Jeff Loomis and his Plains of Oblivion

Jeff Loomis is a staple in the metal world, not only for his work as the face and heart of Nevermore, but his stature as one of the elite guitarists in the metal scene today. When Nevermore took a hiatus in 2011, this encouraged Loomis to pursue a project he has been meaning to partake in once more, a solo album. He rounded up the help of the bassist Shane Lentz and Dick Verbeuren from Soilwork to tear up the drums.

Band: Jeff Loomis
Album: Plains of Oblivion
Genre: Progressive Metal
Label: Century Media
Release Date: April 10, 2012

The result of this is a hearty album, both in terms of technicality, and it terms of incredible guest works. He brings in juggernauts from throughout the metal realm, such as Marty Friedman, Tony McAlpine, and Chris Poland to throw their own style into the fray with signature classic arpeggios and stylistic differences to keep a strong flowing rhythm. The album itself is not purely instrumental however. As impressive as the shredding is in this album, the highlights are the vocal tracks. Such tracks are that of “Tragedy and Harmony”, which uses an eerie underlying tone with the mixture of Christine Rhodes on vocals to round out the ambitions of the song. The power is still here, the drums precise as ever, but it does showcase the true talent of Jeff Loomis to be able to string together a wonderful melody. Another vocal track is the song “Surrender”, which opens up with a eerie growl, which belongs to nobody else but the infamous Ihsahn of Emporer fame.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeJXxsbzYX0]

The songs are all pretty similar in a sense of a strong guitar front, and a strong rhythm. but yet they do not run together, keeping the listener interested and in awe of the shredding. The transtitions are smooth and the songs are diverse, and showcase not only Loomis’ technical ability but also that of every guest artist. Loomis acts much like a point guard in a basketball sense, using his talents in song writing and musical prowess to take each artist on the album to the highest sense.

The resultant force is an album that mixes incredible musician ship of all artists involved, and showcases a best of in the metal world. All in all, you get a very well constructed, almost classical sense of musicianship that combines all the elements to a wonderfully technical but albeit beautiful piece of musical prowess.

The album is incredibly strong, but as the case with many instrumental albums, a few riffs do seem to carry on and overstay their welcome. Many of which seem pretty similar to that of past Nevermore work, which is not a bad thing. Now my only gripe however, is the lack of even more vocal tracks, as they were the highlight of the album, if not for the guest artists, but just the absolute musical construction that is of Loomis fame.

This is my perspective as a listener not quite keen to the Nevermore fame, but I think that this is a fantastic album that anyone who loves music will enjoy. I am sure even the most picky metal fan will find delight in the musical ability found in this album. Its a great album for a music fan, but a must have for a fan of Loomis. Even if you found Zero Order Phase to be rather boring, give this a shot, it is superior in nearly every sense and a metal music masterpiece.

Rating

Pre-Order

As with any release under the Century Media flag, Plains of Oblivion has an awesome pre-order package exclusive to CMDistro.com.  It comes with a T-Shirt, a Jeff Loomis Guitar Pick, and the Digipak of the album itself.  Do not hesitate to grab this masterpiece.

Also look out for Jeff Loomis on tour!

PROTEST THE HERO, JEFF LOOMIS, PERIPHERY and THE SAFETY FIRE
Tue/Apr-03 – PORTLAND OR – The Branx
Wed/Apr-04 – SEATTLE WA – Studio Seven
Fri/Apr-06 – SALT LAKE CITY UT – In The Venue
Sat/Apr-07 – DENVER CO – Summit
Mon/Apr-09 – ST LOUIS MO – Pops
Tue/Apr-10 – MILWAUKEE WI – The Rave II
Wed/Apr-11 – DETROIT MI – Magic Stick
Thu/Apr-12 – COLUMBUS OH – The Outland Ballroom
Fri/Apr-13 – CLEVELAND OH – Grog Shop
Sat/Apr-14 – BALTIMORE MD – Sonar
Mon/Apr-16 – ATLANTA GA – Masquerade
Tue/Apr-17 – ORLANDO FL – The Social
Wed/Apr-18 – RALEIGH NC – Lincoln Theater
Fri/Apr-20 – NEW YORK NY – Gramercy
Sun/Apr-22 – PHILADELPHIA PA – Trocadero