in 2011 they announced their final performances would occur in their home country of Finland, during the midsummer.

I am deeply sorry I never got to see Charon perform live. My family's trip to Sweden and Finland this coming summer will happen too late for that. Instead, I will go on treasuring the music they recorded and hope that perhaps, someday, I'll at least get to see JP perform live.

If you were lucky enough to see Charon perform, would you share your experiences? Those of us in the Americas would love to hear what that was like, to be in the same room, listening to and watching the band perform. If there's a next chapter for the band's members, will we get a chance to experience that outside of their home turf?

Great guitarists - The never-ending story

In a recent article I talked about guitarists that impacted my early development, leading up to the grunge and nu-metal eras where lead playing was less of a focus. Fortunately for me, The 21st century has been a rebirthing period for lead guitar. There were two key discoveries that mark the beginning of the next generation of lead guitar for me.

I remember one night, getting gas at a little indie station on El Camino in Redwood City, probably summer/fall 2005. Don't even remember what station I was listening to; I have this odd memory it was actually a "modern rock" station rather than a classic rock or metal station. That was the moment I first heard Avenged Sevenfold (aka A7X), their "Bat Country" single just blew my mind. A7X manages to meld a lot of different styles into their predominantly metal songs. For me, there's a level of musicality in their songs that sets them apart. Synyster Gates brought me back again to my deep love of neoclassical, melodic lead guitar in the context of metal. He has a remarkable ear for note choice; his lead lines travel with confidence across the underlying harmonic motion. And there's nothing better than watching the right-handed Synyster and Zacky Vengeance, a lefty, on stage, blowing through harmony lead after harmony lead.

In 2007, I decided to attend Uli Jon Roth's Sky Academy guitar workshop in Hollywood. It was an exciting experience to be surrounded by guitarists that love Uli's playing, all of whom inspired me to continue improving on the instrument I love. I finished that trip with a couple of new and great friends (Errol and Carl, you know I'm talkin' 'bout you!) but there was another key element of that workshop. I'd known of Paul Gilbert by name for quite a few years, but for no good reason had never quite immersed myself in his playing. Paul changed that with his performances at the Sky Academy concerts that week. Oddly enough, it wasn't his amazing neoclassical chops, his sweep picking or his uptempo Racer X instrumentals. Nope, it was his Hendrix covers (here's Foxy Lady as an example). Paul showed up in a T-shirt and jeans, carried out a combo amp and proceeded to let loose a combination of blues licks, Hendrix-esque vocals and some true PG gymnastics, punctuated by his ever-present sense of humor. That did it, I was hooked. I now count Racer X among my most listened to bands and look forward to someday getting to see Paul play live again. If you ever get the chance, see him...

Thanks to Synyster Gates and Paul Gilbert I began to dig into my truest musical love, heavy melodic classically influenced music. This marked the beginning of another guitar chapter in my life, one revolving around regular practice and my renewed desire to develop new chops. In a way, it's also been a very hard period for me. I've actively tried to move beyond the instinctive legato approach that developed in my Joe Satriani/hair metal days. I've worked for years trying to redevelop my right hand, learn sweep picking (arpeggios and scales) and get my two hands synchronized in a way that was never an issue with legato playing.

In the midst of my sweep picking quest, I finally got sucked into the 7-string trend. Before I bought my first 7-string, though, I did a lot of research trying to find an instrument that was right for me. I've never been that comfortable playing Ibanez guitars, and have for many years made Tom Anderson guitars my main tool-of-the-trade. At the time, however, 7-strings were a special order item from Anderson, and I wasn't ready to take that plunge until I'd had some 7-string experience. Enter Jeff Loomis and Schecter. The Jeff Loomis signature guitar was the first maple neck 7-string, with a Floyd Rose tremolo that was laid out just right for me. I ended up ordering the Loomis signature from our local music store, Music Villa, and my love affair with 7-strings began. My fascination with Jeff's playing began the same way. I'd never been a big Nevermore fan, perhaps because there was a little too much thrash and death metal in their material for me, but Jeff's guitar playing cannot be ignored. As I researched guitars, I started watching videos of various models and quickly fell onto this clip of Jeff. Finally, Jeff's right hand explained everything. He plays amazingly fast and yet his right hand is very calm. His combination of alternate and sweep picking, and minimal up/down motion made me realize the secret. Only move as much as necessary, pick the right notes with the right choices of up- or downstroke. I doubt I'll ever master the process the way Jeff has but it's great to have his example to follow.

