Sunday 23 January 2011

Alex Skolnick - Last Day In Paradise (2007)

01.Mercury Retrograde 4:32
02.Last Day In Paradise 4:51
03.Tom Sawyer 6:34
04.Shades of Grey 6:23
05.Practica Lo Que Predicas (Practice What You Preach) 5:16
06.The Lizar 7. Channel 4 4:2
08.Revelation (Mother Earth) 7:19
09.Out There Somewhere 4:48
10.Western Sabbath Stomp 5:23.

Alex Skolnick (guitar)
Nathan Peck (double bass)
Matt Zebroski (drum).

On March 15, 2007, Alex Skolnick Trio will unleash "Last Day In Paradise" on Magnatude Records. It consists of seven original compositions along with three arrangements of hard rock 'standards,' (a concept upon which the trio has built a strong reputation as an instrumental group that appeals to straight ahead jazz fans and rock fans alike). Feeling the inspiration of European jazz and other influences, the group has now gone beyond the limitations of the traditional guitar trio format on many of the songs, incorporating electronic loops ('Last Day In Paradise'), vocal melodies ('Mercury Retrograde') and slide guitar ('Western Sabbath Stomp'). There are also special effects, bowed bass tracks and other studio embellishments, resulting in their most original and cutting edge album to date. The new album also includes a Latin version of the Testament song "Practice What You Preach" (which Alex originally co-wrote) and a live electronica inspired version of Rush classic 'Tom Sawyer.'
The Alex Skolnick Trio was born in 2001. A heavy metal guitar hero with the San Francisco based group Testament, Alex had decided to leave the Bay Area, move to New York, soak up the jazz scene and go back to school to earn his music degree from New School University. It was here that he met a young drum prodigy named Matt 'Zebar' Zebroski who, as it turned out, had been a Testament fan as a youth in Pittsburgh. The two began rehearsing regularly, practicing standards and reviewing homework assignments. Within a few months, they hit upon a magic formula: songs of their youth, reharmonized and revamped to incorporate high level modern improvisation. A short time later, the trio had versions of Kiss, Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne, the Who and more, as well as original compositions and were covering a wide range of musical styles: swing, funk, Latin and moments of John McLaughlin/Jimi Hendrix/Miles Davis inspired intensity.
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