Influences
is the debut solo album from Winterlong founder and guitarist
Thorbjorn Englund. The album is home to 16 instrumental tracks
which range from new material recorded especially for this release to
early demos including material from the first Winterlong demo that got
the band signed to Lion Music. The album is mostly neo-classical in
nature and brimming with excellent guitar work.
Longtime readers of virtuosityone.com will know that we have always
enjoyed the neo-classical/power metal work on the Winterlong albums so I
was looking forward to this release. I am pleased to report that it
doesn’t disappoint, and although clocking in at just over 38 minutes for
16 tracks there is enough here to maintain your interest and not bore
you. Opener “Jesus Stole My Harley” dates back to 1999 and the
Winterlong demo that got the band signed to Lion Music. The track is
Thorben’s attempt at a Satriani style song and it certainly is that, if
more metal than Satriani has been. Next up we get the first of 3 tracks
“Heart Of Fire” (completed by “Wicked Child” and
“Walking On The Edge”) which are actually covers of the soundtrack
to an old Nes 8-bit console game called Castlevania, before you start to
get worried this is actually very good stuff with a strong Malmsteen
influence in the arrangements – great stuff! “Demonica” is a
shred-fest which Thorbjorn states was inspired by Lars Eric Mattsson’s
work on the “Power Games” album, very progressive with blazing fretwork.
“Siberian Nights” is slower in tempo with a heavier than thou
riff before leading into some blazing arpeggios and fine arrangements.
“Winds Of Change”
is a short fantasy
style intro reminiscent of Malmsteen’s Overture 1383 or John Norum’s
live solo spot, very moody guitar over emotive keyboard samples, sadly
way too short at just over 1 minute.
“A Flame Of Flamenco”
shows great
passion and energy in this flamenco style track and you can almost smell
the paella cooking. “Flying”
is one of the heaviest moments on the album opening with a Pantera style
riff before heading into wah lead Satriani waters, a nice mix of the 2
styles. “Princess
Lane”
is an emotive ballad which is a demo from 2000 recorded in Thorbjorn’s
words on crappy equipment, that said the delicate melody and lead work
shines through the production and is a highlight.
“Notes From The Dark Side”
is another demo featuring more moody keyboard pads, nice and delicate
and another highlight.
“Devilina”
is inspired by classical violinist Vanessa Mae and the track is very
classical in nature, whats even more impressive is the guitar track is
one take with no overdub or punch in!
“W.A.M Goes Electric”
is
Symphony 40 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with everything done on guitar, a
nice take on this well known theme. “The Abyss” was inspired by
Yngwie Malmsteen’s Concerto release I was very moved by Malmsteen's
Concerto-album and this is Thorbjorn’s way of combining an orchestra
with guitar. A very beautiful track which again is brimming with
emotion. “Beautiful Beyond”
is just keyboards
and piano and shows another side of Englund’s musical mind, classical in
nature again and a pleasant listen.
“Vikings Tomb”
is a tribute to Englund forefathers with Englund requesting we
“Hold 'em beer mugs
high and drink for
Valhalla”,
a nice way to end the album.
Influences is a highly enjoyable collection of material and hopefully
Thorbjorn will follow this up with an album of all new work as there is
an excellent instrumental artist waiting to evolve within this body of
work. Although there has been mention of a few other artists within the
review the underlying sound of the album is that of Thorbjorn Englund
and whilst you can recognise what have influenced certain tracks there
is more than enough originality here in its own right. Overall
Influences is another strong release from Thorbjorn and a recommended
release for anyone into strong neo-classical guitar work.
