Derek Sherinian – Molecular Heinosity

Mr. Sherinian comes back with a brand new instrumental album, musically in the same vein with his latest releases. Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society, Ozzy) is once again present, among others, on the guitar duties and singing lead on the one and only vocal track of the album. Rusty Cooley and Taka Minamino are new talented guitar players, since Derek was searching for some new blood for this album. The impressive lineup goes on with names like Tony Franklin (Firm, Blue Murder, Whitesnake etc)on fretless bass, Virgil Donati (Ring Of Fire, Steve Vai etc) on drums, Brian Tichy on drums and guitar and many more.

There are no surprises in this album. Heavy enough to make you bang your head, dark with some psychedelic touches here and there, complex song structures, is going to intrigue every progster out there. It’s not an easy to listen album to the untrained ear, partially due to it’s instrumental nature, but it can grow in everyone after a couple od plays. Sherinian’s unique style (often his playing is mentioned as guitar-like) makes a perfect match for heavy riffs and wild guitar soloing. And guitars here play an unusually important role for a keyboardist’s solo album. Closing track “So Far Gone” is another story, since it is the only vocal track and a pretty straightforward heavy metal song.

The overall impression is that Sherinian isn’t breaking any new ground with Molecular Heinosity. He developed a very personal style with his solo albums delivering good music. If you were expecting something entirely new you will disappointed. As a final note, the album is really short by today’s standards. A couple more tracks could easily fit in.