Former Nevermore guitar shredder Jeff Loomis returns for the sequel to 2008's Zero Order Phase, this one titled Plains of Oblivion. As he did on that debut, Loomis has brought along some friends to help out, namely vocalists Christine Rhoades and Emperor legend Ihsahn, as well as fellow guitar hot shots Attila Voros, Tony MacAlpine, Marty Friedman, and Chris Poland.
As far as instrumental metal guitar pyrotechnics, it doesn't get much better than this. Loomis churns out plenty of the complex riff-o-rama that we came to expect from him during his time with Nevermore, and to hear him trading off blazing arpeggios and neo-classical sweeps with the likes of Friedman, MacAlpine, Voros, and Poland can be quite breaktaking. The guitarist though proves he can do it on his own, which you can hear on the brutal "Sibylline Origin" and the furious "Escape Velocity", the latter a crushing blast of raging speed metal that features pummeling drum work to go along with Loomis' vast array of riffs and solos. Rhoades lends her vocal abilities to two songs here, "Tragedy and Harmony" and "Chosen Time", and to be honest it's nice to hear Loomis tearing it up on vocal pieces again, even on material that's more in the melodic power metal vein. Ihsahn lends his trademark black metal rasps and chilling clean vocals to the otherwise Meshuggah-ish burner "Surrender", easily one of the CDs highlights. Loomis walks into Yngwie Malmsteen territory on the acoustic neo-classical rave up "Rapture", and dives into some exciting fusion with Poland on the tasty "Continuum Drift".
The problem with albums like this is that after a few spins and moments of that 'wow' factor setting in, the shredding can get a tad tiring for some. 25 years ago when shred guitar was first making some waves, I would have listened to this album to death. Here in 2012, it's easy to appreciate Plains of Oblivion for what it is, which is a great example of superior heavy metal guitar firepower. I'm not real sure if this album warrants going back to over an extended period of time, but there's no doubt of the talent Loomis possesses as a guitarist and songwriter. I for one would like to see him go back to a band with a vocalist full time and see where that takes him. Whatever way you look at it, this is good stuff from a killer player.
Track Listing
1. Mercurial (feat. Marty Friedman)
2. The Ultimatum (feat. Tony MacAlpine)
3. Escape Velocity
4. Tragedy and Harmony (feat. Christine Rhoades)
5. Requiem for the Living (feat. Attila Voros)
6. Continuum Drift (feat. Chris Poland)
7. Surrender (feat. Ihsahn)
8. Chosen Time (feat. Christine Rhoades)
9. Rapture
10. Sibylline Origin
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