{"id":28693,"date":"2013-04-02T20:54:30","date_gmt":"2013-04-03T01:54:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=28693"},"modified":"2015-07-20T19:02:52","modified_gmt":"2015-07-21T00:02:52","slug":"james-williams-eclectic-shred-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2013\/james-williams-eclectic-shred-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"James Williams | Eclectic Shred<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Joe Mis<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"EclecticEclectic Shred<\/em> is the new release from guitar wizard James Williams. Don\u2019t let the title fool you \u2013 Williams is no more a \u201cshredder\u201d than Yngwie Malmsteen or Joe Satriani. Like many of the great guitarists he is a true musician, and there is so much more to his music than speed.<\/p>\n

For those not familiar, James Williams is a veteran guitarist and a well-seasoned musician. His career has seen him record with bassist Wyman Tisdale and bassist\/composer\/arranger Marcus Miller, and he has performed with guitarist Norman Brown and saxophonist Gerald Albright, among others. He\u2019s been touted by Guitar Player Magazine and boosted by Shrapnel\u2019s Mike Varney \u2013 a man who knows a bit about guitar greatness. On Eclectic Shred<\/em>, Williams blends his experience with classical, jazz, metal, and R&B and creates a varied and interesting sonic journey. He is ably supported by veteran musicians Mike LePond (Symphony X), Richard Tull (Phantom-X), and Matt Guillory (James LaBrie, Yngwie Malmsteen).<\/p>\n

\u201cB17 Flying Fortress\u201d is as powerful as its namesake. Moody and brooding rhythms provide a solid base for soaring guitar licks and rapid-fire bluesy solos. Tempo and tone changes throughout the track carry the listener across a varied cloudscape of solid progressive metal. \u201cKeltoi\u201d is a short, classical keyboard instrumental that leads nicely into the massive \u201cDropa Stones.\u201d Rapid fire-guitars and grinding rhythms create a lively mixture of metal styles and a rather ethereal and otherworldy atmosphere \u2013 much like the quasi-mythical \u201cDropa stones\u201d themselves. This is the closest Williams comes to full-on shred but there is a firm sense of song and melody here, not just a series of blistering notes and runs. Plaintive piano and synthesizer combine with orchestral and choral elements on the moody \u201cUnborn Massacre,\u201d while on \u201cAushwitz\u201d they server as underpinnings of a straight up modern rock tune reminiscent of a Vinnie Moore or Tony MacAlpine track.<\/p>\n

\u201cEclectic Shred\u201d lives up to its name. It is the strongest guitar track on the release, featuring varied tempos and tones, spiraling guitars, manic high speed runs and mellow passages. \u201cCruise Control\u201d is a short and sweet mellow rock tune with a good deal of blues rock influence, and very simple and effective arrangement. Williams once again goes to the classical side on \u201cMaxwell\u2019s Castle,\u201d but once again refrains from going over the top. It is a well-controlled and technical piece that just works on all counts. The acoustic passages are stunning. \u201cEuropa\u201d is another classically influenced song with atmospheric acoustic passages and some intensely dark rhythm lines. It displays the full breadth of Williams\u2019 abilities, moving from classical keyboards to amazing speed riffs. The multiple tempos and sweeping range of the ten minute \u201cJourney To Andromeda\u201d closes the album on a high, running the gamut from shred to classical to progressive fusion. It will leave instrumental guitar fans wanting more.<\/p>\n

There are a few off moments on Eclectic Shred, but none of them are a result of poor musicianship or lack of chops. There are a few spots of inconsistent engineering \u2013 drums are sometimes muffled and the fade outs at the end of a few tracks are a bit abrupt. Most of the drum work is synthetic, so there is the expected \u201cmechanical\u201d feel to some, but not all, of the drum lines. However, the overall strength of Williams\u2019 guitars and masterful songwriting make all of these minor flaws easily forgivable.<\/p>\n

If you are looking for a solid instrumental release, look no further than James William\u2019s latest, Eclectic Shred<\/em>. Each track has a unique feel and tone, so the album remains interesting throughout \u2013 there is no sense of repetition. While not a perfect release, the music manages to capture the raw talent and passion of a truly gifted guitarist and composer.<\/p>\n

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

Band:
\nJames Williams (guitars, bass, keyboards, drum pads)
\nMike LePond (bass on tracks 1 & 6)
\nMatt Guillory (keyboard solos on tracks 3 & 6)
\nRichard Tull (additional guitar solos on tracks 3 & 10)
\nDave Thomas (additional guitar solos on track 3)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tB17 Flying Fortress
\n2.\tKeltoi
\n3.\tDropa Stones
\n4.\tUnborn Massacre
\n5.\tAuschwitz
\n6.\tEclectic Shred
\n7.\tCruise Control
\n8.\tMaxwell\u2019s Castle
\n9.\tEuropa
\n10.\tJourney to Andromeda<\/p>\n

Label: Eclectic Shred Records<\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/www.cdbaby.com\/cd\/jameswilliams12<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 7.5\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Joe Mis – Senior Columnist — Eclectic Shred is the new release from guitar wizard James Williams. Don\u2019t let the title fool you \u2013 Williams is no more a \u201cshredder\u201d than Yngwie Malmsteen or […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8704],"tags":[336,334,2678],"class_list":{"0":"post-28693","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2013","7":"tag-cd","8":"tag-review","9":"tag-shred"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28693","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=28693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28693\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}