Jason Becker - Perpetual Burn

[Christoph]

Yo, I'm looking for a good neo-classical, Malmsteen-style shred CD, only without all the retarded 80s hair metal vocals. Instrumental only!

Is this it?

[sambob]

Yes, Perpetual Burn is very good.

Though, in my opinion the best neoclassical albums are Vinnie Moore's "Timy Odyssey" and "Mind's Eye". With Tony Macalpine's "Edge Of Insanity" coming in a very close second. David Chastain's neoclassical albums are also very very good.

So, if it was me and I were to buy just one it would be Mind's Eye, but all of the ones I mentioned are very good.

If you want to listen to something a little newer, you should definitely give George Bellas a listen.

[aiwass]

I started learning Perpetual Burn (the song) today. Got through the intro sweeps, but it only gets harder after that. Awesome material for learning, and some badass compositions.

[sambob]

Definitely, that particular song isn't his most difficult, but its got some really cool parts to it.

[aiwass]

Heh, I tried "Serrana" once. That was a lot worse, IMO. I think playing it on a Strat made it harder though... Too many parts in the 19th position :P

[Christoph]

So it's all instrumental?

[sambob]

Yes.

[Christoph]

Just listened to a bunch of sound samples on Guitar9.

Vinnie Moore defintely rocks. Which album do you think is better (on the neoclassical front) - Mind's Eye or Time Odyssey?

[Bodomchild]

I prefer Mind's Eye^^^

Tony MacAlpine was brought up and "Maximum Security" IMO is one of the best guitar instrumental albums ever produced. Each song has a perfect chemistry of melody combined with his evolved technique unfolding a distinct personality.

[sambob]

On Vinnie Moore, I prefer Mind's Eye over all, but Time Odyssey has a couple of awesome songs that make it worth a buy when you get around to it.

As for Tony Macalpine, I would go for Edge Of Insanity over Maximum Security. Of course those are fairly old as far as neoclassical goes, Macalpine's most recent neoclassical album (Chromaticity) is even better than his older stuff in my opinion.

If I wanted to buy a bunch of awesome neoclassical albums from guitar9.com (where I order most of my guitar related cds from anyway!), I'd probably go with:

http://www.guitar9.com/mindseye.html
http://www.guitar9.com/edgeofinsanity.html
http://www.guitar9.com/perpetualburn.html
http://www.guitar9.com/guitardom.html (Joe Stump is like Yngwie but with a little less spandex and a little more attitude)
http://www.guitar9.com/scenes.html (Marty Friedman, similiar to Jason Becker, but more mellow, more asian scales)
http://www.guitar9.com/concertosuite.html
http://www.guitar9.com/mindovermatter.html

Some other albums you might enjoy, that have some neoclassical elements, but are a bit different:
http://www.guitar9.com/distortedviews.html (Michael Harris does some neoclassical stuff, but with a fair amount of prog rock in it)
http://www.guitar9.com/livewild.html (one of the best live albums ever, Chastain and Michael Harris!)

[Christoph]

Thanks, SamBob.

I appreciate the effort that went into that post. I'll check out your suggestions.

[Bodomchild]

I saw Tony MacAlpine live about 5 years ago and he played almost all the material off Edge of Insanity and Maximum Security (Both masterpieces- I just like Maximum better, but it's all subjective). It was the greatest concert of my life, not to mention I got to speak with him after the show.
(I asked him if Yngwie was as anal as rumored, but he refrained from comment. Hey, I tried.)

[sambob]

Ah, lucky!

I've seen Tony Macalpine twice, but never have I seen him play his neoclassical stuff. Although CAB is an awesome group, and he plays very well in it, I would still love to see him perform his solo work.

[aiwass]

http://www.georgebellas.com

This guy is definitely the forefront of modern neoclassical metal. One of the few who are actually doing something innovative. Check out the "video" and "lessons" sections for some pretty mindblowing video clips.

http://www.georgebellas.com/MainSite/Pages/Video.html

http://www.georgebellas.com/MainSite/LessonSamples/LessonSamples.html

Also, an up-and-coming guy from Norway (yay!):

http://www.jarleholsen.com

Jarle H. Olsen is his name, and he is an incredible talent. He is very much like a more modern Jason Becker, with more fusion and prog. influences, and a lot of cool Bellas/Romeo/Macalpine/Moore elements in his playing. Check him out, he rocks, and his band features a totally sick drummer, and a very cool Victor Wooten-like bassist. They're featured in the video section on his site (live solos).

[Bodomchild]

I will be busy looking into all of these recommendations as well. (That's what Saturdays are for;) ) Thanks for the input fellas.

[ketsueki15]

a good very challenging neo classical song would have to be Troy Stetinas rock version of Beethovens 23rd Symphony..good song (IMO), utilizes about every technique possible except for bends.

[Niklasl]

Bass solo performed by Jan Martin Kleveland ! Whoo yeah those guys rock !