Jeff Scheetz
Warp Speed
Reviewed by Doug Van Pelt
Some of you have asked yourselves, "When will it happen? When will a Christian guitarist release a neo-classical instrumental album? Do we have to pay Rex Carroll to do it for us?" Well, wouldn't you rather hear that Yamaha sponsors a Christian guitarist who travels and does work shops in various guitar stores? Well, Jeff Scheetz is the man who has been meeting this need before we even heard about it.
Jeff is currently living in Kansas City. Jeff writes a guitar column for a couple of regional mags in the midwest. Jeff has agreed to write a guitar column for Heaven's Metal, which will kick off this August with Issue #21.
This well-crafted solo album was recorded in Opus Studios in Chicago and released on Edge Records. Fans of Vinnie Moore, Tony MacAlpine, and Joey Taffola should love this. It's flashy precision playing with feeling. Songs like "Lone Wolf" and "St. Valentine" display a loud, distorted bite, as well as some nice melody and heartfelt string-bending.
A couple of other players, Eddie Pruitt and Gabriel Anthony, add bass and drums, respectively. There's a creative version of "Amazing Grace", which closes the tape with almost a neo-classical/metal/country flair. The familiar verses of Amazing Grace are played quickly, while the in-between notes are standard neo-classical riffs.
It's interesting to try and pick up Jeff's influences. We'll find out later by asking, but judging from the tape, I hear Vinnie Moore, Ronnie Montrose, and a tiny bit of Uli Roth in some of the feedbacked notes.
I recommend this tape highly for all guitar aficionados.