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Following a couple of ventures with Progressive Metal bands, guitarist Adrian Weiss last year released his debut solo album, the portently-titled “Big Time”. For whatever reason it was only now that we got a promotional copy of this release.

I’ll say straight away that this is not the best instrumental guitar album I’ve ever heard – for instance the Progressive parts tend to suffer from an unsteady production and mixing. But before your fore-finger flexes its muscles on your mouse and you change webpage, wait…..there’s more to it…..

“Big Time” is not a shredfest from start to end, even though the guitar junkies amongst you are going to have smiles etched permanently across your faces. In fact possibly the strongest selling point of “Big Time” is Adrian’s judicious use of the guitar in serving the songs and not vice versa. Besides, the textures of these compositions are varied and in that sense “Big Time” reminded me of Vinnie Moore’s “The Maze”. You have Neo-Classical melodies put in context of a Progressive Metal framework, all of which is enriched by elements such as acoustic guitars.

Yet all this would be useless in the hands of a musician with ambitions that outweigh talent. The fact that this is not the case with Adrian Weiss was the factor that most of all, in my view, justifies a high rating. Indeed Adrian’s skill in conveying emotions through his solos, such as in the compositions ‘Bright Awakening’ or ‘Desert Sanctuary’, is absolutely amazing.

If you’ve never before acquired an instrumental guitar album, then Adrian Weiss’ “Big Time” would be a good place to start.

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