(Neoclassical Power Metal, Shred) [CD] Kelly Simonz's Blind Faith - Silent Scream (Japanese Edition RRCA-1006) - 1999, FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Kelly "Yngwie" Simonz - as he will be referred to for the rest of this review, is a Japanese guitarist with a serious Jones for a certain Swedish fretboard burner - you know, the guy who invented a whole new way of playing guitar and has a thing for Ferraris and Paganini - and boy this chap can play his gee-tar. I'd never heard of him until a short while ago when on a total whim picked this album up but cheap. And darn glad I did as the 13 tracks on this album are an excellent Scandi/Euro hard rock/metal amalgam of a fastidious nature and are an excellent showcase for the multi-instrumental talents of our main man.

The album opens with Kelly "Yngwie" Simonz peeling off a blazing instrumental before things settle down into being one of the better Yngwie albums of the noughties. I'm not kidding, just check out the song Fly Away, not only the vibe but the exact intro and indeed most of the solo sound like a direct quote (plagiarism is such a dirty word). Pretty much every note and phrasing is a direct lift off to the point where if you put this disc on with the listener unaware of whom the artist was they'd swear black and blue it was our favourite Swedish shredder.

But for all intents and purposes it has to be said that such is the verve and fire, the passion and precision with which the task at hand is attacked that I found myself won over with shameless ease. The fast runs are great, the songs remind you of what got you into the Swede in the first place and I have a sneaking suspicion that he is unlikely to call a lawyer as such devotion probably tickles his fancy.

It must be noted that Kelly "Yngwie" Simonz is credited with playing all the instruments - what a labour of love - and it has to be said the guy can sing way more than your average fret burner. He also produced the thing and did the engineering and mixing. I'm truly impressed at such levels of commitment to the cause - and no that isn't sarcasm. Truly, Kelly "Yngwie" Simonz is both gifted and has worked hard on making this album as good as he could get it and has delivered a raft of songs that move at different speeds and while lyrically things are a bit twee the accumulated effect washes over you easily enough.

Though why information such as the hair/eye colour, height, weight and blood type of Kelly "Yngwie" Simonz is in the credits I'll never quite fathom as long as I live. But you do get full credits and lyrics to the whole shebang into the bargain.

A sturdy album for those who like Yngwie Malmsteen and especially so if you find Yngwie often uses vocalists with registers too high for your taste. It is in the final analysis a difficult album to rate as for the sheer enjoyment this gave me I have awarded a four however I can totally understand that given the slavish devotion on display a review could score this quite low on purely artistic grounds.

Review written by Paul Lawrence for www.amazon.com

Links:
http://www.kellysimonz.com/
http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Kelly_Simonz%27s_Blind_Faith/5850