Chris Poland
"Chasing the Sun"
Grooveyard Records

CHASING THE SUN is the new album by guitar wizard Chris Poland. He is a well known name in the metal biz for having played on the first two Megadeth albums KILLING IS MY BUSINESS and PEACE SELLS. Many fans are saying (not without good reason) that he was the best guitarist Megadeth ever had. After having left, he released his first instrumental solo CD called RETURN TO METALOPOLIS in 1990 (It has recently been remastered and re-released). He also released a CD with the great Damn The Machine together with his brother Mark and played in the obscure fusion/jazz influenced bands Mumbo's Brain and Ohm (You can get the tracks from these two bands on the RARE TRAX album, also available through Grooveyard Records). On CHASING THE SUN Chris presents a collection of songs he recorded between 1994 and 99 with the help of his brother Mark on drums and Francis DiCosmo on bass. (On track eight and nine you get his fellow Mac Hine on drums. Nice joke.) This album is definitely hard to swallow for all non-musicians. Call it free-jazz, call it fusion, call it what you want, but it's no metal. Chris doesn't offer nice easy listening melodies or catchy riffs. If you think Joe Satriani and Steve Vai's solo albums are strange outputs you cannot understand, don't try to understand Poland's music! But if you want to widen your musical horizons, check this album out. Chris' characteristic playing has established him as one of the unique guitar players also outside of the metal circus. This man's got a reputation! He has much more in common with Alan Holdsworth and Al DiMeola than with Kerry King or Diamond Darrell (that's perhaps the reason why he left Megadeth, haha). Many people say the highlight on the album is the bonus track, “Alexandria 99” from the above mentioned Ohm, a live improvisation with his Ohm colleagues Robertino Pagliari on bass and David Eagle on drums. But for me, this track is too much free-jazz. Since I am a lover of melodies, I prefer songs like the groovier “Robo Stomp” with a nice bass work and Chris doing the melody lines or the quiet “Straight Jacket” with fluent guitar scales and the atmospheric playing of the rhythm section. Very interesting is also “Salvador” with its almost Santana-like samba rhythms and Chris' incredible soloing. If you like the freaky stuff, watch out for more material by Ohm! For a detailed discography check out www.chrispoland.com.

---Rage
Rock Reunion - Germany