I'm a huge Testament fan from back in the day. HUGE! Like many I was incredibly dissapointed when I learned that Alex, who is and was one of my biggest guitar heroes, left the band. I followed his career through Exhibit-A (his fusion band), Savatage and kinda lost interest because I wanted him to be the same guy he was with Testament. So when he resurfaced a few years later with his new jazz trio I said, "Meh..." and completely ignored the voice in my head telling me to give it a shot. I've been dissapointed too many times. BIG MISTAKE. A few months down the road A friend makes me a CD of guitar music he thinks I'll be interested in and he says to me, "There's a surprise on there for you." The surprise was an unlisted version of War Pigs that was FRIGGIN INSANE. I had no idea of who it was and boy did my friend take pleasure in telling me it was Alex Skolnick's new Trio from the record I had panned. I ran out and bought Goodbye to Romance and re-fell in love with one of my favorite guitar players of all time.
Did I mention the band smokes? Matt Zebroski is an incredible drummer with impeccable time, fluid accents and a percussive ability that can go from rose petal soft Animal from the muppets hard in the space of a second. Nathan Peck is another monster. Imagine Mingus with MORE chops. Is that even necessary? I guess Nathan thinks so because he kills on every track.
The Trio reconvene on Transformation for another bout of metal meets jazz mayhem. This time the covers range from Dio and Priest to Pink Floyd and a handfull of Skol originals thrown in for good measure. The originals are very good and have become some of my favorite new jazz in a long time. Fear of Flying and Zebroski's Both Feet In are my favorites on the record. Both feet especially is a very touching ballad. I love the covers but their version of Highway Star in particular makes the album worth buying in my humble opinion.
So if you're looking for a new addition to your jazz collection, want some musical inspiration or just want to find out what a virtuoso you used to be interested in is up to purchase this record today. You and your ears will be happy!