I'll be honest when I say that instrumental guitar albums are really hit or miss for this reviewer. If I'm going to take the time to listen to this type of musical endeavor I want to be knocked out by someone who has a combination of killer chops as well as a diverse musical palette, otherwise I have a tendency to lose interest rather quickly.
The Beckoning Silence from indie British guitarist Lewis Turner consists of ten tracks that are primarily in what I'd call the technical metal category, so expect a hefty amount of intricate and blazing metal riffs to be front and center here. Yet for all its innate heaviness Turner also demonstrates that he's more than just your above average metal guitarist. He liberally applies some pretty cool jazz and almost funk licks and passages on "Sixth Sense", "Cheese Dreams" and "Big Mama", which helps balance things out nicely. The production is a little spotty in places but it's not really anything that will distract or take away from the overall experience. After listening to The Beckoning Silence a couple of times from beginning to end I can't profess to being completely blown away by the majority of these compositions, however that being said he's certainly a top notch, diverse player, and he does change things up enough to keep things interesting.
If you're someone who really appreciates instrumental guitar albums then I'll think you'll find that Lewis Turner not only shows a lot of promise, but he's also turned in a pretty solid debut effort as well.
Track Listing
1) Relentless
2) The Beckoning Silence Pt1
3) Fat Pigeon
4) Sixth Sense
5) The Beckoning Silence Pt2
6) Cheese Dreams
7) The Solution
8) Restless
9) Big Mama
10) The Beckoning Silence Pt3