METAL FATIGUE

What an amazing work! It was first the time I heard Allan Holdsworth and I have been blown by his incredible technique. He has his own sound and plays extraterrestrial music. He creates very intersting and unique patterns in his music. I would not compare him to shredders such as Michael Romeo or John Petrucci because he doesn't have the same approach of guitar. I like very much the psychedelic ambiance that fills his music. There are only 6 songs on this album but they are all worth hearing. The longest, "The Un-Merry-Go-Round", is an astonishing jam with many solos and has definitely a free-jazz feeling. The one I prefer is "Panic Station", which combines all I like in Allan Holdsworth : psychedelic ambiance, great solos of bass and guitar, good vocals (there are three instrumental songs), and an unusual sense of melody (which gives an extraterrestrial sound to these songs). Obviously, if you don't like guitar or free-jazz or technicity, this album is not for you.

Allan Holdsworth made here his best release. Even if he is not as well-known as many others shredders, he has made a true musical research in the use of scales or technicity. That makes him enter in the pantheon of great guitarists. This album is a monument of progressive music