PASSION AND WARFARE

I've always been a big Steve Vai fan, he's a whopping great guitar player who's style seems to have developed through the years as shown with this album, as his playing style seems to be more emotional than his work with David Lee Roth, in my opinion (just listen to For The Love of God). This album blends almost every single guitar style with Vai's trademark orchestration and experimental approach. Standout tracks on this album are For The Love Of God (full of rich emotion and impossible speed), Ballerina 12/24 (experiementations with an Eventide pedal, to make it sound like a one of those ballerina in a box things), Liberty (epic and majestic, like a national anthem) and The Riddle (a complex sounding piece, with the supposed 22 notes a second lick). All in all this is a great album...but only for guitarists. The problem with this album is that it isn't really very accessible. It's great for guitarists, but not for anyone else. I have to admit that not everyone would want to listen to tracks like The Audience is Listening or Blue Powder. As a guitarist, I love this album but if I was someone else I'd probably give this a 3. But as this is my opinion, I'm going to give this a 4. This album is a landmark in guitar history, but not in prog history, but will still be an excellent addition to your CD collection if you like your guitarists.