Neo-Classical
shred, an abundance of Blues, elements of Jazz and Funk…Adrian Weiss has found
himself a large playing ground in which to indulge his creative guitar
fantasies.
“Easy Game” is
the second solo album from this German shredmeister after having debuted with
“Big Game” in 2011. He recently joined Power Metal band Gloryful and in fact
some members of Gloryful appear on this album as do other musicians such as
Christian Muenzner (Obscura, Necrophagist) and Tim Schulte (Stigma).
But back to
the music of this “Easy Game”…technically and compositionally the music is
excellent. For example in ‘Awkward Silence’ Weiss uses a slapping technique
pioneered by Scott Mishoe to complement some nimble solos and catchy riffs. ‘Aim
To Please’ has an interesting combination of laid-back Blues with bursts of
rough-sounding riffs and blazing guitar runs. ‘Night Owl’ reminded me of
Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight Sonata’ but judging from Weiss’ song-title this was
perhaps intentional.
One of my
favourite tracks is album closer ‘Offbeat Frankenstine’ – I loved the way all
the instruments interacted with each other despite them constantly missing beats
(hence the title).
The album’s
strongest point: Weiss’ creativity. The weakest link: sometimes the technical
bravura undermined the emotive interpretation of Weiss’ music.
Whatever the case, “Easy Game” is a solid proposition that reaffirms the talent
of Adrian Weiss.
