CARPATHIA PROJECT

Here is an interesting collaborative project between two Hungarian virtuosi, Zsolt Daczi and Tamas Angyan. Right from the first track we hear the difference between the two guitarists, one of them has a crunchy tone and uses a jazzy harmonic language while the other has a creamy tone and has more of a standard shred/neoclassical soloing style. If you think that's incompatible, think again; there is fantastic synergy between the players and it sounds like they are communicating with ease. Based on the first track one would think that this is a rather straightforward instrumental shred cd, along the lines of Satriani or Malmsteen, after all it's distributed by a shred label, Guitar Nine Records. However, the second track features a violin riff, with a distinct balkan flavor, with rhythmic alterations of groups of 2 and 3. With each new track a completely new flavor can be heard, some pieces have a latin flavor, others suggest slavonic highlander influences with the use of the lydian modality, and yet others fall into the boundaries of typical modern fusion (there is a track here named "Fusion"). Each track has something new to offer that one wouldn't expect, and the tunes themselves are strong enough that the album has a good listening longevity. It is not clear to me if this was a one-off project or if there's a possibility of another one, but that would surely be a treat, as this is one of the best of its sort that I've heard.