Chris Poland
"Chasing the Sun"
Grooveyard Records

Grooveyard Records, out of Rochester (up-state New York), has decided to give Shrapnel a run for their money in releasing top notch fingerlickingly good guitar music. Their first release is the second solo-album from former Megadeth/ Damn The Machine-guitarist, Chris Poland. When Chris goes solo it's actually quite far from his former bands and even his first solo-release Return To Metalopolis. I shall admit it actually took me a while to get into the album, probably as I was expecting something heavier. If you however set yourself into a more Eric Johnson-ish, fusion-oriented, state of mind it might hit you at first strike. Chris has an amazing tone and an amazing technique, all glued together with a great melodic feel. The album starts off with the title-track which is pretty reminiscent of what Joe Satriani used to sound like around the surfing-period, that is when he still was a good boy, not tampering with a lot of computers and shit. "Hip Hop Karma" is a bit more fusion-oriented with Francis DiCosmo showing he's a really tasteful slap-bass player. Here Chris delivers some of the most soulful and intense yet explosive lead-work on the whole album. This guy really shines! "Wendell's Place" is a laid-back number, more in the vein of the previously mentioned Mr. Johnson, while "Robo Stomp" is based on a steady rhythm and Chris presenting a slightly wackier side of his playing, interrupted with some intense soloing with the good old Hendrix-feel to it. "Lu Lu's Dream" is a nice dreamy thing. This is another song where Chris really shows his capacity as a guitarist and also proves he's not one of the common shredders. His playing here is so tasteful and full of feeling it hurts. This can also be said about "Salvador", where he again sounds pretty inspired by Eric Johnson and where every note oozes of soul. "Interference Blues" is, as the title may suggest, a blues in the slower vain. It starts out with some Stevie Ray sounding licks, but contains many variations including some Al Di Meola-scales. Nice, but short. The soft and emotional "Mercy" would fit pretty nicely as a sound-track as when listened to with headphones and closed eyes, it feels more like a visual musical picture and I don't use drugs! "Song For Paul" sort of follows in the same vein and is also best enjoyed with headphones. The album ends with the bonus-track "Alexandria 99," a live-track with Chris current band Ohm. The sound is pretty good for having been recorded from the video-camera audio and the song shows some great promise for future Poland-music. As I initially said, this album might take a while to get into, which it really did for me, but once it does, you'll probably be pretty hooked! Also check out Chris' album Rare Trax on Grooveyard Records. It features some rare recordings with Chris' bands Mumbo's Brain (1993), Nothing If Not (1995), as well as another taster from his new band Ohm.

---Janne Stark
Bright Eyes Magazine
Sweden