French guitarist Cyril Achard is gradually becoming a world-class player, already appearing on instrumental-only collaborations with drummer Mike Terrana and a Jason Becker tribute album, as well as fronting his own vocal progressive metal band, Morbid Feeling. Now comes a reissue of his debut solo album, 1997’s Confusion. Originally released by Musea, Confusion consists of eight solid instrumentals with French titles performed with two backing musicians. While some tracks ("Des Illusions," "Pharaons" and "Correspondance") recall Yngwie Malmsteen, others ("Hiros," "Barock" and "Neufrage," a piece dedicated to fellow guitarist Becker) contain enough diverse elements to prevent monotony from setting in. Plus, Lion Music has added three intriguing bonus tracks to this reissue, including one demo that dates back to 1993.
Achard is more of a finesse player than a technical one, and his music flows with both purpose and restraint. A wanker, he is not.