MARCEL COENEN - COLOUR JOURNEY
Lion Music - Out Now

Colour Journey is the second solo album from Sun Caged guitar whiz Marcel Coenen. Unlike Marcel's debut solo album the instrumental Guitartalk, Colour Journey features a range of vocalists to make this a more accessible album for the vast population of the world. Fans of Marcel's instrumental outings needn't fear as there are a few instrumental to please you too.

Opener Waiting is a fast paced progressive metal stunner which shows a more streamlined approach than Sun Caged material but is in that ballpark. The solo section is sure to put the hairs up on the back of the necks of any guitar fan which sees Marcel trading solos with Bob Katsionis (Imaginery / solo), from here we travel into instrumental territory for the relatively straightforward riffer Abstract Impact which is home to another killer riff and nice lead work from Marcel. Patron Saint follows with its super tight odd time signature detuned riffage which shows Marcel's Meshuggah influence before heading into an Alter Bridge style melodic verse before heading into Sun Caged like waters for the chorus. A track that fuses a lot of styles and amazingly works superbly. Next up is contender for instrumental of the year with the deeply emotional and inspired La Bella Mira. Fans of Guitartalk need the album for this track alone - simply stunning. Traumatized To The Bone is more bone crunching 7 string delights and has a very modern approach to it. The musicianship in the main rhythms here is immense. The fusion esque Skill Factor allows Marcel to flex his jazzier side and throws down some more sublime lead lines making use nice use of double tracked lines, the track also allows the rhythm section of bassist Richard Ritterbeeks and Sun Caged drummer Roel Van Helden to show off their skills as well. The Moment is a soothing acoustic and piano upbeat ballad that if mainstream radio stations were more open minded would probably be a hit around the globe. The track features good vocals from Colleen Gray. The Shrink begins with a great drum groove which is built upon with bass and then guitar locking into a tight groove, before the track grows throughout into a nice atmospheric piece of music. V(erbal) D(efense) M(echanism) takes up back to Alice In Chains c. dirt for a strong slice of grunge done with style as AIC did, the vocals of Hans Reinders are scarily close to that of the late Layne Staley. Instrumental fans will enjoy New Race which motors along with a Racer X intensity and can be seen as the brother track of Race Against Time from Guitartalk. Marcel's tone here and indeed throughout is superb as well with an excellent production and mix. The mid paced progressive Still Bleeding closes the album with more class and wraps up an extremely enjoyable album.

Colour Journey is a superb showcase of Coenen's talents which surely must be amongst the very best on the scene at present. Fans of progressive metal, killer guitar work and strong songs pick this up ASAP.

Rating - 90%
 

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MARCEL COENEN - GUITARTALK
Lion Music - Out Now

Now you might be thinking "who the hell is Marcel Coenen?", to be honest I thought the same thing but after listening to this album a lot lately its one name that is gonna get spread around more by the week.

Marcel hails from Holland and if his bio is anything to go by has created something of a buzz on the European circuit. His first claim to fame came with the act Lemur Voice who released their debut album, Insights, on the Magna Carta label in 1996 and their second and final release Divided in 1999 through Telstar Records. In 1998 Marcel competed in the Dutch National Guitar Championships and won the rock category resulting in an endorsement from Ibanez guitars.

This solo album originally came to light in 1999 originally as a cd-r with home recording. Its has however seen a re master since then and whilst not being a mega buck production job that the likes of Vai or Satriani can afford the luxury of, it does showcase what a good set of ears can achieve with modest equipment.

So what does the listener get on 'Guitar Talk'? Well guitar would be the obvious answer but along with the oodles of fretboard antics on offer you get an insight into an artist that shows he has the goods and should only get better with age. The style is a hybrid of the stylised instrumental guitar workouts of Satriani and Vai, but it also has a prog metal element to it reminiscent of bands like Symphony X and to a lesser extent Adagio.

Opener Independence Day is a heavy tune which sees Coenen utilising a 7 string guitar for added gut wrenching growls. Marcel states in the liner notes that people have compared it to Haji's Kitchen meeting Meshuggah. My own personal opinion is that its pretty darn sinister with a Pantera esque rhythm part over which a moody melody builds the tension before fast flurries of fretboard extravagance. Odd time signature abound but it all holds together into a cohesive unit.

