Metal Express
Radio
11/08
www.metalexpressradio.com
There is something about Instrumental Guitar that can’t be beat.
It allows the listener to envelope oneself within the music and
just concentrate on nothing else. There are several musicians
out there already, most of whom are world renowned and known by
all within their own community. There is plenty of room for more
however and in this case there is one more-someone new to the
scene or this specific type of musical genre. He is Dean
Cascione…master shredder and talent extraordinaire. After
listening to the new release which is also Dean’s debut, it is
quite apparent that this guy is freakingly dangerous with a
guitar. He was a former student of none other than another
guitar freak and shredder himself, Joe Stump. That just about
says it all.
Mr. Stump was voted as the 6th top shredder in the world by
Guitar One Magazine and had this to say about his student. “Dean
is quite a talented individual and quite an accomplished player
and composer as well. He has a real nice command over the
instrument and mixes his killing technique with a great musical
sense and wonderfully crafted guitar tones.” That certainly says
a lot about what type of playing ability and guitar sound one
can expect from the Guitar Chop Shop debut.
The CD isn’t that long really with 9 tracks coming in under 28
minutes in length. Two or even three replays can occur quite
easily, sometimes without even realizing it. A once over just
isn’t enough or satisfying in the least-it is that good.
Guitar Chop Shop has a decent amount of shredding to it if
that is what you are looking for specifically. It also has an
equal amount of acoustic/flamenco-style as well. If your not a
huge fan of acoustic when electric is in abundance, it should be
surprising to hear just how good Dean is with an acoustic guitar
in his hand.
All tracks were written by Dean Cascione himself with all guitar
and bass work done by Dean. Orchestration was done by Jay
Menard, drum duties went to Guillaume Sylvain and keyboard
arrangement by Randy Ciak. The vocals were performed by Gabriel
Langelier from the Canadian Powermetal band Icewind. The CD was
produced by Dean Cascione and Jay Menard. Mixed and mastered by
George Bellas and Jay Menard (mastered at George Bellas
Studios-USA). A lot can be said about a person by the company he
keeps. Looking at these names and the people involved in the
making of this debut release, it is quite apparent that Dean
surrounds himself with good company.
“Alba” is a short beautiful acoustic intro. With “Molto Veloce,”
Dean doesn’t waste any time showing his audience who’s boss when
it comes to the 6-string. Talk about shredding attacks-this is
it. “Sunrazor” is an incredibly gorgeous sounding and
beautifully orchestrated acoustic number that reaches your soul
and beyond. Top three material of the bunch. “Guitar Chop Shop”
kind of says it all with its name. Dean brings out his 6-string
again on this one and does a fair amount of shredding and other
little treats to boot. It is done in a very tasteful way and
doesn’t overdo it or force-feed it to his listeners. “Brother”
is another acoustic number that is later re-done as the closer
on the CD but with lyrics. “The Monk” is a hard-edged rocker and
shredder at the same time with plenty of arpeggio runs up and
down the fretboard. “Driven” has a cool, almost futuristic sound
to it with an overly audible funky/bluesy/jazzy/punchy bass
line. A bit different than the rest of the CD. It has an
experimental, Satch-type quality about it. “Farewell” is an
extremely short but strong acoustic outro. “Brother” is
performed again with vocals added to the mix.
Closing on an interesting note, in a quick one-on-one with Dean,
it was asked of him who some of his major influences were that
attributed to his playing style or those who motivated him in
becoming the talent he is today. He innocently responded with
Yngwie, Joe Stump, and George Bellas-all master shredders.
Interestingly enough he stated that he never really listened to
or studied any Satch or Vai. Then shockingly, he admitted that
he had a place in his heart for musicians such as Ace Frehley
(original KISS lead guitarist). "While not the most technical
player by any means, he had command over his instrument and
simple but memorable leads are what worked best for him. All
easily played yet hard to forget once heard like the lead into
“Detroit Rock City.” There’s no ego bashing going on here."
Guitar fanatics rejoice, there is another new CD and sound out
there for you to add to your collections. Go get this one-you’ll
see why! For additional information on Dean Cascione, try
checking out his Official Website at:
www.deancascione.com
Metal Express Rating: 9.0/10
Reviewed by:
GEORGE FUSTOS
Email:
george(at)metalexpressradio(dot)com
