Anand - Joy 4 Ever
Year of Release: 2004
Label: Lion Music
Catalog Number: n/a
Format: CD
Total Time: 56:34:00As if the title and the cover of this album, a guitar player in a crystal ball with a purple background, weren't enough to make me wonder what kind of music I was going to listen to, a look at the song titles didn't make my expectations any higher. The first and last tracks are titled "A Dirty Mind Is A....." and "...Joy 4 Ever" and the nine songs in between indeed range in that same area ("Meet Mr. Long," "Get Laid," need I say more). So how pleasantly surprised I was when I actually started listening to this CD and the instrumental music appeared to have been written in a very different state of mind!
The first song is straight-in-your-face uptempo melodic metal in which - in contrast to many other instrumental music [pieces] - there is lots of room for the keyboards and the rhythm section is very much part of the song. Instead of forwarding to the next track pretty soon, as I had expected, I went running for my air guitar! The same really goes for a lot of the other songs, too. There are lots of variations in tempo and style of the songs, and every time you think a song is about to become repetitive, Anand shifts to a different gear and keeps it alive.
The rhythm section is very, very solid all over the disc. That may not be surprising with people like Mike Terrana on board, but it does add to the very tight, powerful tone of the music on most part of the disc. This combined with the emphasis on the keyboards (Hammond at times) sometimes makes you forget you're listening to a solo album by a guitar player. On one track Derek Sherinian guest stars on keys, which results in a pretty cool keyboard-guitar solo. Anand managed to create some wonderful melodies and his guitar fulfills the role of both rhythm and solo guitar and vocals. There may be no lyrics, but the melodies are definitely expressed well by Anand's guitar playing. Also, the recording quality of the album is very good which makes the artwork and the lousy song titles the only things to complain about.
The promo sheet tells me that Anand, a Surinam-born Dutchman, received the "Best Guitar Player Of Holland" award in '96/'97 and this album makes me believe he had every right to win this, not only for his playing but also for the great songs he has written for his instrument on this disc. This CD will definitely find its way to my player more often. If you like metal instrumentals like Rondat's Rape Of The Earth you really should check this one out and also be on the look-out for the re-release of Anand's first album A Man's Mind by Lion Music early 2004.
[This review originally appeared at the ProgPower Online review site -ed.]
Tracklisting:
A Dirty Mind / Blind Date / Intimate Dance / Meet Mr. Long? / Get Laid / Disillusioned / Get Out / Next / The One / Onatopp / Joy 4 Ever
Musicians:
Anand Mahangoe - guitars
Mike Terrana - drums
Nick De Vos - bass
Rob Fahnrich - keyboards
Guest:
Derek Sherinian - Keyboards (5)
Discography:
A Man's Mind (1999)
Joy 4 Ever (2003/2004)
Genre: Progressive/Power Metal
Origin NL
Added: February 1st 2004
Reviewer: Erik Van Geel
Score:
Artist website: www.anandmahangoe.com
Hits: 2681
Language: english
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