Adrian English : Innerplanetarium
by John Kindred
Staff Writer
Adrian English is no stranger to the music scene, having pounded out an existence starting at age 15 in the Las Vegas club circuit. Mike Varney (Shrapnel Records) took notice of English and featured him in the June 1993 hometown hero’s column for the magazine Guitar World. English placed in the top 30 of candidates who sought to replace Zakk Wylde in Ozzy Osbourne’s band in 1994. He released his first solo instrumental album A.D.D. on Shredguy Records in 2009 and had a song, “”Flight of the Blue Phoenix” featured on the album Shredding Across the World Vol. 2.
English’s second solo album with Shredguy Records titled, Innerplanetarium, comprises 13 instrumental songs, produced by Frank Klepacki. This time out, English finds himself complemented by a full band; Ryan Morrow on bass, Mike McDavid handling keyboards, sampling and engineering and Chas Cantrell on drums. English also invited Danny Joe Carter, Michael Abdow, Toby Knapp and Sean Baker to join the festivities, and each provided a guitar solo on the album.
Innerplanetarium clocks in at nearly an hour. While the musical compositions are still fast and heavy, English goes a bit more commercial and touches on his melodic side. As with most instrumental guitar album releases, the fanfare usually is to showcase or show off, as the case may be, one’s virtuoso skills, Innerplanetarium is no exception to that rule. Blistering solos lie on top of the rhythmic sound bed provided by the bass and drums.
Innerplanetarium is blazing, fast, furious and rarely lets up on the accelerator. To say that “English shoots his wad and then some,” almost would be an understatement. His years of determination and practice allow him to showcase his skill set to listeners of instrumental shred guitar. His style will appeal to those who like fast and relentless fretboard acrobatics. The only respite to the shred madness comes in the form of “Velvet Rain,” the Vai-esque “Transcendance,” “Harmony Creek” and the closer, which is simply titled “Closure.”
An hour of Innerplanetarium may prove to be a bit much for some. And it may be just right for others. It all depends on your state of mind.
Genre: Instrumental Guitar Shred / Heavy Metal
Band:
Adrian English – Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Harmony Guitar, Art & Logo Concept
Ryan Morrow – Bass
Mike McDavid – Keyboards, Sampling, Engineering
Chas Cantrell – Drums, Percussion
Guests:
Danny Joe Carter – Guest Guitar Solo
Michael Abdow – Guest Guitar Solo
Toby Knapp – Guest Guitar Solo
Sean Baker – Guest Guitar Solo
Track Listing:
1. Viper (4:19)
2. Innerplanetarium (4:04)
3. Awoo’s Beach House (3:56)
4. Ten Ways (4:50)
5. Transcendence (2:57)
6. Solidarity (3:35)
7. Sinistar (4:04)
8. Velvet Rain (3:51)
9. Paranomally (4:42)
10. What’s Under Your Shred (6:10)
11. G-Theory (7:44)
12. Harmony Creek (5:18)
13. Closure (3:45)
Label: Shredguy Records
Hardrock Haven rating: 7/10