Tommy Vitaly - Hanging Rock 2012

If you can make dream, that you are a guitarist of a metal band, preferable power metal... You are thinking about your next solo album, so what to do next? Hire the best singers on the planet to sing for you of course! Tommy Vitaly is the guitarist we are talking about, the Italian power metal shredder to be precise. He is/was in a band called Seven Gates. Forget the band for a while, earlier in 2012, Tommy released his ambitious Avantasian solo project. As can be seen from the singers listed below, some of best Avantasia-like singers are recruit just to scream out loud his notes. For accompaniment musician, Tommy simple hire Vision Divine bassist, Andrea Torricini and session drummer Kenny E.Edward aka. Rhino from various band of fame. This formation produced a second solo album for Tommy called Hanging Rock. The material is surprisingly wonderful. Some of '80 speedmetal / NWOBHM style, some neo classical shred and heavy metal in your door front.

Mats Leven suddenly transformed into '80 speed metaller ala Judas Priest with an opener song, Betrayer. Guitar riff are patent '80s style. Indeed, the sound is truly faithful to the original sound that will make you alert immediately about this album. The best track on the album, I think is no.2 Run with the Devil. A little pun to Stryper's To Hell with the Devil, actually the song very much spirit also in '80 heavy metal. Singer Carsten 'Lizard' Schulz are in service for this and his voice are absolutely brilliant for this song. And if you just don't remember, this is a guitarist solo album. Shredding parts and solos taking front view are expected. Come to Hands of Time we have Todd La Torre scream the high and low tunes for us. Also a very strong speed/heavy metal track that is, until Forever Lost. David Defeis of Virgin Steele contributed his magic voice in this acoustic ballad. One thing is Tommy has cleverly mixed each song to his singer, so a song like Forever Lost actually also very Virgin Steele in nature. Tommy also invited guitarist, Concerto Moon, Japanese neo classical guitarist, Norifumi Shima is duel with key-wiz Ferdy Doernberg in song Idol. Michele Luppi is serving this track and of course a catchy power metal plaftform was in the performed. Tommy also composed two instrumental track in the virtuoso style, Misanthropy and Hanging Rock. Then we still have surprises in Heavy Metal God where master David Shankle teach us who the king of Metal. Icewarrior then close this album with another power metal bang with Zak Stevens on the microphone.

Sure Tommy Vitaly is best disciples of Yngwie Malmsteen guitarship. He also has a good song composition that a fortune for us, being served by world class singer. This album simply mixed well recorded metal songs with good balance between song part and intended guitar parts, because this is simple a guitarist solo project. Andrea Torricini are busy with his bass line that listenable in each song, same thing to Rhino in his beat counting parts. The only miss is how short length the album is, only runs at 39 minutes because all the songs average at four minutes. This left us hope that Tommy will still got many ideas worth the wait for his next release.

Metalharem class: ******** eight stars out of ten

Tommy Vitaly - Hanging Rock 2012
buy it here at Amazon

1.Betrayer (feat. Mats Leven on vocals)
2.Run with the Devil (feat. Carsten “Lizard"Schulz on vocals)
3.Hands of Time (feat. Todd LaTorre on vocals)
4.Forever Lost (feat. David Defeis on vocals)
5.Idol (feat. Michele Luppi on vocals, Norifumi Shima and Ferdy Doernberg solos)
6.Misanthropy
7.Heavy Metal God (feat. Carsten “Lizard” Schulz on vocals, David Shankle guitar solo)
8.Hanging Rock (feat. Ferdy Doernberg keyboard solos)
9.Icewarrior (feat. Zak Stevens on vocals)

Andrea Torricini Bass
Tommaso Vitali Guitars, Keyboards 
Rhino Drums

•Tommy Vitaly (SEVEN GATES) - Guitars
•Todd LaTorre (CRIMSON GLORY) - Vocals
•David DeFeis (VIRGIN STEELE) - Vocals
•Zak Stevens (CIRCLE II CIRCLE, ex-SAVATAGE) - Vocals
•Michele Luppi (THAUROROD, ex-VISION DIVINE) - Vocals
•Carsten Lizard-Schulz (EVIDENCE ONE, ex-DOMAIN) - Vocals
•Andrea "Tower" Torricini (ex-VISION DIVINE) - Bass
•Norifumi Shima (CONCERTO MOON) - Guitars
•David Shankle (DSG, ex-MANOWAR) - Guitars
•Ferdy Doernberg (Axel Rudi Pell, Rough Silk, Helloween) - Keyboards
•Kenny Earl Edwards (a.k.a. Rhino; HOLY HELL, ex-MANOWAR) - Drums