aaamusic | On 24, Jul 2011

Remember the instrumental metal EP I went all heavy metal fangirl over a while back? Well, Zeni Danussi, mastermind and fret-wizard behind it has returned with another five-track epic: ‘Highspeed Rider’, and although perhaps not as totally stratospheric as its predecessor, this creation still delivers the goods.

 

Title track ‘Highspeed Rider’ is every bit as exhilarating as the name suggests, a ferocious, red-blooded thrill-ride through guitar landscapes, as wailing high notes soar over solid, crunching chords. The lead sound has something of the sci-fi in its keening, futuristic tones, somewhere between slick production, innovative effects, and a sound like a synth on steroids that is hard to believe comes from our familiar electric guitar. Combine this glittering metallic veneer with a feral, exciting melodicism and evocative passion, and that, my friends and readers, is one good intro. ‘Secret Sins’ ups the sinister undercurrents into a brooding malevolence that runs on the surface now. There’s extra distortion in the rhythm guitar, and a use of augmented intervals in the lead to create an exotic, moody atmosphere. Strange sliding notes are mixed in with searing guitar soloing in the vein of the kings of heavy metal guitar, and all the while the drums pound out a cymbal/snare march to drive the track onwards, building momentum right until the final, teeth-bared snarl of an outro.

The slow buildup of ‘Military Machine’, with its guitar line almost crooning the notes like a particularly operatic eagle over the thudding growl of the bassline, adds dimension, before launching with total abandon yet a constant finesse into the body and soul of the track: a buzzing, tumultuous, synth-and-overdrive thunderstorm of noise that collides the impossibly high and impossibly low as the two nimbly circle one another before fading into the slow, emotive ‘Lady Of The Night’, a heartfelt, bittersweet melody that tones down the madness to reveal a tender side to Danussi’s guitar. A balladesque drumbeat backs the guitar that expresses more in its sonic invention and melodic beauty than many lyricists manage in five EPs. Admittedly, the “guitar solo” section gets a bit over the top, but it never loses grip of the sense of time, place, and character that marks out Danussi’s style.

Closer ‘Into The Unknown’ makes sure we don’t leave so much as we are catapulted out. Launching with ominous bass-end hum and savage chords over a windswept desolation, it throws at the listener all the fury and heat one can endure, razor-edged notes shimmering by like aural shrapnel, yet delivered with aplomb and intent. Perhaps not as satisfying as its predecessors in terms of feeling like an event, but nonetheless an impressive display.

 

It has to be said, ‘Into The Unknown’ does hamper ‘Highspeed Rider’ as a whole, and so it doesn’t hit the same sustained giddy heights of ‘My Guitar Bleeds’. However, I said it once and I’ll say it again: Zeni Danussi is by far and away one of the best and most powerful guitarists out there, and his way of fabricating entire worlds through the medium of guitar playing is in itself a feat worth checking out.

 

Author: Katie H-Halinski