Metal Reviews

"Shadow King", the debut solo release from ace guitarist Steve Fister is a tasty collection of bluesy hard rock that show off the guitarist's talents to great effect!

Fister, whose previous experience includes stints with The Lita Ford Band(with whom he served as musical director and can be seen in Ford's video for the smash hit "Kiss Me Deadly"), Steppenwolf and The Pat Travers Band, is a guitarist with great skill. But in addition to being very technically proficient, Fister has the rare ability to show restraint, playing for the composition's good, and not to just show off.

Fister's guitar work on this largely instrumental album( eight of the album's eleven tracks are instrumentals) is quite impressive! Drawing from classic rock guitar influences, yet updated slightly for the '90's, Fister's very bluesy
playing is reminiscent of Jeff Beck(especially on "Slow Slide Down",which recalls Beck's classic "Cause We've Ended As Lovers"), Cream era Clapton on the vocal track "Memphis", which features a great performance by former Ted Nugent
vocalist Derek St. Holmes, who sounds uncannily like Steve Walsh of Kansas on this track.

Actually, a fairly accurate description of this song would be how Kansas would sound if they were a heavy blues/rock band. The track also features a great wah laden solo by Fister.

The other tracks on "Shadow King" range from the hyper blues instrumental appropriately entitled "Hyper Boogie", ( which sounds somewhat like Joe Satriani,only bluesier), hard rocking blues(the album's lead track, "Big Guitars & Fast Cars") , semi acoustic blues ("Meet You Halfway",which contains some fine slide guitar playing by Fister), the bluesy title track(which in addition to Steve's great Roy Buchanan infuenced playing features ex Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble keyboardist Reese Wynans playing some inspired Hammond B-3 organ work) to a great instrumental version of the Rolling Stones classic "Paint It Black".

Steve is joined on "Shadow King" by two esteemed musicians in their own right: bassist extrordinaire Stu Hamm ( Joe Satriani, Steve Vai) and drummer Greg Bissonette( David Lee Roth, Satriani) who both put in great performances
throughout!

Filled with great compositions and inspired guitar work ,"Shadow King" should appeal to fans of classic rock as well as great guitar playing.

(For more info visit the Official Steve Fister Website at www.stevefister.com )

Personnel:
Steve Fister: all guitars, dobro, sitar, background vocals
Greg Bissonette: drums
Stu Hamm: electric & fretless bass
Additional musicians: Derek St. Holmes:vocals, Reese Wynans:B-3 organ, Eddie Tudori :drums, Boyd LeFan: bass
Produced by Steve Fister, Carl Nappa and Chris Kelly
Label:2nd Degree(U.S.)

Review by Leith Langerman