TAKAYOSHI OHMURA (feat Terry Ilous, Ted Poley & Doogie White) – Emotions In Motion (Out Of Print)
Eighties hard rock infuenced young Japanese guitar virtuoso TAKAYOSHI OHMURA secured a stellar cast of famous singers from the genre to put their stellar voices on his album “Emotions In Motion”: The Defiant’s / Danger Danger Ted Poley performs on 3, XYZ / Gtrat White Terry Ilous also on 3, British shouter Doogie White on 2, while Riot’s Tony Moore on other 2.
Sometimes, the thing with vituoso guitarists / shredders is, they try to put as many notes as possible within a minuscule time-frame, and they may have accomplished something very vastly difficult to achieve, but they leave the listeners out in the rain. The rule of the game has been to sacrifice melody for increasing technicality.
Takayoshi Ohmura knows this all very well, but chooses to ignore it, and it is this decision which has made this album what it is: solid riffing, very catchy melodies, and a very good overall song-structure inspired by ’80s hard rock style.
“Catchy” is the word here.
Starting from the riffs, to the lead lines, to the soaring choruses, everything sticks in your mind for a while, and like I mentioned before, Takayoshi-san has not tried to be a one-man shred show, and has done his utmost to put himself at the service of expressing the song.
Hence, White, Moore, Ilous and Poley find a lot of room to shine with their superb vocal abilities.
Ohmura has crafted “Emotions In Motion” in such a way, that he can showcase his considerable guitar skills, even without being over-the-top. The lead lines are quite complex and very melodious, a simple combination which many of the world’s greatest shredders has failed to achieve.
Take as example the track ‘Every Time’. Right from the intro riff, I was hooked in. Why? That one riff showed so much emotion endeed that I had to continue listening until the end of the song, and he didn’t disappoint, especially with the solo near the end.
Glammy ’80s hard rock influences are very prominent, and so is the use of a distinctly oriental sound. He has merged both of them quite well. The guest vocalists have all been fantastic, never too loud or brash.
This album has a lot of commercial potential if it had been released during the Eighties. Other highlights include ‘When I Close My Eyes’ and its very striking chorus, the memorable riff of ‘Warrior’, the melodious ‘Wanna Remember’, but in fact all songs are very strong, augmented by the stellar vocal performances.
Eighties (melodic) hard rock and fans of the vocalists featured here will love “Emotions In Motion”, but also headbangers looking for some muscular, heavy-rock music.
This guy deserves more popularity, more respect. He has proved himself, he is not just Marty Friedman’s second guitarist, he is Takayoshi Ohmura, who can really play his instrument and craft a full, strong catchy song at the same time.
Highly Recommended
UNIVERSAL MUSIC JAPAN
Tricycle Entertainment ~ 【TNCH-28】
01. Distant Thunder (vocal Doogie White)
02. Holy Tomorrow (vocal Tony Moore)
03. When I Close My Eyes (vocal Terry Ilous)
04. Stay Away (vocal Ted Poley)
05. WARRIOR (vocal Doogie White)
06. Never (vocal Tony Moore)
07. Tell Me Why (vocal Terry Ilous)
08. Wanna Remember (vocal Ted Poley)
09. Rain On Me (vocal Terry Ilous)
10. Every Time (vocal Ted Poley)
Takayoshi Ohmura – guitars, bass, programming
Kenichi Fijimoto – drums
Soola Ishikawa – keyboards
Out Of Print
www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/TNCH-28