Music

Album Review: Alex Skolnick Trio ‘Veritas’

Published

13 years ago

March 25, 2011

Alex Skolnick is most well known for his work in the legendary thrash metal band Testament. However, those who pay some attention to his work know that he is an amazingly versatile guitarist with an almost god given skill at guitar. So when I received a copy of ‘Veritas’, the latest from his Alex Skolnick Trio project, I was cautiously optimistic. So how does this metal guitar giant perform on ‘Veritas’? Find out after the jump!

Swaying from funky to beautiful, heavy (in the jazz sense) to mellow, ‘Veritas’ is an album that covers many bases, all while feeling cohesive and whole. Skolnick demonstrates astonishing dexterity and creativity on the guitar in both the rhythm and lead passages. He also knows exactly when to hang back to allow for Nathan Peck to show his bass chops or Matt Zebroski to add in a clever drum fill. The three play very well off of each other. You can hear the chemistry between them.

The production of the album is overall very good, though there were times when I had trouble discerning the notes of the bass. However, the guitars always sound warm, natural and fantastic. The drums have a deep resonance that can be heard thanks to the openness of the music. The cymbals have a great jazz sizzle in the high end. The many different styles of bass guitar that were used add such depth to the tracks. From bowed upright to fretless to electric, the variations help make each track have a sense of uniqueness.

Even though some tracks have multiple layers going on, there was still this sense as I was listening that I was in the room with these three musicians as they were playing. It’s a very intimate album that had me reveling in the beauty of the title track and then tapping my foot and nodding my head along with the funk of ‘99/09’. The cover of Metallica’s ‘Fade To Black’ was especially interesting as it went from the normal opening into a jazz chord melody version that was very fresh.

The Final Word: ‘Veritas’ is not an album for everyone. But for those willing to take the chance and listen to some jazz composed by a metal guitarist, you might find yourself hooked. Overall, I find myself wanting to come back to the again and again, which might be the greatest compliment I can give ‘Veritas’.

JonathanBarkan

Managing editor/music guy/social media fella of Bloody-Disgusting

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Music

“He Walks By Night” – Listen to a Brand New John Carpenter Song NOW!

Published

1 week ago

April 9, 2024

John Squires

It’s a new day, and you’ve got new John Carpenter to listen to. John Carpenter, Daniel Davies and Cody Carpenter have released the new track He Walks By Night this morning, the second single off their upcoming album Lost Themes IV: Noir, out May 3 on Sacred Bones Records.

Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest installment in a series that sees Carpenter releasing new music for John Carpenter movies that don’t actually exist. The first Lost Themes was released in 2015, followed by Lost Themes II in 2016 and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.

Sacred Bones previews, “It’s been a decade since John Carpenter recorded the material that would become Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood’s great second acts. Those vibrant, synth-driven songs, made in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, kickstarted a musical renaissance for the pioneering composer and director. With Lost Themes IV: Noir, they’ve struck gold again, this time mining the rich history of the film noir genre for inspiration.

“Since the first Lost Themes, John has referred to these compositions as “soundtracks for the movies in your mind.” On the fourth installment in the series, those movies are noirs. Like the film genre they were influenced by, what makes these songs “noirish” is sometimes slippery and hard to define, and not merely reducible to a collection of tropes. The scores for the great American noir pictures were largely orchestral, while the Carpenters and Davies work off a sturdy synth-and-guitar backbone.

“The trio’s free-flowing chemistry means Lost Themes IV: Noir runs like a well-oiled machine—the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster from Kiss Me Deadly, perhaps, or the 1958 Plymouth Fury from John’s own Christine. It’s a chemistry that’s helped power one of the most productive stretches of John’s creative life, and Noir proves that it’s nowhere near done yielding brilliant results.”

You can pre-save Lost Themes IV: Noir right now! And listen to the new track below…