METAL FATIGUE

I don't really care about what that anti-fan review says. Holdsworth's music is not what you reffered to Prog Jazz or whatever. He always puts his mood into his music, and you can't label this album as rock. I'm a Holdsworth's hardcore fan, even I know there are some things done by him that I don't like for sure; i.e. some things in Atavachron, or the second half of Hard Hat Area, even the Gongzilla album; and the most of IOU. But I know that his soul is in there too.

I was really shocked when I realized how emotional this album was, and that's right, there are no fast lines everywhere like in Personae (I love Lane, Hellborg and Sipe Trio, and I have a lot of their albums too (even Lane recognized seeing Allan as a turn-on when he attended to one UK show)); but, I mean, if you consider a review done by a harcore fan as with bias, then, if you compare or disqualify this one with another with nothing to do with it, then yours worths the same.

Speaking of the album itself, when I heard 'The Devil take the hindmost' in the 'Live in Japan' bootleg, it really blew my mind off. MF version is rather softer, but it has moments of truly inspirational playing. The drumming in 'The Unmerry go-round' is one of the best drum performances you can think of; and that ending! One thing I love about this album is the tracks order: they're like one big song.

Man, if you like Holdsworth playing rock or Prog rock, you should take a UK album, or Bruford's or Gongzilla's or the IOU; those can fulfill your speed madness, but his solo albums are his music, not yours, that's why this is a five stars-rated.