Paul Gilbert – Silence Followed By A Deafening Roar

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Mascot Records
Produced by Paul Gilbert & Emi Gilbert

The former Mr. Big/Racer X guitarist made his first guitar instrumental record in 2006 with Get Out of My Yard, following it up with an instructional DVD of the same name, and this is his second shred record which he’ll be touring in Europe throughout May and June and in the US in July.

Although there’s nothing quite as impossible here as the title track from the last album (although his shred-fest interpretation of Bach’s Eudaimonia Overture is pretty unbelievable) the song-oriented nature of many of the tracks (Norwegian Cowbell, The Gargoyle, The Rhino) makes it a slightly more accessible record than Get Out of My Yard.

Where Get Out of My Yard had a Steve Vai experimental feel to it in a lot of areas, Silence Followed By A Deafening Roar feels more like a Joe Satriani record in that the length lead guitar parts sound like they’re taking on the focal role a vocalist would normally have. That’s not to say they just sound like guitar transcriptions of vocal melodies, just that they serve a similar purpose. The seemingly endless, but clearly considered high-speed playing on the title track is a perfect example of this. There are far too many notes for this to be a viable vocal line, but it’s the part of the track that you follow as you listen in the same way you would the singing.

This is the same on other three previously mentioned tracks and on duelling closer Paul Vs. Godzilla. Elsewhere some of the Vai-esque experimental sounds rule Bronx 1971 and Bultca Saturno, while Suite Modale is a reworking of Ernest Bloch’s original piece with Paul’s guitar mimicking the original flute part with Emi Gilbert’s piano.

There are then two slower pieces where the guitar does take on the vocal melodies for the most part. These are I Cannot Tell A Lie and a cover of Elvis Costello‘s I Still Have That Other Girl. Both of these play like less adventurous (read: more melodic) versions of a Steve Vai ‘seventh song’ (track seven on Steve’s albums is always a ballad).

Like Satriani’s latest effort Paul has produced a very accessible guitar instrumental record which caters for both fans of astonishing lead guitar playing and fans of melody and song-craft. When Paul tours (supporting Satriani in the UK) and is able to cherry-pick from both his instrumental albums his shows should be breathtaking.

“ more accessible ”

Tracklist: Silence Followed By A Deafening Roar / Eudaimonia Overture / The Rhino / Norwegian Cowbell / I Cannot Tell A Lie / Bronx 1971 / Suite Modale / The Gargoyle / I Still Have That Other Girl / Bultaco Saturno / Paul Vs. Godzilla

Written by Andy Lye
More: Albums, Hard Rock, Instrumental, Paul Gilbert