GREGA HABIČ — Open Heart Surgery (review)

GREGA HABIČ — Open Heart Surgery album cover Album · 2011 · Progressive Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
J-Man
Though many 'guitar albums' tend to sound virtually indistinguishable from each other, Slovenia-based guitarist Grega Habic takes a different approach than your average shred guitarist. Open Heart Surgery borrows elements from progressive rock, metal, funk, jazz, and even rap into a unique blend of styles that, while still deriving from many guitar legends, is distinctly Habic's own. Though Habic delivers plenty of killer solos that will satisfy any guitar fanatic, the songwriting focuses more on eclecticism and memorability than you may expect. He clearly has a knack for crafting well-composed pieces of music centered around the guitar, and fans of tasteful yet technical instrumental music will find lots to love here. The rap sections are pretty terrible and a few other flaws do impact my overall impression of the album, but Open Heart Surgery still contains enough amazing moments to be worth a listen from the open-minded guitar fan.

On paper, the idea of putting rap-styled vocals on a guitar-based progressive rock album seems a bit out of place, and (unfortunately) this is also true on Open Heart Surgery. They just don't seem to fit within the context of the rest of the album, and in addition to being rather poorly executed, they damage the flow of the CD severely. My recommendation to Habic is to stick to his guns and ditch the half-assed rap vocals next time around, unless he can manage to make them work as an integral part of the music rather than a gimmicky effect. With that said, they thankfully don't appear too frequently, and the main focus of Open Heart Surgery is of course on Grega Habic's masterful guitar playing. The production is a bit underdeveloped, but this isn't much more than a minor blemish in the long run.

Open Heart Surgery is an adventurous and unique effort from Grega Habic, and while I wouldn't quite say that his artistic vision was fully realized this time around, this is still a recommendable purchase for fans of instrumental progressive rock, metal, and fusion. Although it's not faultless, this is a fun album that I've had a pleasure listening to recently. I'd say 3 stars are deserved, and I'll be curious to hear what Habic comes up with in the future.
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

Antibeauty Hardcore Punk
SNOWING IN PERU
Buy this album from MMA partners
Mana Earth Hardcore Punk
SNOWING IN PERU
Buy this album from MMA partners
Intimate Isolation Hardcore Punk
GOOD FALL
Buy this album from MMA partners
Dark Future Sludge Metal
PAIN CHEMISTRY
Buy this album from MMA partners
Violent Delights Hardcore Punk
GALLEONS
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Galleons - Electric Emotions
GALLEONS
Bosh66· 19 hours ago
Galleons - Elsewhere (Official Lyric Video)
GALLEONS
Bosh66· 19 hours ago
Galleons - Neon Dreams (Official Lyric Video)
GALLEONS
Bosh66· 19 hours ago
Galleons - I Travel East As Fievel Goes West Pt. 1 - Official Lyric Video
GALLEONS
Bosh66· 19 hours ago
FREEHOWLING - SCARS FT. AARON MATTS (TEN56.) [OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO]
FREEHOWLING
Bosh66· 19 hours 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