Power of Metal.dk Review

Hans van Even
Stardust Requiem
Rating
Style: Instrumental Guitar
Release date: 21 March, 2014
Playing time: 76:51
 


“Stardust Requiem” is one of the most captivating guitar albums I’ve heard in a long time. It’s a perfect example of how sometimes music can speak more than words.

Stylistically the music is Neo-Classical shred with a subtle inclination towards Jazz. In practice however the music in richer than the aforementioned epithet might infer. For a start the album is heavily reliant on atmosphere even though it gives technique ample space to flourish.

Hans van Even possesses a remarkable finesse, even when playing the album’s most complex pieces. His compositional talents are similarly impressive, a result of which the music feels so vibrant and full of life. And the devil is in the detail. For example the drums in ‘The Fifth Gate’ sound synthetic but they’re creating a specific sound and not replacing the acoustic sounds of human drumming. Even ‘Angeli Ex Galaxia’ - the album opener - is effective in building momentum, while having film-like qualities, and then exploding into the show-stopper that is the title-track.

Guitarists Tony MacAlpine and Brett Garsed guest in a couple of tracks in “Stardust Requiem”. Incidentally I do suspect that Macalpine’s music has also been of significant inspiration for Hans van Even.

As far as guitar albums go, this is a stunning revelation.

Listen to ‘Flight of the Belgian Bumble-Bee’ from “Stardust Requiem”.
 


Tracklist
01. Angeli Ex Galaxia
02. Stardust Requiem
03. Tribute
04. N-Land
05. Mystic Tale
06. Flight of the Belgian Bumble Bee
07. The Space is crying
08. The Fifth Gate
09. Walking in the Air
10. Tribal
11. Tapping into Eternity
12. Red Sun
13. Glasssy Sky
14. Hans' Blues
15. From the Stars
16. Song for Ewena
17. Farewell Overture
18. Farewell Theme
19. Farewell Final
Label: BP12
Distribution: www.guitareuromedia.com
Artwork rating: 80/100
Reviewed by: Chris Galea
Date: 21 September, 2014
Website: www.hansvaneven.net