Kelly Simonz blazes a trail of fiery neoclassical / hard rock fusion on his 2002 release from Lion Music, Silent Scream. Simonz style is similar to that of Yngwie Malmsteen with the combination of harmonic minor and diminished tonal foundations, stratocaster / overdrive / Marshall tones, and blazing quick scales, patterns, and sweep picking. Simonz also has a musical format that is similar to Yngwie's rock / neoclassical fusion style that interleaves neoclassical elements into a standard rock song format, complete with vocals. Personally, I prefer the straight neoclassical style with a purely instrumental format and without the repetitive rock-isms. But to be fair, Simonz does do a good job with both aspects of his music. Simonz can pull off the neoclassical sections with fantastic precision, clarity, and musical vision. It was a little disappointing in some places where he started to develop some intense neoclassical themes and then transitioned into the rock format rather than further developing the spine-tingling themes that he had embarked upon. Fortunately, Simonz talent with the neoclassical dimension rescues the rock dimension and the latter tracks on the CD redeem the album with a sharper focus on instrumental music rather than the rock format.

Fans of Yngwie may want to check out Kelly Simonz. He's good a good grasp on all the signature Yngwie stylisms, such as the heavy, crunching, driving power chord rhythms, melodic arpeggiated sweep picking, catchy pedal tones, towering scales, intervaling with thirds out of harmonic minor scales, enigmatic quadruplet patterns, searing melodic themes interwoven with inspiring, speedy runs, solid, cohesive thematic development, and heart-wrenching balades. Though Simonz is a bit of an Yngwie knock-off, he is able to put the elements together in a coherent manner that gives him some merit because of his command over these elements that challenges Yngwie's reign over this domain that he pioneered. And, I'm sure this album is giving Yngwie heartburn hearing his trademark licks played by yet another aspiring guitarist! But, if you are a fan of the Yngwie harmonic minor, diminished sound and ballade style of neoclassical, you may want to check Simonz out because he's got some decent material going on that you can file right along side the Yngwie section of your collection! Simonz is a guy who wasn't going to be satisfied with simply immitating some of Yngwie's trademark guitar work, but instead has embraced the entire philosophy and feel. This aspect of Simonz devotion to this style gives him an authenticity in his music that gives it some legitimacy that allows it to stand alone from its main influences rooted in the style of the great neoclassical pioneer, Yngwie Malmsteen. This is because it is not simply derivative because it embraces the entire philosphy rather than simply the constituent elements. The arrangements are well done and get better as the album progresses, so give it a listen with an open mind! Though the strong Yngwie influence is unmistakeable, Simonz has put together some good music that fans of the Yngwie-founded genre of neoclassical will undoubtedly enjoy.