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CD/DVD Releases: Magna Carta To Release Glen Drover's ''Metalusion'' On April 5

Posted on Sunday, March 27 @ 18:10:00 UTC by nightowl

With the release of his solo debut on April 5 via Magna Carta, Metalusion, guitarist Glen Dover, best known for his precision and power playing with headbanger icons Megadeth and Eidolon, blends the venom and attack of modern metal and the technically demanding musicianship that defines the classic jazz-rock genre.

The instrumental, 10-track Metalusion, featuring five original compositions and metallic-edged interpretations of material composed by musical giants Frank Zappa, Al DiMeola and Jean-Luc Ponty, mixes robust properties that reveal new and mysterious elements of musical genres.

Metalusion presents a side of Drover’s musical identity that the metal community has rarely witnessed, while boasting diverse yet highly cohesive tracks. “Each song should sound as though it was meant to be included on the record,” says Drover. “Nothing should seem as though it’s out of place.”

Assisting Drover with forging a perfect musical balance are a number of special guests, including Nevermore’s power metal/prog metal guitarist Jeff Loomis, Opeth’s and Talisman’s ass-kicking axe man Fredrik Åkesson, veteran Steve Smyth of the Bay Area’s Forbidden, Ohm’s guitar hero and erstwhile Megadeth genius Chris Poland and classical metal master Vinnie Moore of UFO.

"As was the case for many of the guests who appear on Metalusion, I simply asked the guys if they would be interested in playing on the record, ripping a solo or two, and everyone was into it," says Drover. "I love collaborating with other musicians, jamming, trading files, and this record is a testament to that."

While each guitarist guest poured his own distinct playing style into the molten mixture of metal-fusion, Drover was molding and guiding the overall construction of these massively heavy tracks from their inception. Drover wrote or co-wrote nearly all of the original compositions on the record (with the exception of "Frozen Dream," credited to Saga's Gilmour and featuring Smyth on co-lead guitar), including the soaring "Colors Of Infinity," the dark, multi-sectional "Illusion Oof Starlight," the meditative "Ascension," and the adrenaline-soaked and lightly Spanish-flavored opener, "Ground Zero" (featuring skyrocketing solos by Chris Poland and Vinnie Moore).

"Chris [Poland] was always my favorite Megadeth guitarist by far; he’s just from another planet," says Drover. "Vinnie Moore's playing I've always loved, ever since his first album [Mind's Eye on the Shrapnel label] came out in 1986. It's amazing to have these two guys appear on the record."

Metalusion is certainly packed to the gills with talent and Drover garners the best from himself and others. Drover is particular about the overall impact of these often spiraling and fiery instrumental compositions, but the guitarist says he didn’t dissect every note he played on Metalusion. "I'm an ad lib kind of guy," says Drover, who mixed, mastered and co-engineered the album. "That’s where the best stuff comes from, anyway."

The need to let it fly was pervasive throughout these recording sessions. Led by this project's relative looseness, Drover was inspired to record daring interpretations of highly revered material by jazz-rock electric violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, guitar master Al DiMeola (solo, Return to Forever) and one of the most confounding musical minds of the 20th Century, Frank Zappa. Hearing the results of these recorded versions, Drover and crew reinforced the theme that reverberates throughout Metalusion.

"We didn’t set out to make a covers record," says Drover. "Metalusion really isn’t. One of the greatest aspects of recording this album was that we'd throw out these tunes, just to see if the band was gelling, and then hit the record button. As it turns out, these versions were fantastic. So, we kept them and built upon them. These covers really helped to give the record a direction and underscore the point about this being a metal-fusion album."

Drover modifies and metalifies these fusion classics as heard in the tour de force performances of Zappa’s "Filthy Habits" and DiMeola’s exotic and globe-hopping show-stopper "Egyptian Danza." In addition, Drover launches Ponty’s cosmic classics "Mirage" (from 1977's Enigmatic Ocean) and "Don’t Let The World Pass You By" (1978's Cosmic Messenger) into hyperspace.

"Certainly some of the versions that we do are more aggressive than the originals, but the basic structure of these tunes are still very decipherable," Drover says. "In some cases, such as with the DiMeola tune, they were very challenging to play and offered a great opportunity to showcase members of the band and guests I brought in."

The Ponty material is especially brazen and impressive. With stellar performances by axe-grinder guests and Drover's own arpeggio-laced style, these modern versions capture the trance-inducing, dual-soloing atmosphere of Ponty’s peak fusion period, and provide the perfect platform for Drover and crew's technical prowess.

"The Ponty cover tunes are really focused on trade-off solos," says Drover. "I swap solos with Jeff Loomis on 'Mirage' and Fredrik Åkesson on 'Don’t Let The World Pass You By.' The original material operated the same way and we really stress showmanship on these tunes."

Metalusion is a bold artistic statement and a step in a new creative direction from Drover, who formed the Canadian-based power metal act Eidolon with his brother, drummer Shawn, in 1993 and joined the master of metal drama, King Diamond, later in the 1990s. By the early 21st Century, Drover had gained worldwide acclaim as the guitarist for Megadeth, having appeared in four DVDs with the band and on one studio album, 2007's Billboard-charting, gold-certified United Abominations.

But as Drover's involvement with Megadeth was winding down, he began formulating ideas to record his solo debut. From 2008 through 2010, in between maintaining his studio, being tapped for session work and hitting the road twice with Testament (filling in for Alex Skolnick in 2008 and again in 2010), Drover searched for the magical chemistry and right balance between metal, jazz-rock fusion, and band personnel. With Metalusion, he's achieved it.

"Some people might be shocked that I'm not playing in Megadeth Part II or something," says Drover. "I can understand where they're coming from: metal is all I've ever done, from Megadeth to King Diamond, Eidolon and Testament. But I love the fusion stuff. That's a side of me I wanted to showcase on Metalusion. I just decided, 'Let's take a little musical detour here.' I'm glad I did."

[Source: Magna Carta]

Posted in Album Release News