aaamusic | On 19, Jan 2011

Bringing us the finest in prog-tinged metal shredding, Zeni Danussi’s EP ‘My Guitar Bleeds’ is no mere exercise in talented wankery, but a real stab at instrumental expression that eschews the rampant pretentiousness and turgid scale-bothering that so many talented guitarists fall into when recording instrumental solo albums to instead give us a breath of fresh air as we are treated to merely 17 minutes of the nuanced thrill of a beautiful instrument played extraordinarily well.

Coming at us courtesy of stormy synth intros like a monster over the horizon, title track ‘My Guitar Bleeds’ builds slowly into a wailing groove metal beast, with distortion used to not just add edge – the edge and attitude are all in the searing strut and stomp of the groove – but to make the guitar notes sing in an eerie, keening manner removed from your bog standard sound into the realm of the uncanny valley as far as effects and tone is concerned. The lead melody isn’t so much yowling as battling itself in this surreal, thunderous intro. As for the crowning glory of epic battles, ‘Danger Zone’ once again builds those ominous synths in a cinematic manner, pierced with savage pick scrape echoes that make the hairs on the back of your neck stand to attention. Once it gets going, the chugging rhythm guitar and sinuous predatory drumming provide a sturdy structure for the furious lead, which creates a fiery explosion of notes that is structured in a manner so artful it is effortless, and one that hits its stride so well it has to be faded out rather than bring itself to a close.

‘Rules For Fools’ could for all the world be the intergalactic lovechild of Guns N Roses snarl and the fantastical leanings of Iron Maiden. There’s technical ability here without a doubt, but it is the invention and climactic invocation of true majesty that works here to elevate Danussi. The rapid fretwork is counterpointed by long notes, and the result is something so well-constructed, it is a song without words and a bloody good one at that. But where Danussi really pulls it out the bag is by including the emotive introspective oasis that is ‘Tear Of The Heart’. What is the point of the grandeur without respite? Here, with a guitar sound so versatile it plays the part of space-age synth (ever heard anything that is simultaneously so mechanically futuristic yet so organic?) and power metal vocals, accompanied by ballad drumkit and semi-acoustic melodic backing, we are given the utopia vision of this EP’s fantasy realms.

To close, the dogged thickly-textured maelstrom ‘Knock Of Death’ uses a determined bass drum stomp and restrained pacing to create a real sense of the climactic. This being where our gallant space knight rises from the ashes to defeat the villain. Fingertip destroying solos have moved aside for crunching gravelly chords and cavernous drum/bass to create this final closure, and a sense of artistic and narrative satisfaction.

The world of heavy metal guitarists is one that is flooded by proficient blokes who can play baroque series of notes with lunatic speed and efficiency. However Zeni Danussi is not only talented, but displays a real artistic flair for crafting entire sonic realms. Add an awareness of the importance of pacing, mood and the orchestration of the other instruments to compliment his solos, and it is for these reasons that without further ado, I name Zeni Danussi a true guitar virtuoso.

Author: Katie H-Halinski