{"id":48685,"date":"2015-03-15T10:40:19","date_gmt":"2015-03-15T15:40:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=48685"},"modified":"2015-03-15T10:41:17","modified_gmt":"2015-03-15T15:41:17","slug":"sean-baker-orchestra-game-on-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2015\/sean-baker-orchestra-game-on-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Sean Baker Orchestra | Game On!!<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"sean_baker_game_on_cover\"Shredguy Records is back, making noise early in 2015 with the release of the labels 27th album. Game On!!<\/em> heralds the return of Sean Baker Orchestra and offers 13 new songs, 11 instrumentals and two songs with guest vocalists. Sean Baker Orchestra is a trio of musicians; bassist David Donigian, drummer Clint Sabon and, of course, guitarist Sean Baker.<\/p>\n

Game On!!<\/em> continues the tradition of SBO\u2019s exploration of metallic, shredding jaunts, featuring hook-laden melodic passages and blazingly fast solos. The group\u2019s latest endeavor also features some notable guests. Vocalist Jeff Martin (Racer X) and Ronnie Monroe (Metal Church) take a turn on two songs, while Marc Rizzo (Soulfly), Toby Knapp (Onward, Where Evil Follows) and Bruce Bouillet (Racer X, The Scream) add their chops to the instrumental song \u201cShrapnel in my Ear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Produced by Sean Baker and label mastermind Michael McDowell, the music reflects the personality of Baker. Baker manages to keep the music heavy and aggressive, yet doesn\u2019t lose sight of delivering melody. The musical arrangements allow for each band member, as well as their guests, to show off their skills. With that said, no single person takes the focal point away from the songs; each person\u2019s performances enhance the music and overall listening experience.<\/p>\n

The opening with \u201cPrelude to War\u201d initially sets up the album with the vibe of being a film score. This style of instrumental is reminiscent of music scored for the HBO\u2019s “Game of Thrones,\u201d and is majestic and magical in its execution and delivery. From there, listeners are jettisoned into \u201cShrapnel in your Ear\u201d \u2013 the music is a tour de force of guitarists applying their stamps of shredding mayhem to the musical mix. <\/p>\n

\u201cNecessary Evil,\u201d which was co-written with Jeff Martin, is going to remind fans of his days in Racer X from the perspective of his vocals. The song offers listeners a heavy riff that is joined to Martin\u2019s harsh, gritty, yet thin vocal delivery. The solo is melodic and spacious, allowing for the notes to breathe. \u201cSpooky\u201d was penned by Ronnie Monroe and Baker. This song offer fans a tranquil experience. Monroe moves from a quiet emotional mid-timbre vocal to an almost Dickinson-like squeal. While Monroe shifts in and out of the different phrasing with each vocal approach, the music stays in state of ballad-esque melancholy. The song closes with stylish melodic guitar solo. <\/p>\n

\u201cSir Duke,\u201d written by Stevie Wonder, shies away from the shred motif and is a whimsical number that plays to a familiar melody, but it is out of place among the other metallic overtures. <\/p>\n

Bach\u2019s \u201cBour\u00e9e in E Minor\u201d closes out the album, with Baker performing it on acoustic guitar. Showcasing his classical guitar skills, he offers fans another side of his musical talent. <\/p>\n

Overall, Sean Baker Orchestra demonstrates plenty of musical diversity on Game On!!<\/em>. For the most part, the music sticks to its high regard of shred guitar, but the band isn\u2019t afraid to allow the lighter side of its individual personalities to shine through. A few numbers lean toward a darker edginesss, but other songs have a lighter, if not Pop-oriented feel, with melody always a focal point that lies within the heart of each song. Even when it seems that the cohesiveness of the track listing is out of balance, Sean Baker Orchestra makes those diversions flow seamlessly into the musical landscape. <\/p>\n

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

Band:
\nSean Baker (Guitar)
\nDavid Donigian (Bass)
\nClint Sabon (Drums)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1. \tPrelude to War
\n2. \tShrapnel in Your Ear
\n3. \tHercules’ Box
\n4. \tComing Up Roses
\n5. \tD.T.O.C.
\n6. \tRuth Ann
\n7. \tNecessary Evils
\n8. \tIn the Moment
\n9. \tDiminished Hate
\n10. \tSir Duke (Stevie Wonder cover)
\n11. \tSpooky
\n12. \tGame On!!
\n13. \tBour\u00e9e in E Minor (Johann Sebastian Bach cover)<\/p>\n

Label: Shredguy Records<\/p>\n

Web: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/The-Sean-Baker-Orchestra\/114567625240995<\/a><\/p>\n

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

by John Kindredx – Publisher — Shredguy Records is back, making noise early in 2015 with the release of the labels 27th album. Game On!! heralds the return of Sean Baker Orchestra and offers 13 […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":48185,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12394],"tags":[10952,2317,10739,1103,2491,3569,10743,10740,8993,10744,10951,10738,2205,1067],"class_list":{"0":"post-48685","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2015","8":"tag-bruce-bouillet","9":"tag-cd-review","10":"tag-game-on","11":"tag-hard-rock","12":"tag-heavy-metal","13":"tag-instrumental-shred","14":"tag-jeff-martin","15":"tag-marc-rizzo","16":"tag-metal-church","17":"tag-racer-x","18":"tag-ronnie-monroe","19":"tag-sean-baker-orchestra","20":"tag-shredguy-records","21":"tag-toby-knapp"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48685","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=48685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48685\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}