While researching EMG pickups, I also ran across Andy Wood and this video. Andy is another guy with a very "quiet" right hand. He's also amazing in multiple ways, having only taken up guitar in his teens and being a virtuoso in country, bluegrass and killer metal chops. If you haven't heard Andy or his band, Down From Up, you must do so!

And that brings me to today, as I sit watching Jeff Loomis's latest EMG video. I strive desperately to maintain a 1-hour practice routine focused on sweep picking of scales and arpeggios. I play my Jeff Loomis signature and my recent Tom Anderson 7-string whenever I can. And I thank the Internet for the discovery of Jeff Loomis and Andy Wood. The best thing about music is that it's always new; it can't sit still or stagnate because there are always new generations of musicians ready to take it in new directions. Who have you discovered lately that renews your excitement about music?

Great guitarists - From whence I came

Those were the days when you learned about bands and guitarists in record stores and magazines. There was a limited supply of new, compelling guitarists in heavy music. Mind you, there were lots of great guitarists, much like today, it just took more effort to discover them and the ones you knew about were typically the same ones everyone else knew about.

Aerosmith was a big early influence for me, particularly the Toys In The Attic and Rocks albums. That was around the time Joe Perry was on the cover of Guitar Player magazine with his B.C. Rich. I loved the dark bluesy tone Joe was so good at getting. I still think the Joe Perry/Brad Whitford combo is right up there with Angus and Malcolm Young, a duo with a unique combined sound, and one that acted as a gateway into heavier styles of music.

At that time, there wasn't the same level of specialization and division in heavy music. The same folks that went to see Aerosmith were likely to go see Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Scorpions. These days you're much more likely to get the "if it's not down-tuned 7-string melodic death metal, it sucks" attitudes. Fortunately I've mostly managed to avoid that trap, which allowed me to expand my interests into a number of the European hard rock bands of that era. Three of my biggest influences, Michael Schenker, Uli Jon Roth and Ritchie Blackmore all come from that pedigree. I wore out my UFO, Scorps and and Rainbow albums, covering songs like "Too Hot To Handle", "Speedy's Coming" and "Man On The Silver Mountain" in my high school bands. That was a turning point for me, because it brought back a bunch of my classical study from my pre-teen years and gave it a home in heavy music.

The next big milestone for my musical evolution was the year I spent at G.I.T. in Hollywood. That was in the heart of the hair metal era, and MTV made it easy to discover guys like George Lynch of Dokken and Warren DeMartini of Ratt. Combined with the lessons I had taken in high school from Joe Satriani, that trio of guitarists had a huge impact on my approach to the instrument. Legato runs, whammy bar, Strat-style guitars with humbuckers - all became staples of my sound. I worked out some of Lynch's and DeMartini's solos, and ended up playing in a cover band in Boulder, Colorado that played a lot of Van Halen, Ratt, Scorpions and Dokken. It's been a pleasure watching both Lynch and DeMartini continue to evolve as players and to this day I smile every time I hear either of them play a note.

Before I move on, there's one guitarist that had a huge influence on me and yet falls outside what most people associate with the term "heavy". My Boulder cover band not only played hair metal, it also played a lot of 80s new wave, including The Cars. It's amazing what Elliot Easton can say in a few bars. His solos always tell a story, are usually intricate and always unique. Elliot's playing taught me that you didn't need an endless Ted Nugent solo to make a big statement and I'm thankful I was exposed to Elliot's playing at that point in my music career.

By the time I made it back to the Bay Area to finish my undergraduate studies at UC Berkeley, bands like Metallica and Megadeth had really established themselves as the next generation of heavy metal. I was always drawn more to Megadeth, I think primarily because of Marty Friedman. He played so many amazing solos for Megadeth, but perhaps the one that haunts me the most (because it's such a challenge to learn and play) is in "Ashes In Your Mouth". Just had to listen to it again as I write this... Wow! Marty always makes the runs sound smooth and artistic, no matter how complex. It's not just the notes, but how he plays them.

Soon after came the grunge and nu-metal periods, where there was a bit of an anti-lead guitar attitude. Even guys that were great lead players tended not to solo much, and that was a very disappointing period for me, despite my love for both of those musical styles. I just didn't have the same supply of new lead players to constantly challenge me and provide new, exciting ideas. Fortunately, as the 1990s passed and we entered the new century, a new generation of great players suddenly erupted.

I will cover the latest generation of guitarists that are closest to my heart in an upcoming article. While you're waiting, how about sharing some of the guitarists that influenced you? Regardless of style or genre, who do you think influenced you the most?