Published on Jun 30, 2006
Gareth Thomas is a South African now living in Wales,
but that’s not important. What matters is that debut recording is
an impressive self-produced progressive rock journey through many
instrumental landscapes. Playing all instruments on these primarily
guitar-centric songs, his compositions are powerful and cover a
wide palate of sonic textures from spacey ambience to
bone-crunching heavy metal.
Thomas expresses a wide range of influences; nods to
prog voyagers Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree cross paths with the
the likes of Metallica and Iron Maiden, as well as contemporary
axe-slingers like Steve Vai and Joe Satriani. You might even catch
a stylistic nuance of Alex Lifeson and David Gilmour.
One of the pitfalls I have run into with this type of
music is the tendency to pile on layer after layer of
instrumentation until it’s so busy the listener loses focus. Thomas
avoids this trap while still interweaving multiple guitar tracks
and some tastefully restrained keys to create a full, rich sound
that never becomes too dense to appreciate the careful
arrangements.
At its core, this disc is a celebration of the
guitar. The title track starts off dreamy and low key with some
Gilmour-esque sustain-drenched guitar over a thrumming bass line
that slowly fades out, only to return in a full-on speed metal
barrage. “Elevation” begins as a moody synth trip, slowly building
in intensity until Thomas pulls all the stops for some maniacal
riffing and an incredibly juicy solo (yes, the whole disc is a
solo, but I didn’t know how else to describe it). The closing
track, aptly titled “The End,” is a prog-metal tour-de-force
wherein Thomas gracefully travels from ethereal ambience to
crushing heavy metal riffing and back again effortlessly.
Throughout the disc, Thomas shows a powerful yet
controlled mastery of his instrument with his evocative and melodic
solos, using the voice of the guitar to segue from the more ambient
moments into rich melody and blistering fretwork without it ever
sounding forced.
While it meanders and loses focus now and again,
The Theory features superb musicianship from Gareth Thomas.
It’s a pleasure to hear a talented musician work his craft.
[To buy the CD or learn more about Gareth Thomas, visit
www.garfomusic.com]