Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

So, you want to hear something that's a little different from the norm? You want to hear something adventurous? How about an instrumental guitar album that'll blow your mind? On 'One Zillion Guitars' virtuoso guitarist Daniel Christopherson proves that there is life beyond Phil Keaggy! It's an incredibly emotional recording with such a huge scope and I'd had suspicions that it was going to be some egotistical metal guitar album with Daniel doing his best Eddie Van Halen impression! Instead, what do we get? An incredible musical journey, powerful, subtle, melodic and energetic. From the explosive rock'n'riff power chords of "Automatic Girl" where it sounds like Daniel listened to too many Led Zep and AC/DC albums as a kid, through to the vibe of "Sunflower Planet", the musical journey twists and turns. Covering a vast range of textures and styles, the album is split into two sections; the first uses electric guitar whilst the second concentrates on acoustic flavours. The album is so epic that it's hard to sum up in just a few words so I'm going to choose three of my favourite pieces and tell you about those. "Now And Far Away" is reminiscent of Santana with some understated percussion and a pile of lyrical guitar passages with guitar on overdrive. At the other extreme, "Cedardance" is a simple acoustic piece with double-tracked guitars interweaving to create a beautiful relaxed melody. Finally, I love the moodiness of "Mysterious Leaving" with its powerful rock guitar work riding over an essentially simple synth backing. Surprisingly, all the pieces are under five minutes long proving that Daniel has mastered the restraint needed to create pieces that burn with intensity. 'One Zillion Guitars' proves that the rock guitar is not dead when it comes to making music that can surprise and inspire. Frankly, this is amazing!

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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