MARTY FRIEDMAN – Wall Of Sound (2017)
Former Megadeth guitarist MARTY FRIEDMAN will release his new solo album, “Wall Of Sound“, tomorrow August 4th. Produced by Friedman, engineered by Paul Fig (Rush) and mixed by Jens Bogren (Opeth), the disc it’s another showcase for Friedman’s expansive creations.
To give you an idea, legendary Queen producer Mack came on board to handle the mixing on two tracks, “Streetlight” and “For A Friend”, which Friedman proclaimed was “an honor for me, for sure.”
One of the greatest shredders in history, Marty Freidman no needs any introduction. For those who are uninitiated, he is a guitar player extraordinaire, famous for his work with Cacophony & Megadeth.
His influences are very diverse and it reflects in his style of composing. I had the pleasure of catching his performance a few years ago, and now I have the privilege to hear his new record.
As happened with his previous albums, “Wall Of Sound” features few guests, including Jinxx of theatrical rockers Black Veil Brides, Shiv Mehra of Deafheaven and Jorgen Munkeby of the Norwegian avant-garde jazz-metal outfit Shining.
The sound of “Wall Of Sound” honor its title, it’s a very clear balance between face pummeling metal and heavenly orchestral instrumentation.
The record opens up with “Self Pollution” that absolutely destroys any preconceived notions you may have about this record. Guitar virtuosity is going to be a frequent occurrence here so I’m not going to spend a whole lot of time blabbering on about that. At the 1:35 mark in this song, things shift to a more reflective and atmospheric sound space and we welcome the first signature Marty ‘feel’ solos. Then at the 2:50 mark, we enter full blown orchestral sound. And then we return back to crazy face-crushing metal again. And that’s just the first song.
Wonderful orchestration follows on to the next track “Sorrow and Madness” featuring a proper violin solo courtesy of Jinxx, accompanied by a piano. “Whiteworm” has this wonderful lick that keeps playing and is just everything that you want it to be. There’s a lot of prog-metal elements to this record that keep popping up and they do so in a non-pretentious way.
“For a Friend” is the first of your classic Marty ballad on this LP. Thanks to Mack, it has that Queen/Brian May feel all over. It’s thoughtful, moving and screams emotion. If there was ever a time when you thought, ‘how can I translate what I’m feeling through this instrument’, Marty’s got you covered.
“Pussy Ghost” has this crazy bass lick going on that is pretty spot on. “The Blackest Rose” starts off with a clear statement – “Do you want some feels? Here’s some feels for you. Feel it!” and I think this is the genius of Marty, that his writing style and the way he plays his instrument are so intertwined and synchronized that it feels like his instrument is an extension of his soul.
“Something to Fight” features Jorgen Munkeby on vocals. It’s a healthy mix between power-metal and modern metal. Just when you think it couldn’t get any weirder, there is a bloody saxophone solo on this. It felt so good to hear that.
“The Soldier” is an instrumentally scarce song and in a good way, because it allows for individual instrumentation to breathe supported only by the bass and drums. It was a good palate cleanser.
The last track is also the longest one, clocking in at 6:56. “The Last Lament” features all of the guitar-shred goodness, with some soulful licks and top notch instrumentation by his band.
There isn’t much left to say about “Wall Of Sound”. It’s darn good as anything Marty Friedman has released in his career: inventive, dynamic, entertaining.
VERY Recommended
01. Self Pollution
02. Sorrow and Madness
03. Streetlight
04. Whiteworm
05. For a Friend
06. Pussy Ghost
07. The Blackest Rose
08. Something to Fight
09. The Soldier
10. Miracle
11. The Last Lament
Marty Friedman: all instruments
guests:
Jinxx (Black Veil Brides) on 2
Shiv Mehra (Deafheaven) on 6
Jorgen Munkeby (Shining) on 8
Pre Order:
store.prostheticrecords.com/item/46187
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