Tony MacAlpine - Edge of Insanity (1986)

Format: flac + cue + log

Genre: Rock, Instrumental rock, neo-classical metal

Release Date: 1986

Label: Shrapnel

Album Review by Andy Hinds @ AMG

After Yngwie Malmsteen set the guitar world on fire with his 1984 debut, Rising Force, it was amazing how quickly the clones came out of the woodwork. Within a couple years there were dozens of them, flooding the market with their recorded instrumental extravaganzas. Tony MacAlpine was one of the Yngwie followers, to a certain degree. His debut album, Edge of Insanity, with its all-star rhythm section of Steve Smith and Billy Sheehan (drums and bass, respectively), follows the rough blueprint of Yngwie's model. Soloing over dramatic minor key vamps, MacAlpine catalogs his impressive licks at top speed. But while his chops on the guitar are quite astounding, what is more impressive is that he is equally adept at playing the keyboard. So there's plenty of exciting guitar/keyboard interplay here, including dueling solo sections and unison or harmonized runs, that is quite dazzling. Album highlights include the laid-back album-closer, "No Place in Time," and MacAlpine's impressive unaccompanied piano performance of Chopin's "Prelude 16, Opus 28." The low point is "Quarter to Midnight," a "live solo" that sounds very suspiciously like a studio recording with (rather fake-sounding) crowd noise dubbed in. His second album, Maximum Security, is much better.



Progressive metal guitar virtuoso Tony MacAlpine began his musical education as a classically-trained pianist and violinist; his subsequent rock recordings retained a pronounced classical influence, incorporating elements of jazz and fusion as well. He debuted in 1986 with the instrumental Edge of Insanity, recorded with an all-star line-up including bassist Billy Sheehan and ex-Journey drummer Steve Smith; for the follow-up, Project: Driver, MacAlpine formed the band M.A.R.S. with drummer Tommy Aldridge, vocalist Bob Rock and bassist Rudi Sarzo. The group quickly dissolved and MacAlpine returned to his solo career, additionally forming his own label, Squawk; after 1987's Maximum Security, he founded another group, dubbed simply MacAlpine, with singer Alan Schorn, keyboardist Mark Robertson, bassist Mike Jacques and drummer Billy Carmassi. The band's lone record, Eyes of the World, appeared in 1990, and MacAlpine returned to instrumental projects for the remainder of the decade, issuing a series of albums including 1992's Freedom to Fly, 1995's Evolution, 1997's Live Insanity and 2000's Cab. Cab 2 followed in 2001. by Jason Ankeny @ AMG

Tony MacAlpine - Chromaticity 2001

Genre: Instrumental rock, neo-classical metal, jazz fusion
Format: FLAC + cue + log
Released: 2001
Label: Shrapnel Records

01. Christmas Island

02. Chromaticity

03. City Beneath The Sea

04. Digitalis Destructi

05. Isis

06. Prince Of Lights

07. Still Valley

08. Avenger

09. Eye Of The Soul

10. Etude Nr. 8 Opus 10 (F. Chopin)

Tony MacAlpine: guitar, keyboard, piano, production
Barry Sparks: bass
Steve Smith: drums

"The Chromaticity session was a perfect opportunity for me to reunite with Steve Smith who of course played drums on my very first release. Steve has and always will be one of my favorite musicians in the world. The energy and positive experience he brings to each session is simply one of a kind. This record was written entirely in Los Angeles and all guitar and keyboard parts were recorded and mixed by Bernie Torelli using a collection of many different amps. Some of the basics were recorded using the Carvin Legacy heads and many of the solos and melodies were recorded using the H&K Access Preamp.

The H&K amp is really wonderful because of the warm tube sounds it’s able to create without excessive volume. This is very important for me as I desire not to overdrive the microphone pre’s to much. I always use (1) 2x12 cabinet in mono format and then replay the other channel to create a very wide stereo effect. This works for me and I will continue to track this way on the new album.

I had a great time writing the material because it was my first time in quite some time since the Planet X days to pen the tunes myself. Since Steve Smith was located at that time in Northern California, we were in a position to complete the songs as far as basic tracks went, and overdubbed the drums in his home studio in Novato. And as usual Mr. Smith was full of many extremely creative ideas. So many things that were set in stone were changed which meant some rewrites on my part to accommodate the creative process that always exist in a studio environment. Steve Smith is a rhythm genius and its shows all over this album. I would say it took approx 2 days for him to record his parts at his pace. Amazing.

The bass was recorded by my great friend Barry Sparks. I have always been in awe of Barry’s remarkable tone and totally solid delivery. Another thing that sets Barry apart from many other players is the complete trust you can have in his work. He is not the type of player one will have to police or over produce to get the right results on the track. I simply had a very detailed electric bass part and some charts and the rest was history. His parts were recorded in Arizona at his home studio - so you can imagine I was very anxiously waiting each day for the songs to arrive. And when they did I was floored. He is quite a talented player. I am looking forward to the day when we can record some music again soon.

Chromaticity is the last record where I will include a piano work from another composer other than myself. I will record some piano works in the future, but only on albums that contain purely piano music. So I guess in some ways Chromaticity signifies an end of an era in terms of songs layout. “Isis” and “Avenger” were the tracks for me that I would say are my favorites on this disc, and will be included in the set list for my upcoming solo tour in the summer.

Thanks for enjoying this album. I will see ya soon..."
Tony MacAlpine