Album Review: Kingdom of the Sun, Sammy Boller
Guitarist from Michigan, Sammy Boller, has unveiled his new album, called Kingdom of the Sun. There are plenty of shredders these days. All of them with killer ideas and technique.
By Dimitris (Bari) Polyzois
What separates the good ones from the bad ones is the fact that some of them have a musical statement to make. They can dazzle you with superhuman technique. At the same time, they deliver songs that are actually worth listening to. Kingdom of the Sun pulls this off with real skill. It gives us melodies (and most importantly, memorable ones), all while keeping our ear glued for the next melodic line to follow. Hailing us from Royal Oak, Michigan, Sammy Boller hands us this bulging showcase of his guitar pyrotechnics.
There are plenty of shredders these days. What separates the good ones from the bad ones is the fact that some of them have a musical statement to make.
Like pieces of a puzzle, the melodies weave together in logical progression. The real test any album has to pass is answering the question: Do I want to hear this again? The answer here is a resounding, Yes!
The record is progressive enough to stop you from dancing, or even thinking about swaying along. But not to the point where it wanders off into some musical tangent and loses the rock listener. There are a few moments that hit you right in the head. Like, for instance, the heavy drum in "For Madmen Only". There, Sammy unleashes a string of impressive riffs.
The album blends around the guitar, as it's the core element, with aggressive drums and a few interesting keyboard lines. Bass duties were handled by producer Steve Lehane. Greg Dudley played on the first track. The bass is nicely tight and locked in with the rhythm very well. The distorted bass tones are a bit odd at first, but the ear gets used to it over time.
The clean guitar tones are especially smooth and mellow, providing a nice contrast to the overall heaviness of the work. Dylan Walsh's drum performance is outstanding. Truly some wonderful playing! The guitar tones come from Boller's Les Paul Custom Access. For an amp, Boller uses a Friedman BE100. This signal chain is hard to beat and produces gorgeous, in your face tones.
The clean guitar tones are especially smooth and mellow, providing a nice contrast to the overall heaviness of the work.
The overall vibe of the record borrows from yesteryear's genre. Classic names like Satriani, Jason Becker and Marty Friedman come to mind. If these are Sammy's heroes, he certainly does them justice. In fact, Sammy won Joe Satriani's "Master Satriani" contest back in 2012. The artist earned praise from Joe himself. With the Kingdom of the Sun record, he earns ours too. Bravo Sammy!
