Australian-based six-string slinger, Bruce Stringer, comes out of the gate driving for the wire with his aggressive brand of progressive, instrumental rock that draws from a good base of influences. Stringer is more instrumentally intensive or at least more committed to pure instrumentalism than some of his obvious influences. He sets down a set of coherent tracks that sit somewhere on the scale of style between the classically influenced, progressive hard rockers such as Deep Purple, Rainbow, and Randy Rhoads, and the more fanatical neoclassical masters and virtuosos, such as Marty Friedman, Jason Becker, and Yngwie Malmsteem. But, Stringer is closer in the spectrum to the progressive rocker contingency than the neoclassical purists, though his style is tempered with structure and instrumental intensity.

The sixth track, "White On Blue", was the pinnacle of the album for me, probably due to its fond recollection of the late, great Randy Rhoad's "Mr. Crowley" theme. Stringer demonstrates a good grasp on the underlying feel of the melody, though he puts it into an entirely new context as an ode to Randy. (I presume!)

Stringer bridges the gap between conventional hard rock and full-throttle instrumental music with a style that should be accessible to a wide base of listeners. But, fans of hardcore instrumental music should understand that this effort is more of the progressive rock variety than the leading edge technicianry-laden, neoclassical and fusion variety.

~ Christopher Ruel ~ www.ChrisRuel.com ~ Chris@ChrisRuel.com ~ Chris Ruel's Monthly Spotlight

GO BACK

RETURN TO: