BLOOD OF THE SNAKE

Derek Sherinian always has some outstanding guests on his albums and this is no exception. Once again he balances that heavier Metal style with Fusion to great effect. Some pretty good guitarists helping out like Pertucci, Wylde, Malmsteen and Slash.

"Czar Of Steel" is one of my favourites with Pertucci laying down some fire beginning at 2 1/2 minutes then Simon Phillips on drums takes his turn before 4 minutes as the synths create atmosphere. Amazing ! Pertucci is back late ripping it up. "Man With No Name" might be my favourite. Zakk sings and plays guitar while Jerry Goodman (MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA) adds violin. I love Zakk's vocals and they do remind me of Ozzy. Fantastic tune ! "Phantom Shuffle" is catchy and uptempo fusion. Nice bass 2 minutes in and sax before 2 1/2 minutes. "Been Here Before" opens with relaxed guitar as the song builds. It settles back 2 1/2 minutes and then it builds again.The song gets aggressive 4 minutes in. Nice. "Blood Of The Snake" opens with a FLOYD-like rhythm and it gets intense quickly. Malmsteen really lights it up on this one.

"On The Moon" is pastoral as sax joins in. Piano replaces the sax before 2 minutes then the sax returns. A guitar solo before 4 minutes. "The Monsoon" turns heavy before a minute and it's almost doom-like as the organ floats in the background. Iommi-like guitar here from either Wylde or Malmsteen (they both play on this one). A definite SABBATH-like rhythm here. One of my favourites for sure. "Prelude To Battle" is very cool sounding with oud,percussion and dudak instrumentation. Exotic. It blends into "Viking Massacre" where it hits the ground running. A shred-fest from Malmsteen. "In The Summertime" is a cover tune with Billy Idol on vocals and Slash on guitar.it's much better when it turns heavier and more intense part way through.

I'm a definite fan of Sherinian and the solo albums he has put out. Way better than Jordan Rudess' solo stuff but i'll still take Kevin Moore over both.