|
Vitchev By: Jonathan Mariante |
|
Vitchev are a duo consisting of the brothers Vitchev, Hristo and Vladimir, who are Bulgarian by origin. They play instrumental progressive rock. On their CD, "Lost In A Fairy Tale", which they also produced, they both play guitars, keyboards, and do programming, while Vladimir plays bass. Both are quite talented. Although all-instrumental albums have never been my favorite thing to listen to, the brothers play very well. Being that they are prog-rockers, there is, of course, a lot of influence from Dream Theatre and Rush, as well as guitar virtuosos like Joe Satriani and Eric Johnson. Vitchev site all of these as influences. The album starts off with the title track, which is actually an epic divided into five parts, and goes on for almost half an hour. A bit long for my taste but it is very well-played nonetheless. They use a variety of styles, from crunching rock guitars to classical-style interludes. The song, they say, is a musical journey through a child's dream. The second song is "Cryptonomicon", apparently inspired by a book by a writer named Neal Stephenson, whom I've never heard of. The song is slower-paced, and has some Black Sabbath influence, as well as some jazz-style drumming, and some good soloing. Next up is the cleverly-titled "Allergic Reaction", which is a bouncy, upbeat tune. You could almost dance to this one, something not very in prog-rock! And finally, we have the closing track, "Sahara 2170". This song is a bit more keyboard based, and electronically oriented, and also has a Mid-Eastern flavor to it, along with the usual guitar soloing. It all adds up to an interesting combination. As I said, these brothers are certainly talented, and play some interesting and original music. In order to gain commercial success, they would probably have to add a singer, as most people like singing with their music. They do have what it takes, though. If they play their cards (and guitars) right, the brothers Vitchev could soon be making waves in the progressive music scene.
|
More from the Online Metal Journal |
|
|
|
|