GRETZKY

These Canadians, three guitars and a drummer, do a fine job of conjuring up metallic memories of dark clubs filled with youths in straightlegs and old leather, and the familiar odors of smoke, sweat, dust, alchohol, and ozone. Though we are spared the redundant riffing and vacuous singing so common in that realm, and could have used these guys back when "progressive metal" was still just a phrase knocked around by musicians.

Electro Quarterstaff do what was perceived as progmetal before it was a genre, fulfilling that promise if a bit late. Of course they are much more than retro bangers and though the numeric bricks of Metallica, Maiden and Exodus are present, this band takes more risks and isn't afraid to get dirtier than those groups. The three guitars work together amazingly well and the drummer Keith Moons his way through it all, somehow managing to keep reasonable time. 'Neckwrecker' throws us right into the shards of glass and develops a thick wall of tasteful tri-harmonic melody. 'Twisted Squid' jerks around with very impressive patterns and military leanings, 'Charmony' pulls back a touch and lets some musicality in, and 'The Right to Arm Bears' & 'Get Sick' are nut-crunchingly good army metal.

'Titanium Overlords' pushes through with plenty of stuck-pig harmonics and relentless solid gear, 'Eyepatch Romance' is in a Michael Schenker vein, and 'Something's Awry in the Hetfield of Dreams' is an obvious tribute. Classic Bay Area influenced progmetal with a modern post-Thrash freedom that allows Electro Quarterstaff to do what they want when they want.

"Gretzky" is the debut full-length studio album by Canadian, Winnipeg, Manitoba based progressive metal act Electro Quarterstaff. The album was released through Willowtip Records in October 2006. Electro Quarterstaff were formed in 2001 and have relased two EPs ("Live (2002)" and "Swayze (2004)") before the release of "Gretzky". The album is named after the Canadian hockey legend Wayne Gretzky.

Stylistically the music is instrumental technical/progressive metal. On "Gretzky" the band consists of three guitarists and a drummer, but no bassist (they would add a bassist to the lineup in 2007). The material featured on the album is mainly re- arranged versions of tracks, which were originally featured on the preceding EPs. It´s busy music with many guitar layers and fast technical drumming, but there are also slower and more melodic oriented sections on the album. Sometimes the riffing style is thrash oriented and sometimes even touching death metal territory, but "Gretzky" is generally pretty varied, drawing influences from many different musical styles.

The material on the 8 track, 51:30 minutes long album is well written and relatively accessible despite the focus on technical playing, but it´s not necessarily instantly catchy, so it may require a few spins to sink in. It´s the kind of album where you´ll find new details with every listen. The sound production is powerful and detailed, but the choice to not include a bassist is a bit odd to my ears and occassionally a heavy bass or counterpoint melody would have been great. On the other hand it´s not necessarily something you´ll notice if you didn´t know it, but once you know, it´s almost impossible not to think of it.

Upon conclusion "Gretzky" is a hiqh quality instrumental technical/progressive metal release. Relatively interesting songwriting, a well sounding production, and high level musicianship are some of the assets and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)