siLLy puPPy
It's safe to say that this is a showcase for the absolutely phenomenal shredding abilities of Jason Becker and Marty Friedman to show off their chops of highly technical playing with fast tempos, melodic solos, neoclassical scales and dual guitar harmonizations all under the guise of the band CACOPHANY. They recruited Peter Marrino on vocals and Atma Anur on drums. Marty covers both guitar and bass duties at least on the record. Criaig Swain was recruited for live performances. This band only put out two albums, this one being the first.
This is one of those love/hate albums for me. I am a fan of (good) shredding and neoclassical dual guitars doesn't get any better than this. Musically this is a bonafide masterpiece of neoclassical shredding unmatched by no others. The compositions are brilliantly written and executed perfectly at a speed of light pace. There are two major downsides. First of all the production is absolutely horrible. It is so tinny and weak that you'd swear they recorded it on a home-owned cassette recorder of the day. The second is that I find some of lyrics kinda goofy and not on parr with the seriousness of the music and i'm not really a fan of the vocal abilities either.
Where this album shines in all its glory is during the solo breaks which include the two entirely instrumental tracks “Concerto” and the title track. I have learned to put up with the negatives for a healthy dose of dual guitar ferocity that is some of the most incredible collaborative shredding i've ever heard to this very day. This would have been a masterpiece if it was entirely instrumental.