Lion Music have managed to unearth another very talented guitarist in the guise of Anand Mahangoe. This guy is in the vein of Satriani and Vai which was surprising as he looks more like Tom Morello of Audioslave than those 2 fretboard giants, luckily this means their is more than a sprinkling of melody combined with fretboard flash. Having a very accomplished backing section of Mike Terrana (drums), Nick de Vos (bass) and Rob Faburick on keyboards. Ex Dream Theater keysman Derek Sherinian also makes a guest appearance.

Ignoring the song titles (which sound like some cock rock bands!) we have an album full of great melodies, strong musical frameworks, a killer production and great guitar work.

Opener A Dirty Mind Is... sets the mood for the majority of the album. Powered along by a strong upbeat riff and being reminiscent at time of Satriani and Dream Theater, its home to some superb guitar work. Mike Terrana's dums sound great, but its the keyboard backing that really does it for me.

Blind Date starts with a nice hammond organ part that reminds me of Pink Floyd a little whilst Anand plays some nice root power chords before picking up the tempo then taking flight for almost 6 minutes of pure class. The thing about Anand's playing is the melodies, they are memorable, catchy and really bring the tracks to life. This in turn makes the flashy passages much stronger. The lead lines here remind me of Vai's best moments yet the interplay between the other band members add to the overall depth of the track.

Intimate Dance sees the tempo drop for some a nice underpinning simple acoustic line. The bass, drums and keyboard handle the power element here. The main lead guitar melody is quite Neil Schon - super melodic with everything that is needed, but not overdone in any way. This track has everything, extremely lyrical. Anand makes great use of arpeggios (more in the Vai than Yngwie vein), yet adds subtle tremolo bar inflections and great sliding into notes. A great display of melody and restraint.

Meet Mr Long sees a strong Satriani vibe enter the album. Again great rhythm work that sets the basis of the track. The lead lines are really breathing, similar in feel to Flying In A Blue Dream (the track) Satriani but its just a killer track. The track then breaks down into a Surfing With The Alien esque tapping passage on the bass strings before some nice harmonic minor licks.

Get Laid continues the whacky titles. Anand's tone is huge here, with a big riff coupled by some great keyboard madness from Derek Sherinian. Yet there is also light and shade. The superb production is also very much in evidence here with everything being big (yet not overpowering) and the melodies again are superb. Now add a vocalist to this line-up and you have what could possibly be one of the best prog bands ever!

Disillusioned is home to some more soulful restraint guitar work, again the band combine exceedingly well, listen for the great bass runs around 2:08 which build the track very nicely. Anand then lets fly with some very original licks that are just stunning. The vibe here again reminds me of Pink Floyd, with a nice Gilmour touch of class to the solos.

Get Out changes the mood totally. A very fast track with a very prog-metal feel. The opening section is incredibly tight before claming down for the main guitar melody. Anand makes great use of the wah pedal, using it very lyrically helping to enhance another strong melody.

Next is Next, the track reminds me a little of Dream Theater, the lead lines are again very strong but its the bass work of Nick De Vos that really stands out here. He has a great tone and really knows how the anchor the bottom end yet adventure up the fretboard to keep the track moving. The track is one of the weaker tracks here, but that only due to the quality elsewhere.

Onatopp starts out very progressive in a fusion-vein before picking up in tempo. Mike Terrana is really laying a groove here. The main melody of the song has an almost Santana' latin quality to it. This is even more prevalent in the songs breakdown. Included here is a cool trade-off between guitars and keyboards. Another very strong track.

The One is very relaxed, quite Eric Johnson sounding, with clean electric guitars and some nice piano work. This then steps up a gear for the emergence of some more very classy electric work. Its sounds to me like Johnson, Satriani and a little Vai all jamming on the track, that basically is another way of saying the lead work is stunning.

Joy 4 Ever is another up tempo melodic affair. Great Hammond work combining with yet another classy melody - Anand's head must be full of the things!! Its stylistically in line with the majority of the album, yet it has the original element that is prevalent throughout this album.

Overall Joy 4 Ever is an absolutely corking release. 2003 has seem some very high quality instrumental albums from Marty Friedman, Marcel Coenen and Joe Stump, but Anand has come out with something that I found positively enjoyable from start to finish. The guy has class in every aspect of his work. Sure you can hear the influences but Joy 4 Ever is stronger than anything Satriani has put out in over a decade. In short if you just want to hear some very classy guitar then this album is for you .....highly recommended.