Mick Priestley - Green River Project (CD Review)

01.Dig Your Grave

02.No Return

03.Out Of The Dark Below

04.Flight Of The Bumblebee

05.Nowhere To Run

06.Summer-Presto

07.The Storm

Andy Law - Vocals

Mick Priestley - Guitar/Bass

Alex Martin - Drums

Guest Musicians:

Andy Brook - Keyboard Programming

Adrian Erlandsson - Drums (Dig Your Grave)

Starting off with a slow almost bluesy intro 'Dig Your Grave' then kicks into just about the best damn metal track you'll hear in a long time. Powerfull and anthemic with amazing guitar work that out does that cold lifeless Dragonforce stuff anyday, Mick plays with a real passion and a technical proficiency that is in a masterclass of its own.

Melody and power are the two keywords here for 'No Return', Law delivers an awesome vocal performance whilst the guitar prowess of Mick delivers note perfect with speed and precision unrivaled in british rock today. The song kicks like Motley Crue jamming with Rising Force!

'Out Of The Dark Below' has a slow haunting intro with a catchy little guitar riff mixed in with some vocal sampling. Coming over to my ears like a hybrid of Gothic Power metal, beautiful melodic guitarwork with a strong vocal and superb drumming. The sweeping solo is so fast sounds like mick has 7 fingers on his hand!

'Flight Of The Bumblebee' is an orchestral interlude written by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov for his opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan, composed in 1899. Mick gives it his own personal twist with a frantic pace played up to tempo, with nearly uninterrupted runs of chromatic sixteenth notes!

'Nowhere To Run' is catchy as hell with great vocals, reminding me of wednesday 13 on a tech metal trip!

'Summer Presto' is an instrumental which gives Mick another chance to show that he is one of this countrys best guitarists (Herman who??) but, and yes i say it again, with a real passion and understanding that technical ability is only worth listening to when played with passion and that passion comes through the speakers and is as smooth and deadly as a glass of absinthe laced with Laudanum.

The final track 'The Storm' has a classical styled intro with acoustic guitar and keyboard harmony. as to be expected (if not Demanded!) it moves into more energy fuelled fret work. This instrumental again serves as a testament to Micks unrivaled abilities as a true guitar hero.

Stu

Rating: 10/10 

For Fans Of: Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai, Dragonforce, Symphony X, Paul Gilbert.

Official Website:
www.mickpriestley.net