Glen Drover Metalusion

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by John Kindred
Staff Writer

Glen Drover’s return to music follows a career spent with the power metal band Eidolon, a stint with progressive metal’s King Diamond, and, most recently, he spent four years in the thrash metal band Megedeth. Leaving Megadeth in ’08 for personal reasons, Drover set into motion writing and recording what would become his first solo instrumental studio album, Metalusion. To be released in early April, Metalusion is a 10-song studio album that delves into elements of metal, jazz fusion, progressive and hard rock genres.

Drover is joined by Jim Gilmour (keyboards), Paul Yee (bass) and Chris Sutherland (drums). The album also features Jeff Loomis (Nevermore), Frederik Akesson (Opeth), Chris Poland (OHM, Megadeth) and Vinnie Moore (UFO).

Metalusion comprises of five new, original compositions and five cover songs that venture into territory originally discovered in the works of Frank Zappa (“The Purple Lagoon,” “Filthy Habits); Jean-Luc Ponty (“Don’t Let the World Pass You By,” “Mirage”); and Al DiMeola (“Egyptian Danza”). Drover weaves his original compositions with the cover songs without loss of cohesion for the duration of Metalusion. In fact, if you didn’t know that five songs were covers of other artists or if you never heard the original songs, you never would know they aren’t Drover’s creations.

Metalusion is a vehicle for Drover to showcase his virtuoso skills on the guitar. Throughout the album he incorporates the use of clean tonal guitar passages and the distorted fury of blistering solos. Utilizing exotic scales and fills makes the music unique and compelling. Rounding out his compositions with his rock solid rhythm playing which lays over the top of the underlying rhythmic groove, held together by Yee and Sutherland. Gilmour’s keyboard melodies and sonic textures are layered into the arrangements on a majority of the album. These additional textures help to set the mood and temperament of the music.

The album reveals the deeper intellect of Drover’s musical knowledge, and it provides the platform for Drover to unveil his art. It also demonstrates why bands like King Diamond and Megadeth featured him as a player in their perspective bands. Metalusion plays out as a symphonic journey best taken with your eyes closed and headphones on.

Band:
Glen Drover – Guitars
Jim Gilmour – Keyboards
Paul Yee – Bass
Chris Sutherland – Drums

Genre: Progressive Instrumental

Label: Magna Carta

Track Listing:
1. Ground Zero (Chris Poland and Vinnie Moore)
2. Frozen Dream (Steve Smyth)
3. Egyptian Danza [Al DiMeola Cover]
4. Colors of Infinity
5. Illusions of Starlight
6. Don’t Let The World Pass You By [Jean-Luc Ponty Cover] (Fredrik Akesson)
7. Mirage [Jean-Luc Ponty Cover] ( Jeff Loomis)
8. Ascension
9. The Purple Lagoon [Frank Zappa Cover]
10. Filthy Habits [Frank Zappa Cover]

Hardrock Haven rating: 8/10