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Born in the late 60's, Chesy hails from a Welsh mining village with a long name and was pretty glad when he got the Hell out of there. He got into Rock/Metal in about 1980, thanks to a TISWAS related incident (Rainbow video for All Night Long) and thankfully has never looked back. Chesy often sang solo in the school choir, but thanks to a puberty related incident his voice is now completely bolloxed, although in his own head Paul thinks he sounds like a blend of Coverdale and Dio (R.I.P). He was brought up on the classics - Deep Purple, Rainbow, Thin Lizzy, Rush, Whitesnake and loved melodic rock and the Hair Bands of the 80's. (Nowadays, he has progressed a little and prefers a more technical and/or progressive metal - Dream Theater, Rush, Symphony X, Porcupine Tree, Pain Of Salvation, Spock's Beard. He hates Black and Death Metal (can't stand the grunting) but for some unknown reason loves the magnificent Opeth! He wont stop this blog until his beloved FM finally play the likes of the NEC as a headlining act!!!

Monday 17 December 2012

Alexander Schaedler - Temporaris Album Review




Alexander Schaedler has played the guitar since the early eighties, taking regular lessons since 1984 and studying at the Stuttgart State University of Music and the Performing Arts from 1999 to 2006. Ever since, the multi-instrumentalist (he plays the guitar, drums, bass, piano and banjo) has worked as a guitar instructor and freelance live and studio guitarist. Between 1994 and 1995, he was also a member of the Brunswick group, Shifty Sheriffs, teaming up three years later with Love Like Blood, who enjoy great international renown on the strength of their numerous releases. 

His first solo album Temporaris sees Schädler blend different musical styles and techniques in new ways, combining – as he calls it – “guitarist and compositional skills with the benefits of modern technology. I like to explore my  musical vision and discover new forms of expression through the multi-layered application of all available media.”

The only thing with instrumental albums, no matter how talented the individual is ( and Alexander is one talented dude ) is that they can be so hard work to listen to and to review. Song after song of drivel and widdly-wankery. And thats from some of the legends!

One thing with Temporaris is that Alexander Schaedler certainly mixes it up, quite a bit to be frank, be it the groovily rocking instrumental ‘Summerside’ (according to Schaedler “a little AC/DC, Joe Satriani and Steve Morse”), the offbeat ‘Freakk Phunk’ with its unconventional halftone/whole tone scale, the country number ‘Creepy Cheese’ in an obvious bluegrass tradition and shows his lighter side, and then – watch out! – ‘Aus Boehmen kommt die Musik’ (The Music Comes From Bohemia), originally sung by Austrian crooner Peter Alexander, given the rock guitar treatment in Schädler’s version no doubt playing his Strat with a bratwurst and wearing leiderhosen and was pissed (nice to see a musician messing around with styles). ‘Perturbado’ is a homage to the renowned trio, Al Di Meola/Paco De Lucia/John McLaughlin, while the medley ‘Potpourrix’ consists of ten popular melodies by classical composers, (you may not know the exact names, but you’ve definitely heard them before) embedded in a mix of rock, pop, punk, country and reggae. ‘No Need To Practice’ is obviously a lie, as Alexander’s done nothing but for the last few years, such is his mastering of the instruments heard here. Title track Temporaris is the standout track on the album, which will appeal to fans of bands like Dream Theater in particular, where he proves he can give the likes of Petrucci a run for their money

There are no taboos on Temporaris and all boundaries are blurred in the context of this diverse and interesting album. Schaedler produced himself, on which he played and programmed all instruments himself, at his own studio, before entrusting the result to Ralf Dietel (KrashKarma, ex-Nine Inch Nails) in Los Angeles for mastering.

Honestly, its not an album I could listen to all day, but put on my ipod on random I wouldn’t be reaching for the ‘next’ button on my steering wheel.  On reflection, Schaedler is a talented and interesting musician whose music holds no boundaries and you don’t need to be a rocket scientist, or student of Berklee to be able to appreciate his music. Id just prefer to see him play live as per the clip below

Score 70/100

 http://alexanderschaedler.de/
 

Alexander Schädler – Guitar
Klaus Webel – Keyboards
Friedrich Kienle – Bass
Al Sauer – Drums

Tracklisting - 

Summerside
Freakk Phunk
Creepy Cheese
Aus Boehmen Kommt Die Musik
No Need To Practice
Pertubardo
The Machinist 
Potpourrix
Irish Tune
Temporaris
 



 
 


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