{"id":24755,"date":"2012-12-27T07:31:05","date_gmt":"2012-12-27T12:31:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=24755"},"modified":"2013-02-05T16:44:33","modified_gmt":"2013-02-05T21:44:33","slug":"tore-st-moren-devilbird-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2012\/tore-st-moren-devilbird-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Tore St Moren | Devilbird<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by John Kindred<\/span>
\n– Publisher —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"ToreGuitarist Tore St Moren has spent the majority of his professional career as a member of Jorn. Since 1999, he also has worked in other bands, such as Rain, Street Legal, Carnivora and Arctutus. After years of working with the celebrated Jorn Lande, Tore St Moren has stepped out on his own to release his first solo release titled Devilbird<\/em>. <\/p>\n

Devilbird<\/em> comprises 12 songs; two previously were released as singles on iTunes: \u201cThe Journey\u201d and \u201cBenedicte\u2019s Song.\u201d His partners in crime on his debut solo release include bassist Nic Angileri and drummer John Macaluso. The album, currently available on iTunes, is instrumental hard rock that highlights melodic and bluesy riffs with flashes of shred. Moren, looking to explore music that trends away from dark, brooding songs, takes his years of experience to create a diversified and uplifting album. <\/p>\n

With his trusty companion, his tobacco sunburst Epiphone LP Classic, in hand, Moren sends us on a 60-minute journey, packed with emotionally gratifying riffs and melodies. The stage is setup by the title track \u201cDevilbird.\u201d The song features a beautiful bluesy guitar solo performed over backing keys and synth sounds. The minute and forty second-interlude leads into the next song, \u201cThe Journey,\u201d which is heavier, charged with energy and features nice dynamic changes throughout. \u201cBenedicte\u2019s Song\u201d follows next, and while it has a slower tempo, the song gravitates toward a rock opus feel that pushes forward to its majestic climatic chorus. It has a pure, positive energy that is built on feeling and passion. \u201cQuattro Formaggi\u201d opens with the guitar, colored with a WAH pedal pushing a driving riff over the percussion. Eventually, the whole band joins in the foray, and the song takes off. The song shifts into a melodic interlude three quarters of the way in and features a nice bluesy solo before shifting back into its energetic high gear.<\/p>\n

\u201cK1 & K2\u201d moves back into a ballad-style arrangement, complete with more bluesy solos and a harmonized melodic lead in the chorus. While the song maintains a constant, hypnotizing sound bed, Moren unloads with melodic and flashy solo passages. \u201cMirage\u201d opens with a Middle Eastern-sounding guitar riff, which is very memorable. The songs momentum builds with passion and energy. Overall, it has a very uplifting vibe, with nice guitar harmonies, brilliant solo; yep, good stuff, indeed! The opening arrangement of \u201cEdel\u201d slowly pulls you in with its use of a harmonic melody, arpeggiated guitar passage and melodic bass, all of which push the song forward until the song opens up into its main melodic phase at about 1:10 in the song. And it just keeps climbing, as the eventual guitar melody is layered into the song; it\u2019s another gangbuster! \u201cDramatique\u201d unwinds with ferocity before settling in with a steady rhythmic pulse.<\/p>\n

The third act opens with \u201cTres Hombres,\u201d another song that is driven by a heavy riff and pulsating beat. A very cool laid back riff, what we would call the verse, is backed again by the pulsating beat. This open and airy feel of the guitars make this song sound large and spacious. A lot of shredding guitar runs make this song rock and are balanced with slower bluesy solos. \u201cThe Valley of Women\u201d falls back into ballad-land, bringing the pace down a few notches. Moren\u2019s solo are superb here, as he is brilliant at delivering tasteful, bluesy riffs. \u201cBetween Good Evil\u201d opens with a melodic solo passage and shifts into a heavy deliberate riff. Again, Moren brings dynamics to his music, providing different textures that work well together in his created arrangement. The final song, \u201cBurlesque,\u201d has a distinct Michael Schenker influence in the opening harmonized riffs. Once the song gets going, it takes off; it\u2019s very melodic with a deliberate rhythmic sense.<\/p>\n

Tore St Moren\u2019s Devilbird<\/em> is a combination of straight-up rockers, ballads and some fast and intricate tracks. The music is energetic, passionate and dynamic. The production is flawless, highlighting layered guitar tracks, punchy bass riffs and tight percussion. Moren displays a knack for melody, and he has mastered the fret board, producing elegant bluesy solos and flashy, speedy riffs that he combines with his unique rhythm style. <\/p>\n

Genre: Hard Rock, Instrumental<\/p>\n

Band:
\nTore St Moren on guitars
\nNic Angileri (Gotthard, Jorn) on bass
\nJohn Macaluso (TNT, Yngwie Malmsteen, Ark) on drums<\/p>\n

Special guests:
\nBj\u00f8rn Boge – bass
\nTerje J\u00f8rgensen – tuba
\nHasse \u00d8rbjo – clarinet
\nLars Lind – lead guitar<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tDevilbird
\n2.\tThe Journey
\n3.\tBenedicte\u00b4s Song
\n4.\tQuattro Formaggi
\n5.\tK1 & K2
\n6.\tMirage
\n7.\tEdel
\n8.\tDramatique
\n9.\tTres Hombres
\n10.\tThe Valley of Women
\n11.\tBetween Good and Evil
\n12.\tBurlesque<\/p>\n

Label: Shredguy Records<\/p>\n

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

Hardrock Haven rating: 9\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by John Kindred – Publisher — Guitarist Tore St Moren has spent the majority of his professional career as a member of Jorn. Since 1999, he also has worked in other bands, such as Rain, […]<\/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":[336,1103,2385,270,334,2205,2199],"class_list":{"0":"post-24755","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2012","7":"tag-cd","8":"tag-hard-rock","9":"tag-instrumental","10":"tag-jorn","11":"tag-review","12":"tag-shredguy-records","13":"tag-tore-st-moren"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24755","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=24755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24755\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}