TOM FRELEK - review added 19th August 2010
Live Album Review: Moment Of Certainty (Instrumental) (2010)
For fans of: Heavy Rock... and a few vocals on the last track
Canadian guitarist Tom Frelek, who also lends his fret-tickling skills to the bands Reverie and Third Dynasty, here releases his first solo album. Moment Of Certainty is, apart from the final track, a heavy and rocking instrumental album boasting a great sound and plenty of meat to sink your teeth into.
Tom Frelek is clearly a good guitarist with a great ear for composition. He's not quite up there with the best in the world on either discipline, but the combined effects of being almost-superb at both conspires to make this release surprisingly good.
There is plenty of variety throughout, and Tom certainly doesn't rest on his laurels by constantly pumping out a sound as loud and aggressive as possible. The music swings between Sabbath-esque doom, sweet acoustic folk, modern metal, straight ahead hard rock, blues and more. It's a well balanced affair that, on one hand, isn't off-the-scale impressive, but on the other is very easy and pleasant to listen to. For accessibility this is an A-star effort.
It's hard to pick any best moments from the album, as the sounds are so diverse. 'Strength of I' stands out for me, but I suspect everyone will find a different favourite on Moment Of Certainty. As a whole this is a strong release and comes highly recommended for fans of instrumental guitar-based rock. Just don't expect any YJM-style histrionics.
Check out... All of it.
Track List:
01. Funk-A-licious
02. Birth of A Hero
03. Strength of I
04. Blueprint For the Future
05. Always and Forever
06. Crispy Critter
07. In A Blue Moment
08. Phantom's Thrill
09. Uprising
10. Moment of Certainty
11. This Little Light of Mine
Artist's website(s): Tom Frelek | MySpace
