Williams, Jimmy - Sonic Divergence

Year of Release: 2007
Label: independent
Catalog Number: n/a
Format: CD
Total Time: 44:05:00

It is nice to have a network of friends, as that can get you many advantages. But recently I found out that I was also in someone else's network, when I opened an envelope and found in it a copy of the album Sonic Divergence, by Jimmy Williams. On the back it said "Produced by Erik Norlander & Jimmy Williams" and then I knew how that CD ended up in my mailbox.

So, who is Jimmy Williams then? The accompanying press release mentioned the band Steel Prophet, a classic metal band from the US. Ok, so can we expect an album filled with heavy chops and riffs? Well, since it was all new to me, I played the album ... Now Mr. Williams did in track one what many bands do: a very nice sounding intro, pointing your expectations to a mellow, prog sound, but then in the second track, you are confronted with a barrage of heavy chops ? hey, isn't that what we expected? Don't worry ... fortunately it turns out to be quite nice ... the style of songwriting is very progressive. Yes, the rhythm section, formed by Karl Rosqvist (also formerly of Steel Prophet) and Jimmy himself, produces a pretty standard rhythm, but the guitars on top of that are plain virtuoso! Williams' play is melodic, at times fast and has a nice progressive edge.

I am not a huge fan of instrumental guitar albums, so this is not an easy one for me to review, but I must say I am pleasantly surprised by this album. The melodic guitar parts and the use of the keyboards, although more buried in the music, makes it not a tough album to listen to. And it is not as heavy as I thought. So far "Tides Of Time" is one of my favourite tracks, up tempo and very progressive. But the surprise really came with "Temple Of Artemis" ... an acoustic song. Wow ... it is soft, fairly simple, but oh, so beautiful. This shows how versatile Mr. Williams is.

But after a few songs featuring just Williams on acoustic guitar, all hell breaks loose again in "Searching For Anything Real" ... pounding drums and heavy riffs, topped with harmonic guitar layers. Another progressive highlight is "Cosmic Fugue," with melodic guitar arrangements and lots of keyboards by Rob Rampley. Everything comes together in "Critical Dimension": the heavy chops, the melodic parts, the proggy parts and the lush keyboards. And while cooling down with the last track, "Forever Again," I think to myself: well, this actually was a very nice album.

There are a lot of guitarists in this world and all have their charm. The problem is that many sound alike or sound like Vai or Satriani or Malmsteen, but I did not have that idea with Jimmy Williams and that is a good thing. So check out this album, it is definitely worth your attention. Samples can be heard on Jimmy's MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/jimmywilliams, but the album can also be found on Mindawn.

Tracklisting:
Astral Projector / Broken Glass Reflection / Tides Of Time / Asleep / Temple Of Artemis / Long Road Home / Searching For Something Real / Cosmic Fugue / Critical Dimension / Forever Again

Musicians:
Jimmy Williams - electric, acoustic and bass guitars
Rob Rampley - keyboards, FX
Karl Rosqvist - drums

Discography:
Guitar Concepts (?)
Sonic Divergence (2007)

Genre: Melodic Metal

Origin US

Added: March 22nd 2007
Reviewer: Marcel Haster
Score:
Artist website: www.jimmywilliamsguitar.com
Hits: 2730
Language: english