This is from Lion Music and thus far, anything I got from that label has been, at the very least, pretty good Instrumental Rock/Metal. So far, most of the promos I’ve gotten that were written by guitar players that know that crafting songs is more important than how much skill you display. Sure, they all had a tasty amount of shredding, but they were used as a means to an end and not as an end in itself.

Edward Box follows this trend of promos I keep getting of GREAT instrumental music. Growing up, he was enthralled by the music of SAXON, UFO and other such early Metal acts, as well as the holy trinity (in the 80s, anyway) of guitar virtuosos: Satriani, Vai and Malmsteen. He has spent quite a while playing in various bands, but for little to no recognition.

To cut a long and repetitive story short, Edward Box eventually released an all-instrumental demo that was well received and so he decided to continue along that path and write more instrumental music.

Out of the three guitar virtuosos mentioned above, the best comparison would be Joe Satriani. The songs are groovy, with amazing work on both the lead melodies and complexity of the riffs. The music is pretty heavy at times (“Welcome To The Grindhouse”, for example) and another thing that’s surprising about this record, is that instead of having a solo for 99% of the song, Edward Box has understood that playing a cool riff will have just as much impact, if not more, so he spends some time playing some grooving and catchy riffs, which give the songs much needed dynamics and flow.

The leads are also not of the standard “16^th note solos and fast scalar runs” that are stereotypical of this genre. Often, the lead playing is relatively simple, with a very melodic guitar line being the focus of the song, so there are hooks abound on this album.

Yea, as the standard for albums like this, there is the fast song, the shredding song, the bluesy song, etc, but it just is so well done that the clichéd structure of the album will not matter.

Who the hell said that instrumental albums are just a bunch of guitar players waving their pricks around and showing off how fast they can play? This is an amazing instrumental album that oozes emotion and has hooks and melodies aplenty.

Recommended!

(Online November 17, 2006) www.metal-observer.com 

More instrumental music continues to plague the music scene and Lion Music has decided to snatch up another artist and try to see and hear if he has another golden gem in his catalogue or a clunker. Ed is someone who I have never heard of, but has contributed to a JIMI HENDRIX tribute record and will be contributing articles and lessons to a new online guitar mag called www.alloutguitar.com. What Mr. Box offers is a fresh take on a genre that has been filled with endless hits and misses from artists.

“Jack In The Box” is vibrant and packed with positive energy that is full of steam. A simple drum beat is laid out so the guitar is the star. What seems like something that may come off as sounding easy to play gets all complicated, but dazzles as Ed just whales on his axe as he mixes consistent licks with flash and pizzazz that may turn off some listeners, but quite frankly it has a feel comparable to STEVE VAI in his hay day. “Axis Of Evil” rocks and rolls along the road with licks that will bring to mind early SATRIANI. It’s easier to digest an opposed to the first track with some minor soloing in the mix. After six tracks of jamming, things take a turn for the lighter side. Ed shows another side to him just to let everyone know that there is more to him than Rock jams.

While this may be a bit more on the sensitive side, don’t expect this to be wimpy as there are rhythms and a bit of bite to this. Each track on here is lively and playful without ever being boring. I’m not too sure if future guitar heroes wannabe’s will flock to this, but he does have style and grace and it’s all well executed on album number two. There are like I said before a plethora of artists out there trying to make a name for themselves and whether or not Ed Box becomes a breakthrough sensation depends on you…the buying customer. Good stuff needless to say.

(Online November 23, 2006)  metal-observer.com (Joe)