The Journey of Life is an all instrumental release from Scottish guitarist Dean McGinnes, a talented player who has put together 11 tracks full of melody, fire, and emotion. While it's obvious that Dean grew up listening to some of the greats like Satriani, Vai, Beck, and Van Halen, he has his own style that manages to come through often along with his apparent influences. McGinnes plays most of the instruments here, with help from drummer Eddie Lynch, and the songs range from crunchy rockers, fusiony burners, and atmospheric numbers. While not a "chops for chops sake" album, The Journey of Life does contain some strong pieces, like the rambunctious "New Start", the heavy "Going Nowhere", the solo guitar mayhem of "The Journey Man Ryan Carroll", and the Van Halen-meets_Eric Johnson "Get Up and Go". There's some sweet wah-wah lines on "The End is Near", a dark yet melodic number that shows Dean's emotional side. While some of the tunes are upbeat, there's perhaps too many somber, laid back numbers, like "Mountains of Echo", "Hypnotized", and the two part title track, which all sound a tad too similar to each other and meander a bit. There's still plenty to recommend here from this talented up and coming guitar slinger.
Track Listing
1) Going Nowhere
2) New Start
3) Mountains of Echo
4) Hypnotized
5) The Journey Man Ryan Carroll
6) Get Up and Go
7) 2ISM
8) The End is Near
9) The Journey of Life (Part 1)
10) The Journey of Life (Part 2)
11) Alone
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
