While hotshot guitarists from other countries never seem to stop releasing all-instrumental albums, the United States hasn't had many solo-guitar heroes since the days of Joe Satriani and Steve Vai. But down in Florida, vetern Todd Grubbs continues to make some of the most accessible and sophisticated guitar metal you're bound to hear on American shores.
His fourth album, Time, Space and the Electric is a mostly American all-star affair with guest players ranging from keyboardists Derek Sherinan and Don Preston (from Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention) to guitarists Chris Poland and Ralph Santolla to Gordian Knot bassist Sean Malone. Truth be told, some of this music echoes that of Sherinian's epic-scale Planet X work, as well as that of Vai and Satriani. But then along comes something like "Thank You Mr. Maniac" — a blur of Middle-Eastern influence and vox-free King's X. Or "Dreaming Aboard An Alien Aircraft," the album's longest track that both soars and gets broken down into heady grooves. Or the peaceful "Edith," offering respite from the album's overall intensity.
The album does have its share of vocal gurgles, too. "Vocalizations" (but not really singing) give a symphonic-metal flair to "The Electric Life," punkish, distant vocals as if heard through an open window take the form of a verbal disagreement in "The Argument," and an infant's crying and other effects detract from Grubbs' spacey guitars and keys in "The Ballad of Emy and LU." That said, Time, Space and the Electric is a refreshing album that boasts diverse appeal and proves Grubbs is more about how his compositions fit into the big sonic picture than how many notes he can cram into that picture.
Track Listing:
1) Time, Space and the Electric
2) Thank You Mr. Maniac
3) The Fearless Future
4) Dreaming Aboard An Alien Aircraft
5) Edith
6) The Electric Life
7) A View From Inner Space
8) The Argument
9) You Are Here
10) The Ballad of Emy and LU
11 Curved Time
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