by John Kindred
– Publisher —
Instrumental composer Guy Elyahu has released his debut album Empire of Chaos. Elyahu, who is from Israel, features musical explorations that offer listeners what he has dubbed Middle-Eastern Rock, which combines elements from the Rock, Metal and Fusion genres. The bonus is that his cultural musical heritage has a voice within the compositions, giving Elyahu his own unique exotic sound.
The entire Empire of Chaos album is based on themes from the Bible, focusing on what the text tells us of human experiences in Ancient times. Exploring the topics of war, domination, suppression, slavery, love, freedom, etc., the 10 tracks do this with the lead guitar being the voice for each track.
Elyahu composed all the music and produced the CD. For his first album, he demonstrates a good ear for creating interesting arrangements, and he incorporates the blending of various instrumentations into a tight, cohesive listening experience. The mix strikes a perfect balance with the presentation of all the instruments, as each is audible, without being overtly dominant, and maintaining a musical rainbow of sound.
With song titles such as “Into the Human Suffering” and “When the Souls Cries,” the weight of the song titles certainly produces a heavy vibe. Yet upon hearing the music for the first time, Elyahu’s guitar style feels light and whimsical. He trends away from box-pattern pentatonic positions and moves his phrasing up and down the neck of the guitar with fluid ease. His personality jumps out as each note leaps out at you from his guitar.
Citing influences such as Vai, Malmsteen, Hendrix and Moore, it is apparent who inspired Elyahu’s technical ability, but it is his influence from other cultures – Jewish, Arab, Indian and Japanese music = that brings a different light to his music. Empire of Chaos is an enjoyable 44-minute journey through the musical world of Elyahu. He is not reinventing the wheel here but expanding on the Shred universe by pulling in untapped cultural influences not widely heard by us Westerners.
Genre: Middle Eastern Rock, Metal
Band:
Guy Elyahu (g)
Yoram Sade (b)
Rafael Hevrony (d)
Track Listing:
1. Into the Human Suffering
2. Empire of Chaos
3. Bar Kochva
4. Babylon
5. Sanhedrin
6. Rembettirock
7. Egypt
8. Exodus
9. Qumran
10. When the Soul Cries
Label: Shredguy Records
Web: https://www.facebook.com/Guy-Elyahu-322307951219675/
Hardrock Haven rating: 8/10
