G.O.D. -Guitarists on Demand-

	Album Title: G.O.D. -Guitarists on Demand-
	Record Label: ViViX
	Catalog No.: GOD-2013
	Release Date: May 31, 2013
	Purchase: Buy at Bandcamp

Overview

G.O.D. Guitarists on Demand is an original album under Godspeed’s ViViX label featuring instrumental rock. In our interview with him, he mentioned this album featured a concept of “the rise of a new guitar hero” and as such, is an offshoot of the G5 Project and features a younger generation of musicians. How does this album compare to some of the more established albums released by the ViViX label?

Body

The album opens up with “Clock Up” by Aquarius and features an experimental melodic rock style with a bit of funk thrown into the accompaniment. It’s a wonderful way to start off the album, featuring sections with a mellow, more experimental sound as well as sections that give off a great atmosphere just to sit back and groove to. “Talkative Synesthesia,” by Mitsuyo, features a progressive metal/rock sound that would also work well in a video game. There is a nice ethnic influence, particularly in the accompaniment; however, it’s the blend of heavy percussion, piano, and keyboards in conjunction with the electric guitar, especially when it gets a chance to lead, that really makes this piece shine.

The next two tracks on the album are some of my favorites on the album. “ZEUS,” by setsat, who contributed the violin on a2c’s “Kamuy” from G5 2013, features an interesting blend of violin and metal that may sound a bit of an odd combination, but one that really works in the end, thanks to the wonderful execution. The heavy riffs combined with the poignant violin makes for a really intriguing listen that gives off a bit of a sorrowful vibe, in my opinion. Of course, the violin solos are top-notch as is the lead guitar line, when featured, and showcases setsat’s versatility as a composer as well as an instrumentalist. Lastly, “afterglow,” by Vogue, is a blues influenced track that really oozes charm and atmosphere. From the opening groove, reminiscent of modern Persona games to the chorus that conveys a lot of energy, this track really stands out, both in terms of melody as well as solos, as one that is really fleshed out and tells a story.

There are two tracks where I feel that the guitar presence could have been stronger. The first, “Chaser of Unfinished Dreams,” is a pop rock ballad by Gibson, with additional arrangement by Godspeed and Tatsuki Sugihara, of the band RETO, of which Gibson is a part. In addition, the vocals, sung by RETO member Yui Koyama, fit very well with the largely strings led accompaniment. Of course, there is acoustic guitar in this portion, but coming from an album full of strong electric guitar leads, this song, though pleasant, does feel a bit out of place. Fortunately, there are some sections that do feature a strong lead guitar, but I would have liked to see it incorporated a bit more. The other track, “Chili Under,” by YAMATO, is an electronic rock piece featuring a drum n’ bass accompaniment; however, unfortunately, the guitar presence compared to the other songs on the album is quite lacking. When it does appear, it works very well within the piece, providing lots of power, fantastic artistry in the playing, and a really beautiful melody to go with the electronic components of the piece.

The album ends with “Frontier,” composed by Godspeed and features vocals by TERRA of Mintjam. It definitely has a bit of a game flair to it due to the ethnic percussion and orchestration that accompanies the lead guitar. The vocals themselves work well with the composition and really provide a better example, in my opinion, of how to have a guitar focused vocal theme on a guitar album, compared to the track by Gibson.

Summary

In the end, G.O.D. Guitarists on Demand is a very solid album, although not as strong as G5 2013. The production values are still top-notch; however, I felt that some tracks, for a guitar oriented album, were not the prominent elements of the piece. With that being said, all the tracks are still quite enjoyable, especially for those who enjoy a multi-faceted approach to an instrumental rock album, so if you like what you hear, I highly recommend it for fans of Godspeed and his ViViX label.

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Don Kotowski. Last modified on October 21, 2014.

Tags: Masahiro Aoki, Rock

About the Author

Don Kotowski Currently residing in Philadelphia. I spend my days working in vaccine characterization and dedicate some of my spare time in the evening to the vast world of video game music, both reviewing soundtracks as well as maintaining relationships with composers overseas in Europe and in Japan.

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