Jeff Loomis – Zero Order Phase

Now that Nevermore is taking a break, it’s time for some solo projects. We already had vocalist Warrel Dane’s solo effort and with “Zero Order Phase”, it’s now guitarist Jeff Loomis’ turn to take matters into his own hands.

Loomis is an excellent guitarist and he likes to demonstrate that on all of the songs on the album. Opener “Shouting Fire At A Funeral” starts things off in a great way with a mellow melodic riff that could’ve come straight off of Joe Satriani’s “The Extremist”. Most of the time though Loomis never strays too far from the Nevermore sound. Which can be seen as a negative because what’s the point of a solo album if you’re just gonna keep on playing the exact same thing? And I have to say that a completely instrumental album, is a bit too much to keep me focused. I keep waiting for Warrel Dane’s vocals to come in to make the whole thing more diverse. Unfortunately that never happens. So in the end you’re stuck with an album that is a must for all the Nevermore fans but is less interesting than a Nevermore album for everyone else.
Score: 6.5 out of 10
http://www.centurymedia.de
http://www.jeffloomis.com