Album review: MIKE CAMPESE – Reset
www.mikecampese.com [Release date 11.11.22]
I’m sorry but Mike Campese exhibits all the worst aspects of “guitar virtuoso”. Guitarists may well acknowledge his technical mastery (and he has featured in several big guitar mags) but for the average listener this is unlikely to bombast them into submission. They will have turned off after the first couple of tracks and uttered the immortal words “what’s on Netflix”?
’Reset’ is Campese’s 11th solo album and his neo-classical style is showcased on the opener ‘Fire’ and elsewhere. But, overall, this sub-Yngwie offering fails to ignite. Partly this is because of the dense home production and the fact that there are essentially only two musicians. A more balanced and generous helping of audible bass and keyboards may have been a way to go.
On ‘Bee Eater’ he indulges in yet more guitar wankery where tune and melody is sacrificed for over-indulgence. Ad infinitum. And the six vocal tracks cannot rescue the malaise. Lyrically sparse, merely a vehicle for more widdle.
When Campese slows things down – as on the title track and ‘Waisted Time’ (with the unwitting words: “I have waisted all my time”) – it reveals a poor basic tone and an even less flattering voice.
Campese may be best as a teacher or in a band context (he worked with the respected Trans-Siberian Orchestra in 2004). The relentless shred will have most shrieking for their next binge-watch, and breathing a sigh of relief through clenched teeth. **
Review by David Randall
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
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Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024
ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
RIOGHAN Hands (Inverse Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)
Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024
09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)
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