Tony Macalpine

On his 1993 Warner Bros. debut, instrumental rocker Gary Hoey plucks and hammers his way through 40 minutes' worth of post-Satriani rock noodling. Despite several attempts at genre-bending blues and soul references, Animal Instinct is all melodic (bordering on adult/soft) rock. The aggressive opener, "Mass Hysteria," and the upbeat shuffle "Texas Son" count as highlights, but the real standout is probably "Drive," a cut that boasts what is clearly the record's finest melody. Hoey plays admirably, and his supporting cast – Tony Franklin (bass) and Frankie Banali (drums) – also provide solid performances. Animal Instinct is a respectable offering for sure, but Hoey doesn't demonstrate a rhythmic or melodic capacity anywhere near that of his obvious influences, Joe Satriani and Steve Vai. Fans of virtuoso guitar rock would do better to search out superior shred material from the likes of Michael Lee Firkins, Tony MacAlpine, and Blues Saraceno before picking up this or any Gary Hoey disc.

Session and backup band keyboardist Derek Sherinian seems to understand that, when it comes to jazz-rock fusion music, the electric guitar is king, at least from the evidence of his solo album Oceana. Sherinian, who has backed such stars as Buddy Miles, Alice Cooper, and Kiss and been a member of groups including Dream Theater and, most recently, Black Country Communion, usually contents himself with co-writing the instrumental tunes on the album with drummer Simon Phillips, then joining Phillips and bassist Jimmy Johnson in providing musical support to one of a number of guest star guitarists…

Seven the Hardway is a 5-piece progressive rock/metal band based in Southern California. Formed in 2009 by Grammy Nominated guitar virtuoso Tony MacAlpine (Steve Vai, Planet X, CAB) legendary drummer Virgil Donati (Planet X) and renowned vocalist Mark Boals (Uli Jon Roth, Royal Hunt,Yngwie Malmsteen). Joining these three legends are bass player Doug Shreeve and 21 year old Argentanian newcomer Estefania Daniel on guitar. The band's blistering, 10-track self-titled debut was mixed by the legendary Roy Z.

The Progressive Souls Collective and the debut album, Sonic Birth, is the brainchild of German guitarist Florian Zepf. It's an ambitious and massive recording of modern progressive metal…

The great irony with this release is that it was perhaps the most innovative and interesting on the Shrapnel label, yet received little attention until years later. Yngwie Malmsteen's influence on young guitarists produced an endless supply of technically competent, but largely uninspired, effigies. Mark Varney signed the German guitarist/composer Bernd Steidl, who had been studying at the Guitar Institute of Technology (GIT) in California, after hearing a demo tape. Released without much press or fanfare, the recording was only mildly successful within the guitar-shred community. Perhaps the reason for this was that the core American audience, primarily young, heavy metal-influenced guitar students, were not ready for the level of sophistication presented in this acoustic format.

Sons of Apollo is an American progressive metal supergroup formed in 2017 and composed of Mike Portnoy, Billy Sheehan, Derek Sherinian, Jeff Scott Soto and Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal. Portnoy, Sheehan and Sherinian had already worked together at a short-lived, live instrumental project with Tony MacAlpine. Sherinian was asking Portnoy to be a drummer in a band full-time. Portnoy agreed when he had time for it. Their debut album, Psychotic Symphony, will be produced by Portnoy and Sherinian (as "The Del Fuvio Brothers") and is expected to be released on 20 October 2017 via Inside Out Music/Sony Music.

Sons Of Apollo - Psychotic Symphony (2017) {2CD Limited Edition Media Book InsideOut Music 88985474452}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 854 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 272 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 35 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2017 InsideOut Music / Century Media Records / Sony Music | 88985474452
Progressive Metal / Neo-Classical Metal / Alternative Metal

APOLLO: The ancient Greek and Roman God of music and poetry. SONS OF APOLLO: The new supergroup featuring members of Dream Theater, Mr. Big, Guns ‘N Roses, and Journey. In early 2017, rumors began circulating about a new secret project including former Dream Theater members Mike Portnoy and Derek Sherinian. Finally, on August 1st, the duo revealed the details to the rest of the world, introducing their new band, SONS OF APOLLO.