Rich Fortuna - Heathen Machines (CD)

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Rich Fortuna is a Heavy Metal-based guitar player from New York, working for several years with his band COALITION. He teaches guitar at the Carmen Caramanica Music Institution and at the same time composed and recorded his solo instrumental album, Heathen Machines.
The album begins with 4 songs that seemed to my ear as one, because of the same tempo, the pointless solos and the slow heavy riff that repeated over and over again. I know instrumental albums are a difficult task but Heathen Machines begin in the most boring way.
Where Are You? is the first song that has some decent eastern melody and attracts the listener's ear with the atmospheric sound. The three songs that follow have the same slow riff as a musical carpet with the PANTERA-like attitude but far from the energy that Dimebag's guitar playing style had. I got bored once again until Crooks N' Demons that has a Spanish flamenco melody, with classical guitar solo played by the jazz guitar master Carmen Caramanica and electric guitar answers by Rich Fortuna, indeed the best moment in the album.

Nasty Christians is another nice piece, with catchy melodic guitar riff and clean guitar solo and after Hand Over Fist and Sinister that have the same music outlet us I mentioned above, Alone comes to close Heather Machines with a nice clean guitar solo with the acoustic guitar and a drum loop on the background.

The Heathen Machines package includes a bonus DVD with the Test Subjects video clip, that has some rough images of a mental hospital while the band is playing and Rich Fortuna shreds.

Heathen Machines has a few good moments but Rich Fortuna has to try even harder the next time for sure. Instrumental music needs strong melodies with unique arrangements to attract the metalhead's and rocker's ear.