Toby Knapp | The Campaign
by John Kindred
Staff Writer
“Knapp has been one of Metal’s greatest guitarists since the early ’90s, and he’s not slowing down now. If you like Jeff Waters, David T. Chastain or just shredheads, in general, tune in now to get to know Toby Knapp, and pick up The Campaign immediately thereafter:” Derric Miller from the 2010 interview with Knapp.
Knapp has been kicking the can around for a couple of decades. He is another one those unheard guitarists who was profiled by Guitar World at the age of 18 in the ‘90s. He was a journeyman on Mike Varney’s Shrapnel Records, releasing ‘93’s Guitar Distortion. He moved on to form the traditional Metal band Onward and received endorsements from ADA amplification and S.I.T. strings. All this led to the eventual 2001 signing of Onward to Century Media, where they released 2001’s Evermoving and ‘02’s Reawaken. Tours and recognition in premier Metal and guitar magazines continued to elevate Knapp’s status as an accomplished shredder. In ’08, Knapp released Misanthropy Divine on Germany’s Rock It Up Records.
So here we are in 2011, and, somehow after missing the release of The Campaign in 2010, an opportunity arose to hear the nine-song CD release. This time, Knapp secured a deal with Shredguy Records. His latest studio release features guest vocalists Attila Csihar (Mayhem) Dean Sternberg (ex-Into Eternity) Jeff Gruslin (ex-Vital Remains/Godless Rising) and Tom Cline (Noise Auction). Knapp takes an avenue seldom explored by pure shredders. He places the importance of the compositions ahead of reckless shredding. All the while, he explores many styles of hard rock and Metal, ranging from Black, AOR to traditional.
Knapp is a musician whose comfort zone encompasses a multitude of genres, which creates albums that have a dynamic appeal when compared to “balls-to-the-wall” instrumental releases, which generally tend to be more about showing off one’s ability to play extreme solos over typical 4/4 hard rock progressions. Knapp doesn’t live there. His approach, which is not typical of most shredders, not only includes excursions within different genres but also explorations of odd time signatures.
Four of the songs are instrumental compositions: “The Campaign,” “Towards Power Unimagined,” “Telekinesis” and “Plutonium Race.” “Reanimation” features death metal vocals by Attila Csihar, blast beats and exhibits full-on, pedal-to-the floor aggression. “Wicked” is a deceptive track as it opens with a heavy riff, quickly moves to a melodic verse and lands in a radio-friendly, hook-laden chorus. “Conspire” and “Lack of Inspiration” fall into the Heavy Metal and Power Metal genres. “We Are Legions” is another heavy track that pushes the envelope toward extreme metal.
Those who are not fans of Death or extreme metal should give props to Knapp for his diversity. Balancing instrumental compositions with music that features vocals also makes this release stray from redundancy. The instrumental tracks highlight Knapp’s rhythmic ability alongside his technical prowess when soloing. He demonstrates a keen ability to perform melodically when necessary and can turn on the speed at the drop of a dime. Knapp truly is a master of the guitar and would musically and compositionally enhance any group he joined.
Genre: Instrumental / Progressive / Hard Rock / Metal
Lineup:
Toby Knapp – Guitars, Bass, Drums, Production
Andy Jones – Additional Drums
Attila Csihar – Vocals, Additional Engineering
Dean Sternberg – Vocals, Additional Engineering
Tom Cline – Vocals, Additional Engineering
Jeff Gruslin – Vocals, Additional Engineering
Track Listing:
01. The Campaign
02. Conspire
03. Towards Power Unimagined
04. We Are Legions
05. Telekinesis
06. Wicked
07. Reanimation
08. Plutonium Race
09. Lack Of Inspiration
Label: Shredguy Records
Hardrock Haven rating: 8.5/10