Ethan Brosh - Out of Oblivion (2009) Magna Carta

Ethan Brosh is a shred guitarist who grew up in Israel, but now he lives in the USA. Ethan is a graduate of Berklee College of Music and plays in melodic metal band Angels of Babylon.

Magna Carta released his debut solo album „Out of Oblivion“ in 2009. It was recorded by Ethan Brosh (guitars, keyboards), Eyal Freeman (bass guitar; A.C. Black, Stathis Lontus), Yuval Golibroda (keyboards), Demian Arriaga (percussion), Jessy Bullet and Terry Taragno (drum machine programming). Some musicians were invited as guest artists: Mike Mangini (drums; Extreme, Steve Vai), George Lynch (guitar solo; Dokken, Lynch Mob), Greg Howe (guitar solo; Michael Jackson) and Joe Stump (guitar solo; The Reign of Terror, HolyHell).

„The Hit Man“ is the opening melodic instrumental rock composition with warm guitar sound. This track is a high-tech instrumental with a great dose of melodiousness. As a matter of fact, melodies are the fundament of Ethan Brosh’s debut. The entire tracklist is amazing, but I’d like to mention „In A Sentimental Mood“ and „Blade Runner“. The first one got a misleading title, since it develops in a furious mood. It is nothing, but instrumental heavy metal hurricane. The second tune is another snazzy instrumental with hit melodies. Believe me, it includes hundreds of priceless notes. The last two compositions are classically inspired. Jochann Sebastian Bach’s „Prelude No. 04„ comes from „Lute Suite“ in E major, and „Affliction“ of the same composer is based on his „St. Matthew Passion“.

The stuff is grounded on the electric guitar sound, but there are some acoustic moments (like in a flamenco-styled „Illusion“ - a very interesting, but contrasting tune with relation to the rest). There are lots of guitar slides and heavy tricks. All of them are decorated with virtuosic stubbornness and sophisticated guitar thaumaturgies. However, there is no instrumental surfeit. A listener is full with a guitar fare and has the impression that by next listening it will be as tasty as for the first time. If you think that Ethan seems to look pale in comparison to the invited guests, you are wrong. He equals these respected masters in every detail of the musical art. Ethan portrayed his musical charisma and compositional talent. The invited instrumentalists prove the high artistic level of the release. „Out of Oblivion“ is a stuff made up of the most precious ore. Briefly writing, it is a chunk of solid guitar shredding. Ethan Brosh is one of the greatest virtuosos in the history of shred guitar music! Without exaggeration, he would be as big name as Vinnie Moore, George Lynch, Nuno Bettencourt and Tony MacAlpine, if he recorded this release in the 80s! Really impressive stuff!