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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
│ │
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│ + Tony Macalpine - Concrete Gardens + │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.Jun-08-2015 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │
│║ Genre........Instrumental Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2015 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........12 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.tonymacalpine.com ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Tony Macalpine Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : Concrete Gardens Label : Sun Dog ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Tony MacAlpine was one of the Shrapnel label ║ │
│║ guitarists of the '80s, and also played ║ │
│║ keyboards for the debut releases of Vinnie Moore ║ │
│║ and other Shrapnel artists. Tony's debut solo ║ │
│║ album, "Edge of Insanity," came iout in 1986 - ║ │
│║ the same year as his first side project, ║ │
│║ M.A.R.S., with release of the album "Project: ║ │
│║ Driver." Since that time Tony MacAlpine has ║ │
│║ released numerous solo albums, participated in ║ │
│║ collaborations, made live guest appearances, and ║ │
│║ even acted as part of Steve Vai's backing band. ║ │
│║ "Concrete Gardens" is Tony's twelfth solo studio ║ │
│║ album, and is entirely instrumental like the ║ │
│║ vast majority of Tony's solo work. The album has ║ │
│║ been in the works since 2013, but took a while ║ │
│║ to release due to Tony's numerous collaborations ║ │
│║ and other projects. Jeff Loomis provides a guest ║ │
│║ guitar solo on the album on the track, "Square ║ │
│║ Circles." The album contains 12 tracks with a ║ │
│║ total runtime of just under sixty minutes. The ║ │
│║ album differs from Tony's previous work by ║ │
│║ having more of a progressive metal flavor to it, ║ │
│║ while I think of most of his previous releases ║ │
│║ as just being straight instrumental rock. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ The album opens up with the track "Exhibitionist ║ │
│║ Blvd," with some seriously flanged guitar and a ║ │
│║ major key melody that builds into something a ║ │
│║ little different as the track goes on. There is ║ │
│║ a specific passage that shows the influence that ║ │
│║ Vai has had on MacAlpine, though I would rank ║ │
│║ them close to equal in the virtuoso racket. "The ║ │
│║ King's Rhapsody" opens up with a keyboard intro, ║ │
│║ played by Tony, of course. Heavy guitars come in ║ │
│║ and takes the song to a few unexpected places, ║ │
│║ and actually gets my foot tapping, too - which ║ │
│║ is an accomplishment for instrumental rock! "Man ║ │
│║ in a Metal Cage" has some interesting note ║ │
│║ choices, with some mildly middle-eastern sounds ║ │
│║ for a few brief moments in the track mixed in ║ │
│║ with some obligatory sweep tapping. Otherwise, ║ │
│║ there are several passages working to create ║ │
│║ several moments of extreme tension. There are a ║ │
│║ few arpeggiated parts that are reminiscent of ║ │
│║ some other song that I can't quite place. ║ │
│║ "Poison Cookies" has a weird jazz-fusion funk ║ │
│║ feeling going on with it that I definitely ║ │
│║ appreciated - if for nothing else it changed ║ │
│║ gears long enough to shake off any monotony I ║ │
│║ thought the album might be working towards. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ "Epic" was both a more laid back song, but also ║ │
│║ was very cerebral - the keyboard and guitar ║ │
│║ parts built on each other in a weird/cool way. ║ │
│║ "Napoleon's Puppet" very briefly reminded me of ║ │
│║ some material written by Brendan Small for his ║ │
│║ album, "Galaktikon," but it had that rhythm part ║ │
│║ to it that definitely separated it by giving it ║ │
│║ some incredibly strong groove. "Sierra Morena" ║ │
│║ is played on piano/keyboard in the intro but ║ │
│║ guitar, bass and drums come in pretty quickly. ║ │
│║ The song is named after a mountain range in ║ │
│║ Spain with the same name. I can't quite connect ║ │
│║ the music as being descriptive of a mountain ║ │
│║ range unless they're being written about the ║ │
│║ context of flying over them. "Square Circles" ║ │
│║ has some moments in the track that remind me a ║ │
│║ little bit of King Crimson, though the sense of ║ │
│║ melody is still a tad more traditional. Jeff ║ │
│║ Loomis guests on this track for a guitar solo, ║ │
│║ and it is a fairly outstanding solo in the ║ │
│║ context of the song, having a good balance of ║ │
│║ being emotive and twisted. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ "Red Giant" is a pretty intense track, with some ║ │
│║ more middle-eastern vibes going on, and one of ║ │
│║ the most engaging and vocal-like melodies from ║ │
│║ the album, to my ears. "Confessions of a ║ │
│║ Medieval Monument" definitely grabs a certain ║ │
│║ type of vibe from the opening, with a cool (but ║ │
│║ fairly simple) bassline running behind it. This ║ │
│║ is definitely one of those songs that creates a ║ │
│║ fertile atmosphere for a little mind movie to ║ │
│║ play along to it. The way the dynamics are used ║ │
│║ on this song, as well as the recurring melodic ║ │
│║ theme, make this easily one of the strongest ║ │
│║ tracks on the album. The title track, "Concrete ║ │
│║ Gardens," is interesting with a heavy rhythm ║ │
│║ guitar and a (initially) much cleaner lead part. ║ │
│║ Something about this track reminds me of Frank ║ │
│║ Zappa, which is absolutely a good thing. The ║ │
│║ album closes out with a song called "Maiden's ║ │
│║ Wish," which is played on keyboard/piano as a ║ │
│║ solo piece. It is a fairly light-hearted song to ║ │
│║ end the album with, and I enjoyed it. If you ║ │
│║ just listen for the crazy guitar, then you can ║ │
│║ stop short of "Maiden's Wish." ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ I have always been extremely impressed with Tony ║ │
│║ MacAlpine, and this album just reinforces my ║ │
│║ opinion. While he may not be quite at the ║ │
│║ technical/speed level of some other virtuoso ║ │
│║ guitarists, especially the whole Shrapnel bunch, ║ │
│║ he makes up for it in a strong sense of feel and ║ │
│║ musicality. I especially enjoy the melodies he ║ │
│║ uses as recurring themes in many of his songs. I ║ │
│║ highly recommend this album to anyone who's a ║ │
│║ fan of instrumental rock or metal. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 01 - Exhibitionist Blvd [04:28] │
│ 02 - The King┤s Rhapsody [04:45] │
│ 03 - Man In Aetal Cage [04:20] │
│ 04 - Poison Cookies [05:06] │
│ 05 - Epic [05:00] │
│ 06 - Napoleon┤s Puppet [05:13] │
│ 07 - Sierra Morena [04:52] │
│ 08 - Square Circles [05:12] │
│ 09 - Red Giant [05:10] │
│ 10 - Confessions Of A Medieval Monument [05:46] │
│ 11 - Concrete Gardens [05:03] │
│ 12 - Maiden┤s Wish [04:19] │
│ │
│ Total Length : [59:14 minn │
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│ ╔═════════════════════╗ │
│ ║ Greetings To: ║ │
│ ╚═════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ Too all people who contributes to make this │
│ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │
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│ │
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