Fillius, Mike - Volume 1

Year of Release: 2001
Label: self-released
Catalog Number: n/a
Format: CD
Total Time: 49:13:00

Folks who are into artists like Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and John Petrucci should be aware of a new guitar hero on scene. His name is Mike Fillius, and this dude handles his guitar like he was born with it in his hands and hasn't stopped playing since. On his first solo album, Fillius presents a set of ten tunes that tread just about everywhere a shredder can go. Take the artful melodies of Vai, the rockin' anthems of Satriani, and the heavy metal roar of Metallica all rolled into one neat ball, and you'll be close to what many of Fillius's compositions sound like. Being a metalist, though, doesn't stop him from taking a stab at surf rock and rock-a-billy, albeit his own revved up versions.

While most of the album is high-octane metal shredding, Fillius never forgets the melodies and always manages to come up with inventive riffs. The album remains interesting from start to finish, with each track having its own signature. We're not talking 100% metal here, though. Once in a while, Fillius turns off the distortion pedal to work his grooves with a clean tone. In these cases, he sometimes sounds a bit like the late and great Danny Gatton. Even in these more conservative tracks, though, it's not too long before he's back wailing out a dozen notes a second, with the amp cranked to 11. Metal is definitely in Fillius's heart.

I should mention that this is a self-produced CD that one isn't likely to confuse with a big-label product. The CD is actually a CDR, and the two-page insert is obviously produced on a computer. One shouldn't for a minute, though, confuse the home-made package with the music contained therein. The tracks on the album are expertly performed and produced, my only complaint being an overextended and shrill high end. You'll want to listen with the high frequencies knocked down a few db, but you will definitely want to listen.

[Though Clay doesn't mention it, you'll see that Mastermind's Rich Berends sits in on drums -ed.]

Tracklisting:
The Nomad (5:01) / Halls to Hell (3:48) / Pipeline (4:48) / Trespassing (4:21) / Diminished (5:20) / Bad Wiring (3:59) / Down to Dirt (3:58) / Spillway Jam (6:18) / Saturn Return (5:48) / In the Past (5:29)

Musicians:
Mike Fillius - guitar, bass
Randy Gromley - bass
Lance Justis - drums
Rich Berends - drums

Discography:
Volume 1 (2001)

Genre: Progressive-Power Metal

Origin US

Added: June 2nd 2002
Reviewer: Clayton Walnum

Artist website: www.geocities.com/mikefillius
Hits: 2427
Language: english