MCM - "Ritual Factory" - LION
MUSIC
Alex Masi, Randy Coven, and John Macaluso make up MCM. Coven and Macaluso
are very sought-after studio musicians, and Alex Masi has become one of
Europe's most respected guitarists. Words can hardly describe the music
the three have created, it's literally mind-blowing.
I'll try my best to come up with some sort of genre here. They blend Metal, jazz-fusion, prog and even what could be described as New Age in the music. You literally sit back while your jaw drops trying to figure out how these guys remember the notes and where to play what.
Coven doesn't just play bass, he makes it take and sometimes you're not sure if it's the guitar you're hearing or the bass. He and Masi compliment each other beautifully as Macaluso reminds me why I quit playing drums years ago. I have no idea how these guys keep in time and in tune.
Masi really impressed me as a lot of his solo work is basically Power Metal based and you don't really hear his chops other than his ability to shred. On "Ritual Factory" he is allowed to travel to places he can't on his other work. Plus, since there's no vocals, Masi is bascially in charge of keeping things interesting, which he, along with Coven, do perfectly.
I do need to point out that this music is going to go WAAAY over the average radio listener's head. Hell, I've been listening to Prog-Metal for years and I really had to focus! But that's what makes it so special, there's no way in hell any band on a major label could pull this off, this is musicianship at it's absolute best, an art that has been lost over the years. You need to hear this to really appreciate what these guys are doing. You may not make it the entire album, but that's the beatiful part, this CD will take you hours for it to fully sink in, you'll definately get your money's worth.
