Upon receiving Bill Majoros' Trajectories promo CD, I expected to be assaulted by a barrage of Yngwie Malmsteen guitar wankerama. Not that there's necessarily anything wrong with that once in awhile! But Majoros is hardly your typical guitar shredder, at least judging from his excellent CD. In fact, Trajectories is the perfect title considering the many paths he takes the listener on.
What I really admire about his Holdsworth meets Satriani style of playing is that he knows a thing or two about dynamics, not to mention variety. Take for example the opener, "Alien Abduction (The Procedure)". Over a catchy synthesized bass beat, Majoros uses a bed of slightly New Age keyboard sounds underneath his breezy, melodic guitar leads. "In the Palace of the Maharajah"(love these titles!) features extensive use of keyboards, combined with a guitar based theme that reminds me of Steve Hackett for some reason. "Never Easy" is a slower, almost romantic song with lyrical passages from Mr. Majoros as well as a most welcome acoustic guitar solo as the piece ends. "The Slippery Slope" is almost completely dominated by synthesizers and reminds me of 80's era Genesis. In fact, the synth bass line is quite similar to Genesis' "Land of Confusion". "Lady Worshipful" is my favorite soft song with its slow romantic rhythm in conjunction with lush synthesized female vocals. The CD closer, "Flashbacks(False Memories)" almost reminds me of Ozric Tentacles, particularly with regard to the watery sound effects and the dramatic synthesizer tones.
Bill Majoros' Trajectories is very much a homespun affair. He is a one man band and some may be bothered by the synthesized percussion and bass. But I generally didn't find this a distraction as his proficient guitar playing and ear for laying down memorable melodies is remarkable. I'm sure if he acquired himself an equally talented full band, he'd be heading for something really special. In the meantime, seek out this CD and enjoy the humorous photos and liner notes! Recommended and not just for guitar buffs!
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