ROCK HARD GREECE review translated to English
Toby Knapp- "From the Aether" (2022 Moribund Records)
I have not hidden that the American virtuoso guitarist Toby Knapp is one of my personal weaknesses. I closely follow all the works of this particular musician and honestly every time I am amazed not only with his talent but also with his ability to alternate from speed metal (WHERE EVIL FOLLOWS) to black (AFFLIKTOR, WAXEN) and pure heavy metal ( ONWARD, NECRYTIS, SUE'S IDOL) with incredible ease, without entering molds and seals. My grief over the departure of my beloved NECRYTIS a few months ago was alleviated by his announcement of the reactivation of the legendary ONWARD and in anticipation of their new work, Toby Knapp is releasing his eighth solo album, entitled "From the aether ”. His previous album, "Blizzard archer",
At first glance, "From the aether" bears many similarities to its predecessor, with those who love statistics noticing that the album also contains eight compositions, lasting a total of about half an hour, such as the "Blizzard archer". Synthetically, "From the aether" sounds like the natural sequel to "Blizzard archer", with Knapp unfolding his boundless talent. The main difference with the previous album, is that, to my ears at least, "From the aether" sounds much more aggressive. Not that there are no such travel and melodic compositions that characterize Knapp's solo works, such as "The emerald tablet" or "Scythian sea" for example. But there are also tracks like the fantastic opening "Scavenger of the gods", one of the best songs of the genre that you will hear during the year, very fast and at the same time melodic, the melodious with its heavy riff, and especially "Labyrinthine windings", a rough track where Knapp remembers his thrash origins and could easily be on an AFFLIKTOR or even ONWARD album. In general, the variety is great and the listening of the album flows very nicely.
The performance of Toby Knapp is amazing, the man really speaks on the guitar, reminding me of an alloy between Joe Satriani and Michael Schenker and all this by pressing on serious and remarkable high level compositions that certainly can not go unnoticed.
I personally loved this particular album. "From the aether" is another great addition to the discography of an incredibly talented but also underrated guitarist who is worth discovering and immersing yourself in his magical world.
8 / 10
Thodoris Klonis ROCK HARD GREECE