Before writing my thoughts about Patrick Vega’s latest album I would like to take a moment to say “Patrick if your reading this, thanks for taking the time to send HardRockHouse your music”.

For those people who may be new to Patrick (like myself) let me give you a run down of his music career so far. Patrick is an accomplished guitar player who has performed and recorded music for various organizations in the US and Europe such as Matrix Music, Left Bank Organisation, Outreach Music and Noneradio.com. He has worked with some major league producers such as Ron St. Germain, Tim Harkins and Harlan Lansky as well as winning awards for his instrumental compositions. He has already been featured in international music magazines and performed in prestigious venues such as The Key Club, The Whisky etc and on critically acclaimed tours such as the Vans Warped Tour. If that isn't enough Vega has also managed to find time to be a full time guitar instructor at the biggest public school in Austria and write music with his LA based classic rock band “Who’s Pretty”.

Inspiration comes from the strangest places and in Vega’s case it was all down to a voice mail message left on his landline phone in Hollywood California. The message goes “Vega. I know it was you. You know what buddy? Your time is going to come. I’ll put the kibosh on you buddy. That’s right, you're getting kicked. Right in the face”. Vega's reply to a bystander was “I swear I didn’t know she had a boyfriend, all I know is she was eighteen”. Obviously someone out there has an issue with Vega. Bad news for him but great news for lovers of instrumental guitar rock as the whole event inspired him to write a stalker song called “Camael” which eventually became the lead off track on this new album. The track opens with the infamous message before launching into a song that takes a thrilling ride through modern guitar tones, funky chops and “way cool” technical playing. The melody is just the right side of dark and dangerous but played in a manner that suggests a big “Fu#k You!” to his stalker.

“ No Surrender” is a song which moves along with a mildly funky vibe before mutating into more traditional rock patterns. At all times the emphasis is on melody and as a result the music is instantly pleasing. “My Demons” is a rock song with a dark groove and playing which had me thinking of Joe Satriani at his most slithery and legato best. The accompanying riffs are played down and dirty and leave plenty of room for some serious shredding via extended and fast picked runs.

“The Voice Of Virtue” is a melodic tour de force. It embraces gentle and quirky note passages and tempers them with hard-edged and muscular playing. There are many original melodic moments and as the song progresses there is an almost soundtrack quality to the performance. “No One” sees Vega delivering some big bends and hitting the notes right on the money (Dave Gilmour would be proud). It’s a straightforward track which one senses was always about milking the melody for all its worth and which Vega has succeeded in doing with flying colours.

“War Party” is without doubt one of the coolest tracks on the album for this reviewer. The opening riff had me reaching for the volume dial and cranking it up. The rhythm guitar riffs are fat and fruity and lead lines are melodic and blessed with some wonderful tones. It’s big its bold and it rocks. “Danza Demonica” has an exotic flavour to it. Vega's wah drenched soloing is focused and at times remarkably intense. I could almost feel the spirit of Al Di Meola roaming around this song. The vibe is at times hypnotic and at others spaghetti western like.

“The Big Lion” is a song that sounds thoroughly modern with its effected guitars and slinky guitar lines which scream out “schooled player”. There are some dazzling guitar lines that go from high up the fretboard to the headstock end and the song uses some great intervallic leaps of faith. The final track is a wonderful soundscape of melodic guitar licks and passages. Pick slides and picking behind the nut all add up to a song, which is highly atmospheric and evocative. It has no title on the inlay sleeve so comes as almost a hidden bonus track.

Freefall Faith Firestorm is a highly entertaining album displaying a guitar player who is blessed with some great chops. His playing is highly accessible and, dare I say, commercial thanks to his focus within all the songs on melody. Playing wise he has the swagger of Slash and the rocking fineness of Joe Perry all topped off with the schooled techniques of Joe Satriani. It’s a heady mixture but one that gives Vega an edge over some of the other guitar instrumentalists out there as he is very much a feel based player with a sense of adventure rather than a technical player following the theory route and the expected route.

We are often contacted at the site as to where to find some of the releases we get to review. Vega music’s available from both his MySpaceb site and iTunes. If your looking for great guitar rock instrumental music you really need to check him out as he has so much to offer and what he has got he delivers in fine style.

Let us know your views on Freefall Faith Firestorm

 Track Listing

Camael
No Surrender
My Demons
The Voice Of Virtue
No One
War Party
Danza Demonica
The Big Lion