Review by JD on December 27, 2014.

Instrumental shred albums can be a daring thing not only to record, but for the listener as well. It can be either a ten on the awesome meter, or so unreachable for most non-musicians that they run away from it. Only the incomparable Yngwie Malmsteen or Steve Vai could do an album with some commercial appeal.

Adrian Weiss is a multi-talented musician hailing from Germany, who plays with Forces At Work as well as doing solo instrumental albums. Combining every growing as well as varying array of styles of music into one powerful entity, Mr Weiss brings a sense of freshness to the whole idea of instrumental metal music. From fusion and progressive rock to heavy riffing metal- he brings the goods and delivers a taste of pure music.

Easy Game is a complex web of the finest of shredding metal counterpointed by these sweeping melodies and melodramatic arrangements that add so much substance, that none of the songs can be ignored. Blazing tracks like 'Instant Relief' match well with the slower swaggering ambiance of 'Aim to Please'. He runs the gambit, and wins.

Adrian Weiss is head and shoulders over the crowd with his perfectly sculptured melodies in his craft and yet it does not seem in any way that the music looks down on those who are not musically inclined as well. It is that factored in, that makes Mr. Weiss a true musician in every sense of the word. Any metalhead will appreciate this album and musicians will be jealous with his perfect blending of cranium cracking metal with IQ enhancing music.

It’s a no brainer what I am getting at here. This is perhaps one of the best metal/prog/shred albums in a very long time. I loved every aspect of the CD, and even though I am a bassist- I could not only see, but get what he is doing. Attention Mr.‘I shred’ Malmsteen!, there is a new six-slinger coming on to your turf, and he is stealing the shred crown.

Rating: 9.5