{"id":30848,"date":"2013-07-15T11:15:03","date_gmt":"2013-07-15T16:15:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=30848"},"modified":"2014-02-08T08:36:56","modified_gmt":"2014-02-08T13:36:56","slug":"toby-knapp-static-warfare-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2013\/toby-knapp-static-warfare-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Toby Knapp | Static Warfare<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"TobyToby Knapp\u2019s follow up to 2010\u2019s The Campaign<\/em> has been three years in the making. That doesn\u2019t mean Knapp was holed up in a studio for three years, but life had reared its ugly head, causing Knapp to re-evaluate his situation as a musician and a person. With his personal demons bubbling toward the surface, he left Wyoming with a suitcase in hand and headed for New York, where his close friends live. Putting his gear in storage, he settled in at a new job and began to evaluate his life. After a year, his quest to bring his old band, Onward, back into the fold began; however, he sadly found out original vocalist Michael Grant was terminally ill. Out of respect, after Grant\u2019s death, Knapp decided against resurrecting Onward. Struck by this stunning loss of his friend, Knapp\u2019s music career continued its hiatus.<\/p>\n

After two years, Knapp returned to Wyoming a different person than when he had left. Acquiring a new confidence, which came from acquiring skills outside of music, the desire to write again returned. Dusting off the old gear led to the creation of new music and, eventually, led to the phone call to Shredguy Records, telling them that it was time to record again.<\/p>\n

Knapp\u2019s latest studio album titled Static Warfare<\/em> originally was to have an uplifting feel, like an Eric Johnson album. But the nine-track affair falls back in line with Knapp\u2019s aggressive, dark riffs. Maybe it\u2019s a musical expelling of those old demons because it\u2019s heavy and angry. Knapp continues to explore diverse compositions that move through several genres. After the three years off, his performances did not suffer from the extended layoff.<\/p>\n

Knapp fans will be pleased to hear that his unique riffs and shredding solos maintain the sure-handed fire power just like on older releases. With 35 minutes of blistering metal, Knapp\u2019s choice to forgo a vocalist was a good call. The music is diverse enough, with Knapp\u2019s use of melody, speed, progressive and dynamic changes intertwined throughout each song. <\/p>\n

The title track is a brief introduction to some sure-fire, heavy-as-hell riffs that are heard on tracks, such as \u201cThe Impossibility of Reason,\u201d \u201cX-Class Flare,\u201d \u201cPlasma Spheroid\u201d and \u201cThrashed Radiation Shield.\u201d All tracks push the element of speed and thrash to the limit. Except for \u201cWeaponology,\u201d the album firmly plants itself in the thrash genre, with all other genres making appearance on or around fast tempo grooves. A lot of energy and aggression seethe from the speakers as you spin this instrumental disk. <\/p>\n

Knapp\u2019s fans will be happy that he didn\u2019t fall off the wagon and take listeners into more melancholy, ballad-happy jaunts and certainly will be glad he didn\u2019t head toward an Eric Johnson \u201cCliffs of Dover\u201d overly clean and elegant foray. There are only so much of those repetitious riffs one can handle.<\/p>\n

The story of Knapp\u2019s three-year journey is a compelling one. Who in this life hasn\u2019t been to brink of despair, unable to see the light at the end of the tunnel? Knapp shows that we can put our house back in order, even through the most trying of times. And while it takes, work, commitment, determination and certainly change, nothing is impossible for us to achieve, even at the darkest hour.<\/p>\n

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

All songs written and performed by Toby Knapp.<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tStatic Warfare
\n2.\tWeaponology
\n3.\tThe Impossibility of Reason
\n4.\tX Class Flare
\n5.\tPlasma Spheroid
\n6.\tNot If But When
\n7.\tTrashed Radiation Shield
\n8.\tThe Arrival Of Polaris
\n9.\tThe Doomsday Clock<\/p>\n

Label: Shredguy Records<\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/www.tobyknappmusic.com\/home.cfm<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 8.5\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by John Kindred – Publisher — Toby Knapp\u2019s follow up to 2010\u2019s The Campaign has been three years in the making. That doesn\u2019t mean Knapp was holed up in a studio for three years, but […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":34715,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8704],"tags":[336,2491,3569,334,2205,1101,1067],"class_list":{"0":"post-30848","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2013","8":"tag-cd","9":"tag-heavy-metal","10":"tag-instrumental-shred","11":"tag-review","12":"tag-shredguy-records","13":"tag-thrash-metal","14":"tag-toby-knapp"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30848","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=30848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30848\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}