Vuvr - Pilgrimage (2001)

Welcome to the Czech Republic! not so often that we go there! as you know nowadays metal including jazz/fusion is "quite" common...but here you have to look at this album the other way around...it's jazz including metal...which is far less common, especially when the kind of metal we're dealing with is DM! what's the difference you might wonder? ^^ the difference is that even though it can be really heavy and loud, and a mixture of both genre, some songs are just plain jazz, which might seem a little bit out of step to some listeners! anyway, the guitar work is really impressive with incredible ambiances and intricate melodies...well, enough said i leave you here and let those proficient musicians do the talking! =]

Vuvr - Pilgrimage (2001)
Genre: DM/Fusion/Jazz
Tracklist:
01 Fear
02 Back in Myself
03 Autumn
04 Garden of Consciousness
05 Longing
06 Passion
07 Waves
08 Pilgrim I
09 Surprised by Pleasure
10 Pilgrim II

Vuvr - Pilgrimage

Michael Shrieve - Two Doors - 1995

(sorry for the big cover, but i think it's nice!)

I was rummaging through my stuff and look what i found...an old dusty album for you! ah ah it's been years since the last time i listened to it, i had almost forgotten i had it! but beneath the dust is indeed a pretty shiny one, almost a masterpiece to me! the musician are of course very skilled =) the drummer (Michael Shrieve) is really good (...i know a retired drummer who's gonna be happy!), and i must also mention 2 other names at least cause on guitar we have shawn lane (before he got real famous) and Jonas Hellborg on bass! the other musicians are certainly famous but not to me!lol the music is in the best fusion style and shawn lane really delivers impressive sounds and leads! believe me, this one fusion album deserves to be in your collection (get yourself a copy if you find one) as it sometimes even turn out to sound metal! eh eh! so hope you have fun with it!

Michael Shrieve - Two Doors - 1995
Genre: Jazz, Fusion
Tracklist:
01 Stellar Rays
02 Deep Umbra
03 Sorcerer
04 Baraji
05 Caress of Lillith
06 Smiling Tarshishm
07 Juvalamu
08 Palace of Dreams
09 Locomotion
10 Data Trash
11 Stella
12 Your Saviour
13 Pipeline
14 Crocodile
15 Lincoln Logs
16 First Train
17 Queen Bee
18 Flying Polly
19 Stella (Reprise)

Drummer from hell!

Mattias 'IA' Eklundh - The Road Less Traveled

I guess no presentation is requiered about Mattias 'IA' Eklundh, but just in case, ah ah! he's a lunatic playing the axe in Freak kitchen! However as you've certainly noticed this is a one of his solo work. You'll find plenty of style, ideas either interesting, ludicrous, blowing, massive or just really wierd lol...but nothing to discard in that one IMHO! Along with Ron Thal (bumblefoot) and Buckethead, this guy is definitely one of the most original and innovative player for these last few years i guess! have fun with his music!

Mattias 'IA' Eklundh - The Road Less Traveled
Genre: Exprimental, Fusion, bla bla bla.... virtuoso!! =)
Tracklist:
01 The Road Less Traveled
02 There's No Money In Jazz
03 Print This!
04 Father
05 No Strings Attached
06 Caffeine
07 Fletch Theme
08 The Battle of Bob
09 Chopstick Boogie
10 Toxic Donald
11 Happy Hour
12 Smoke on the Water
13 Insert Coin
14 The Woman in Seat 27A
15 Ketchup is a Vegetable
16 Samba Caramba
17 White Trash Hyper Blues
18 Toxic Mickey
19 Minor Swing
20 One-String Improvisation
21 Asteroid 3834
22 Little Bastard
23 Difficult Person Music

A stray wanderer!

Cause For Effect - PQ-2 (2001)

This is a grindcore band! =) but not the usual type, actually there are only two guys in the band, a bassist (also doing the vox) and a drummer! their style is very technical and rather unusual! i believe they come from Finland but not sure as there is not many info about them...this album is a MCD and despites its containing about 20 songs, it's about 20 minutes!! ah ah, true grindcore power!!!lol well not much to add except that if you like it strange and off the beaten track, this one is for you! enjoy!

Cause For Effect - PQ-2 (2001)
Genre: Grindcore, Fusion, Jazz
Tracklist:
01 Loyal to the New Order
02 Far Beyond Harsh Language
03 Robotic Brute
04 Genetic Beast
05 Fuse
06 Occult and Extreme
07 People of North America Have Decided to Destroy the Earth
08 Patient and Potent
09 Remember Focus
10 Political Feeling
11 Scrag
12 Full Potential
13 Stern Ballista
14 Saboteur
15 50 Modification
16 Core Fusion
17 Harsh Written Rule
18 Usability
19 Sto-Po

improvisational artistry!

Henderson, Smith & Wooten - Vital Tech Tones 1998

This trio plays jazz/Fusion and all the musicians are top-notch to say the least, so the musicianship is flawless and rather impressive, but that's not really that important! what's important is that their song have a really cool and groovy feeling that is often discarded in that musical style ...and often replaced by a boring display of vituosity and shredding! here we have both, the virtuosity and the groove, and believe me they are acting as a foil to each other...like blues rock with amphetamines!

Henderson, Smith & Wooten - Vital Tech Tones 1998
Genre: Jazz, Fusion, Instrumental
Tracklist:
1 Crash Course
2 Snake Soda
3 Dr. Hee
4 Everglades
5 Two For One
6 King Twang
7 The Captors
8 Giant Steps
9 Lie Detector

PW in comments
Let my ears bleed! [Part1]
Let my ears bleed! [Part2]

Susan Weinert Band - Crunch Time

Here's a highly skilled woman from Germany whom i recommend warmly if you've never listened to her, which is most likely as she isn't that famous outside the jazz-rock /fusion circle! she could be considered some sort of guitar hero as well, but her playing is much more subtle and emotional and not that freaking quick, but anyway the musicianship flies high on that record, whether we're talking about the bass player, the drummer...or any of the musician for that matter, and my ears greatly appreciate it! style wise, she's not really like Shawn Lane but there are similarities between their playing here and there of course....well to conclude, with this one we have top notch musicians and a freaking awesome album! so check it out!

Susan Weinert Band - Crunch Time
Genre: Fusion
Tracklist:
1 Don't Try That Again
2 Hopeless Case
3 Don't You Guys Know Any Nice Songs?
4 One For George
5 Member Of The Syndicate
6 The Crown
7 He Knows
8 Pacific Palisades
9 Maybe
10 Guess Who Called

Let my ears bleed!