Wow...I have to admit, I'd never heard a lick of Massimo Izzizzari's guitar playing prior to slapping on his latest release for Lion Music, Electrifying, but after going on this ride, I'll be the first to mention the talents of this Italian shredder to anyone into serious guitar chops. Electrifying is no pure shred extravaganza however, as Izzizzari has plenty of songwriting skills to go along with his axe mastery, as he's crafted 9 exciting instrumental tunes here that mix rock, metal, and jazz fusion quite nicely. Helping him out on Electrifying is Azeglio Izzizzari on Drums and Mario Mazzenga on Bass, and these two players really add some funky, and often times jazzy grooves to these tunes, which results in a great complement to Massimo's tremendous metal and fusion licks. "High Tension" and "Lithosphere" just ooze and groove, with wild guitar tones and solos that seem to combine Greg Howe and Steve Morse, and "Attraction" has some nifty electric piano to mesh with the tight rhythms and crisp guitar lines, reminding a bit of Return to Forever. There's lovely classical/folk on the acoustic solo guitar piece "Romance", and it's hard not to fall in love with the deep metallic funk grooves of "Little Hero", a song that has no shortage of memorable guitar passages from Izzizzari.
There's a new guitar hero on the horizon folks, and his name is Massimo Izzizzari. Once again, kudos to Lion Music for finding another fabulous player, and his sophomore CD Electrifying is a boatload of guitar fun.
Track Listing
01. High Tension.
02. Lithosphere.
03. Attraction.
04. Sweet Memories.
05. Plastic Theater.
06. Funny Walk.
07. Romance.
08. Little Hero.
09. Natural Evolution.