Neo-Classical Chart September 06

Charts courtesy of www.guitar9.com

#1 Marco Ferrigno / Hanging Gardens
Three years after his last release under the "Ferrigno, Leal, Kuprij" banner Marco is back with more neo-classical firepower and this, his debut solo album is a very intricately detailed release with a lot of fretwork but also a lot of melody. One of the most immediate comparisons to Marco's very fluid style of play is similar to that of George Bellas

#2 German Schauss / The Lightspeeder
Mind-blowingly fast sweeps. Complex, classically influenced progressions. Odd, even and fractional meters. Shredded, corpse-chopping, speed picking. A head-splittingly large number of notes! All this and more can be heard on German Schauss' CD The Lightspeeder, a collection of seven neo-classical progressive instrumentals designed to shock, awe and make you soil your drawers.

#3 Jose Del Rio / Journey Into The Fourth Dimension
Jose Del Rio's all-star neoclassical/progressive shred project is called Journey Into The Fourth Dimension, an incredibly intense shred release featuring guitarist Jose Del Rio and keyboard virtuoso Vitalij Kuprij (Artension). Fans of over-the-top intense shredding need to check out the 300 bpm version of "Flight of the Bumble-Bee".

#4 Hess / Opus 1
The CD features a new breed of high caliber instrumental guitar compositions combining the neo-classical styles of Yngwie Malmsteen and Jason Becker with the progressive rock styles of Dream Theater and George Bellas, along with the emotion of 19th century Romanticism.
[check out our exclusive interview with Tom Hess]

#5 Hess / Opus 2
Opus 2 sees Hess pick up where Opus 1 finished with even more skill.
[check out our exclusive interview with Tom Hess]

#6 Theodore Ziras / Trained To Play
Classic sweep arpeggios, searing extended solo sections, memorable themes, and overall extraordinary playing mark this debut CD, and cement his place in the roster of notable neo-classical shredders.

#7 Francesco Fareri / Forbidden Dimension
Forbidden Dimension is the title of Italian shred guitarist Francesco Fareri's second album, and it includes eight all instrumental tracks in the progressive/shred style. Fareri recruited some great players to contribute to the CD, including Kyle Honea (bass), Jon Doman (drums), Bob Katsionis (keyboard solos) and Vitalij Kuprij (piano, keyboards), and also enlisted the help andexperience of Greg Howe in the recording and engineering of the drum tracks. More shred than neo-classical.

#8 Ark Storm / The Everlasting Wheel
Ark Storm are challenging fellow Japanese neo-classical exponents Concerto Moon for the title of Japan's best metal export. Ark Storm are led by guitar ace Katsu Ohta who is probably Japan's answer to Yngwie Malmsteen and comes with an excellent reputation. If you like quality neo-classical metal then Ark Storm serve it up in abundance.

#9 Michael Romeo / The Dark Chapter
Romeo is an incredibly accomplished player drawing on a neo-classical style reminiscent of Yngwie Malmsteen while retaining his own identifiable signature that sets him apart from other players in this genre. He has received major coverage in many of the guitar magazines around the world and is best known for his role as lead guitarist in Symphony X.

#10 Matt Mills Project / Matt Mills Project
The twelve all instrumental tracks feature a smorgasbord of large, swept arpeggiated sequences, diminished patterns and pedaled passages (ala Malmsteen and Moore) - with Mills' guitaristic prowess comes through strikingly on every track.