ANAND - JOY 4 EVER (2003, LION MUSIC)
Anand Mahangoe - guitars
Rob Fahnrich - keyboards
Nick De Vos - bass
Mike Terrana - drums

Guests:
Derek Sherinian - keyboards

Background
Here's a guy following in the footsteps of recent Dutch guitar instrumentalist Marcel Coenen. Originally from the little South American country of Surinam (his parents are of Indian heritage), his family moved to Holland when he was 5. There, he chose to study the guitar as his preferred musical instrument, and suffice to say, he's joined the ranks of Tony MacAlpine and Joe Satriani as an axe-fiend in waiting! Deep down though, he has a style that is similar to the sonic metal/bluesy approach taken by Greg Howe back in the late 80's. In 2003, you hear Anand on this his second album release (this is his first for Lion Music however). Not only are his compositions very interesting (unlike that mechanical sounding Theodore Ziras CD we heard last year), but the severe and brutal drumwork of session great Mike Terrana (Tony MacAlpine, Beau Nasty etc) gives this album the beef required in the back-end. A metal instrumental album tends to suffer somewhat without it. Real drums.. yee hah! The other 'odd' aspect about this album is that it took two years to record it (2001-2003). Either we've got a case of a perfectionist on our hands or a real slacker! lol.. No offense Anand, but I think you've come up trumps on 'Joy 4 Ever'. We must make mention of the keyboard work provided in the main by Rob Fahnrich, which adds depth, dexterity and color. The guest appearance of Derek Sherinian also sends the ivories off the scale on the track he appears on which is 'Get Laid'. Check out his insane soloing technique duelling beside Anand's equally incredible six-string antics!

The Songs
Highlights for me include the initial heaviness of 'Get Out', rolling into a melodic rock vs instrumental blend. A very cool track. 'Intimate Dance' features all sorts of interesting arrangements: beautiful synth layers, including spikes and parps, spiralling Neal Schon like guitar-parts and some active drumwork from Terrana yet again. Not to be outdone, 'Meet Mr Long' is very melodic, but then again, so is most of the album. Apart from the unusual name, 'Onatopp' is a storming brew of instrumental melodic metal, with some equally unusual instrumentation going on. It works though! 'The One' builds slowly to a rousing crescendo, combining piano parts, synth runs, and the usual OTT guitar solos from the man himself. The title track (last on the album) could very well be Brazen Abbot doing an instrumental track.. that is if Nikolo Kotsev was inclined to do so! Lots of 70's styled organ going on, big drums.. and yes.. big guitars too.

In Summary
An excellent introduction to a fine talent, Anand cuts up the instrumental genre at a slightly different angle, sounding unique among his fellow six-string brethren. As a follow-up, his first album 'A Mans Mind' (initially a Hungarian produced release from 1999) will also get a reissue from Lion Music early in 2004. Look out for more news and CD releases from this versatile and interesting player. Remember the name.. Anand. And again, well done to Lion.

Track Time: 56.16

Track Listing:
01 A Dirty Mind Is A..
02 Blind Date
03 Intimate Dance
04 Meet Mr Long
05 Get Laid
06 Disillusioned
07 Get Out
08 Next
09 Onatopp
10 The One
11 Joy 4 Ever

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