Race Against Time is in the 80's shred mold, very Racer X with a driving riff followed by huge arpeggio leaps. Its not all about shred, with a nice mid section breakdown for some great harmonised melodic lines where Coenen's guitar really breathes. A few Tony Macalpine tapped licks lead us back into the Racer X style - impressive.

Inner Alchemy sees the tempo slow and mood become more reflective with a very melodic Satriani-esque ballad. A nice piano underscore allows the guitar to really shine before drums enter with some nice synth pads - the feel of the track reminds me quite a lot of Joe Satriani's 'Crying'. This track really does live up to the title of the album as the guitar does indeed talk. Coenen describes this as a song from his heart and it shows - beautiful.

Fusion came about after Marcel was messing around with his drum machine. The track is certainly fusion in style and the guitar playing reflects this attitude with some quite freeform leads. It again has a very strong melody. The feel of the track has a little Vai quirkiness, a little Holdsworth cool and a hint of Steve Morse - another highlight.

The tempo picks up and the skies darken for the neo-classical tinged Rebel. Reminiscent of Cacophony meets Yngwie thanks to big arpeggios and harmonic minor and diminished runs, Marcel even quote a riff from Yngwie Malmsteen's Krakatau 2 minutes in. Some of the rhythms are pretty intense all driven on by double bass drumming (where the drum machine does sound a little mechanical) but the overall effect is another pleasing composition.

Fairy Tale sees the fusion sound re-enter with some more of the Satriani vibe mentioned earlier. The origins of this song started in 1992 so it shows Coenen had the ability to pen compelling tunes in him years ago. Scattered throughout we have some nice twin voice guitar parts, overall the song has a strong structure and melody.

The Wet Season sees a more bluesy vibe enter the fray, again another strong melody and some nice use of different pickup positions for texturing the tone. In places it reminded me of Eric Johnson meets Steve Vai on a summer night!

Anthem is up next. If you've ever wondered what the Dutch national anthem sounds like - well here's the rocked up version. Like all anthems it has a very majestic quality but then it dives into an absolutely slamming rhythm before the melody is intensified ten fold with wide intervalic runs and odd counter harmonies. Nice!

Another very heavy track raised its head in Shoreline. Again Coenen makes nice use of twin leads and the drop D riffage underneath creates a nice basis for the lead melody to work over. Coenen also shows off some very scary speed riffs on this track.

Moyra sees the mood switch over to the romantic, with Coenen penning this tune for a special friend. This track was written and recorded in March 2003 and shows the growth Marcel has made as a player over some of the earlier tunes on the album. Again a strong Satriani vibe enters the fray, but it must be said that the melody is stronger than anything on the last couple of Satriani releases - another highlight.

Move That Groove may have one of the most comical song titles but the music is again very strong indeed. Coenen credits this track as being in the Satriani vein and who am I to disagree. Again this is coming more from the 'The Extremist' end of Satch's repertoire. The song is pretty straightforward in 4/4 time but it has a nice driving groove.

The album ends with an atmospheric track in the guise of Endless. Marcel makes nice use of the acoustic guitar which is coupled with some sweet electric volume swells to really add atmosphere and space to the track. After the sonic onslaught of a lot of this album its nice that it ends of a more spaced note and indeed calls out reflection of the album. To end the album with another highlight makes sure the cd ends with a good impression.

So is Marcel Coenen the new guitar god to challenge the throne held by Satriani and Vai? Well no, but as a debut release this is a very impressive outing that should have the two aforementioned names at least looking over their shoulders. Sure the Satch and Vai influences are apparent but they are used in a way they makes Coenen stand out from the pure imitators and there are many glimpses of a true original voice lurking throughout. It will be interesting to see what Marcel delivers on his next album, I for one hope that he proves me write and delivers the goods. In the meantime this is a fine selection of material and if you're reading this Satriani how about offering this guy a slot on any future European G3 gigs?

Hot Spots : Inner Alchemy, Fusion, The Wet Season, Moyra, Endless.
Rating : 86%