ADDITION BY SUBTRACTION

Arrrrggg! I really like this album, but I have to admit that it is a hard listen, even for a fusion fan. These guys got phenomenal chops, musician's musicians. Scott McGill, guitarist, was a member of Finneus Gauge with Echolyn's Chris Buzby. Michael Manring, sweet fretless bass, is known to me mainly by his work with the late Michael Hedges and Vic Stevens, drums, has played in Gongzilla among other session work. All highly regarded musicians.

Let me try to describe the music. It is like carrying on a conversation with someone who refuses to complete a sentence. It seems they are just about to say something profound and then the rhythm changes or the phrase ends and it's off into another direction. Imagine taking a handful of sheet music, cutting up the tunes into 4 or 8 bar sections, shuffling them like a Las Vegas dealer and then pasting them back together. Thing is, these guys are good enough to pull it off and make it sound interesting and refreshing.

Not all the pieces are that scattershot. Sile is beautiful. Holdsworthian chording with some tender brush work on the skins and slinky fretless moans. Euzkadi is a solo acoustic piece that, while technically difficult, never quite makes a point.

There is a lot of power on this recording, never metal, but heavy. Holdsworth quotes are all over the place, sometimes even seeming too close to something on an AH album, but this music bubbles, tweaks, bounces and flings itself around the room, or in your head. There is nothing here that will get stuck in your head. No memorable melodies, only blazing solos. Speaking of solos, Jordan Ruddess guests on a few tracks, Conflict Resolution stands out as a showcase of Ruddess' contribution.

Want some adventurous fusion? This is it. Something unlike anything you've heard.