{"id":20336,"date":"2012-06-03T05:56:40","date_gmt":"2012-06-03T10:56:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=20336"},"modified":"2013-02-05T16:10:42","modified_gmt":"2013-02-05T21:10:42","slug":"jeff-loomis-plains-of-oblivion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2012\/jeff-loomis-plains-of-oblivion\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeff Loomis | Plains of Oblivion<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alissa Ordabai<\/span>
\nStaff Writer —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"When the press release proclaims \u201cthe metal world will never be the same\u201d with the release of your new record, the pressure is on to provide evidence. Which Jeff Loomis tries to do on his sophomore solo release with iron-jawed resolve.<\/p>\n

From the rapid-fire shred storm on opener \u201cMercurial\u201d the album is an exuberant, extravagant, deliberately OTT affair. It seems that the faster and more notes Loomis plays, the more he expects to justify his PR\u2019s declaration. Still, barrages of arpeggios and neck-break speed fretboard runs don\u2019t prove to be a substitute for melody. While Loomis\u2019s grooves and riffs at times are real barn-burners (see standout \u201cEscape Velocity\u201d for a riff that can get even a corpse\u2019s blood pumping), equally strong melodies are proving harder to find. <\/p>\n

Technically impeccable, although mechanistic-sounding drum parts add to the machine-driven feel of the album, as do showers of Loomis\u2019s gratuitous notes which often obscure already weak, tentative melodies. Technique-wise the record is highly commendable, but at the same time nothing new. Variety from habitual articulation and soloing methods is provided by guest shred vets Marty Friedman, Chris Poland, and Tony MacAlpine. More diversity is injected by Christine Rhoades and Ihsahn who take on the mic duties on some of the songs, but guest appearances \u2013 although impressive \u2013 do not add compositional latitude. <\/p>\n

There are, however, exceptions to the highly practiced routine of Loomis\u2019s own creative process, and \u201cContinuum Drift\u201d (with Chris Poland guesting) is one such track \u2013 dynamic, full of tonal variety, and chops serving the transparently clear compositional plan. <\/p>\n

Another convention-defying highlight is the flamenco-inspired \u201cRapture\u201d \u2013 a finely articulated, touchingly emotional piece where Loomis departs from his personal formulas and gives priority to conveying his inner reality, as opposed to demonstrations. <\/p>\n

To sum up, great riffs are never enough to make sure the metal world ceases to be the same, but at the same time enough to turn a primarily instrumental record into something more than a string of solipsistic exercises in fretboard fetishism. <\/p>\n

Genre: Metal, Instrumental Guitar<\/p>\n

Personnel:
\nJeff Loomis \u2013 guitar
\nDirk Verbeuren \u2013 drums
\nIhsahn \u2013 vox (track 7)
\nChristine Rhoades \u2013 vox (track 4 and 8)
\nChris Poland \u2013 lead guitar (track 6)
\nAttila V\u00f6r\u00f6s – lead guitar (track 5)
\nTony MacAlpine \u2013 lead guitar (track 2)
\nMarty Friedman \u2013 lead guitar (track 1)
\nShane Lentz – bass<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tMercurial (featuring Marty Friedman) (instrumental)
\n2.\tThe Ultimatum (featuring Tony MacAlpine) (instrumental)
\n3.\tEscape Velocity \t(instrumental)
\n4.\tTragedy And Harmony (featuring Christine Rhoades)
\n5.\tRequiem For The Living (featuring Attila V\u00f6r\u00f6s)\t(instrumental)
\n6.\tContinuum Drift (featuring Chris Poland) (instrumental)
\n7.\tSurrender (featuring Ihsahn)
\n8.\tChosen Time (featuring Christine Rhoades)
\n9.\tRapture \t(instrumental)
\n10.\tSibylline Origin \t(instrumental)\t<\/p>\n

Label: Century Media Records<\/p>\n

Web: www.jeffloomis.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 5\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alissa Ordabai Staff Writer — When the press release proclaims \u201cthe metal world will never be the same\u201d with the release of your new record, the pressure is on to provide evidence. Which Jeff […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6772],"tags":[4954,4171,738,2267,1453],"class_list":{"0":"post-20336","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2012","7":"tag-instrumental-guitar","8":"tag-jeff-loomis","9":"tag-marty-friedman","10":"tag-metal","11":"tag-tony-macalpine"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20336\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}