Derek Sherinian
"Blood of the Snake"
Original Release Date: August 1, 2006
Featuring Billy Idol, Slash, Zakk Wylde, Yngwie Malmsteen, John Petrucci, Simon Phillips, Tony Franklin, Brad Gillis, Brian Tichy and Djivan Gasparyan
1. Czar Of Steel 6:01
2. Man With No Name 6:55
3. Phantom Shuffle 4:21
4. Been Here Before 4:30
5. Blood Of The Snake 6:09
6. On The Moon 4:34
7. The Monsoon 6:08
*8. Prelude To Battle 2:55
9. Viking Massacre 4:58
10. In The Summertime 3:51
* Idea by Garik Israelian, Many thanks!
TRACK BY TRACK:
1.) "Czar Of Steel" - (John Petrucci - guitar, Tony Franklin - fretless bass, Simon Phillips - drums) -Instrumental
2.) "Man With No Name - (Zakk Wylde - vocals & guitars, Jerry Goodman - violin, Tony Franklin - fretless bass, Brian Tichy - bass & drums) - From the opening guitar lick of this intro section there is absolutely no mistaking who is playing lead guitar. The intro kicks off with a Zakk lead guitar effect. There is a small lead guitar riff that leads into the verse from the intro section. Zakk used the same rhythm guitar arrangement for the verse as the intro arrangement. Brian used an open hi-hat for the intro then closes it for the pre-verse, this changes the dynamics of the song just enough to give the pre-verse a different feel. About halfway through the verse Derek kicks in with a very subtle keyboard arrangement. There is a musical rhythm change for the chorus. Over the top of this rhythm change Zakk sings a few vocal accents. At times through the musical chorus there is what sounds like an electric violin arrangement. The violin really troughs you for a second because you don't expect it. Underneath the second verse Zakk added a couple lead guitar licks to the rhythm guitar arrangement. This changes the arrangement just enough to keep the song fresh sounding. For the last lyric line of the second chorus there was a small vocal effect added to Zakk's vocals. After the second chorus there is a huge breakdown section that consisted of a small keyboard solo. You can really hear Tony's fretless bass line at the tail end of the keyboard solo. Tony's fretless bass line was very reminiscent of the stuff he played when he was with 'Blue Murder'. Tony even goes as far as incorporating a few bass harmonics! Zakk's vocal sound at the end of the breakdown section had a very older Black Sabbath sound to it. Brian leads into the major keyboard solo with a double bass drum pattern. I never thought I would say this...but this is one of the most intense keyboard solos I have ever heard. The second half of the solo was done by Zakk on guitar. I didn't dawn on me until typing this out, but outside of the fretless bass line of the breakdown section you can not hear the bass line. This is because the bass was either turned down or because there was so much else going on that it was drowned out. There is a second minor keyboard solo that leads into the outro section of the song. There are a couple Zakk vocal accents over the top of the short outro.
3.) "Phantom Shuffle - (Brandon Fields - sax, Jimmy Johnson - bass, Simon Philips - drums) - Instrumental
4.) "Been Here Before" - (Brad Gillis - guitar, Jerry Goodman - violin, Tony Franklin - fretless bass, Simon Philips - drums) - Instrumental
5.) "Blood On The Snake" - (Yngwie Malmsteen - guitar, Zakk Wylde - guitar, Tony Franklin - fretless bass, Brian Tichy - drums) - Instrumental
6.) "On The Moon - (Brad Gillis - guitar, Tony Franklin - fretless bass - Simon Philips - drums) - Instrumental
7.) "The Monsoon" - (Zakk Wylde - guitar, Yngwie Malmsteen - guitar, John 'JD' Deservio - bass, Brian Tichy - drums, Dimitris Mahlis - ovd) - Instrumental
8.) "Prelude To Battle" - (Divan Gasparyan - duduk & vocals, Tony Franklin - fretless bass, Jerry Goodman - violin, Dimitris Mahlis - ovd, Mike Shapiro - percussion, Brian Tichy - acoustic guitar) -This track consists of a duduk. The duduk pronounced as (du'duk) is a traditional woodwind instrument popular in the Caucasus region. A kind of blocked-end flute, which in some part of Macedonia is also called kaval or kavalce. Made of barberry, maple or other wood. More or less an instrumental with vocal accents over the top of the musical arrangements.
9.) "Viking Massacre" - (Yngwie Malmsteen - guitar, Brian Tichy - drums) - Instrumental
10.) "In The Summertime" - (Billy Idol - vocals, Slash - lead guitar, Tony Franklin - bass, Brian Tichy - drums & guitar) - A very cool cover of the Mungo Jerry hit.
Product Description
Keyboardist and former member of Dream Theater, Derek Sherinian, has yet again joined plenty of first-rate musicians on his current album Blood of the Snake: Besides John Petrucci (Dream Theater), Zakk Wylde, Yngwie Malmsteen and Simon Phillips (Toto), 80s rock icon Billy Idol and former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash feature as special all-star line-up. Blood of the Snake is composed of varied keyboard sounds, à la Sherinian, that cross freaky and slick guitar riffs of the guest guitarists. All in all, this album offers an amazing blend of cool fusion, progressive metal and straight-forward rock. Absolute highlights are Man With No Name, featuring Zakk Wylde on vocals, as well as The Monsoon with its teasing oriental influences and Phantom Shuffle that has somewhat of a jazzy touch. And not to forget the finely arranged cover version of Mungo Jerry’s classic song In the Summertime featuring Billy Idol and Slash.
IMHO great album. liked it.
more details on:
www.dereksherinian.com
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DEREK SHERINIAN : Blood of the Snake
