MARCEL COENEN — Guitartalk (review)

MARCEL COENEN — Guitartalk album cover Album · 1999 · Progressive Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
Time Signature
Move that groove...

Genre: instrumental progressive metal

Originally released in 1999, "Guitar Talk" will be rereleased tomorrow on Lion Music. Marcel Coenen is the guitar wizard who casts his spells of fretboard magic upon the music of Sun Caged, but he also releases guitar-centric instrumental music every now and then under his own name.

Ever the guitar virtuoso, Coenen's main focus on this release is on the guitar leads, as he impresses with technically advanced solo playing, showcasing his phenomenal skills as a guitar player. And, I am impressed - very impressed - and I enjoy listening to hisb guitar acrobatics from beginning to end.

Unfortunately, I think this release suffers from the same problems as many other releases by guitar heroes: while the lead guitar is in focus, everything else is basically just there to be there. And the same problem applies here. The drums sound mechanical (they are probably programmed to some extent) and the bass, while at least audible, only contributes minimally (the bonus track 'Six String Shuffle' is the exception here as the rest of the instrumentation is allowed to shine as well). There are places, where the rhythm guitar is allowed to engage in some cool grooves (such as in 'Independence Day' and 'Shoreline'), which i appreciate.

So, my beef with this release is no different from my beef with the typical guitar hero release. The whole point of such releases, however, is of course, the showcasing of the guitarist's skills as a lead guitar player, and Marcel Coenen definitely succeeds here. Personally, I enjoy this album, like I mentioned, but I would probably prefer listening to Sun Caged.

But, if you are into guitar virtuoso-style instrumental metal, then prepare to be impressed by the fire that springs from Marcel Coenen's fingers.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Everything Hurts And I'm Dying Atmospheric Sludge Metal
NEGATIVE BLISS
Buy this album from MMA partners
L'impôt du sang Melodic Black Metal
CONIFÈRE
Buy this album from MMA partners
Pleroma Progressive Metal
ORGONE
Buy this album from MMA partners
n​ê​bam​Ω​ejn Atmospheric Black Metal
TRHÄ
Buy this album from MMA partners
∫um'ad​∂​ejja cavvaj Atmospheric Black Metal
TRHÄ
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Origin Of Infinity - Chronosphere (OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO)
ORIGIN OF INFINITY
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Kingdom of Heaven - “Pleasures of Pain”
KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
Bosh66· 1 day ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Sanctuary [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 18 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Farewell [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 18 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Curtain of Death - [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 18 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed