Cyril Achard France

"French guitar virtuoso Cyril Achard has operated within many genres, and on the first album released in his name (but not his first album as such), he delivers well put together instrumental progressive rock with both jazzy and metallic elements akin to Dream Theater.

Given that this is a guitar hero album, you can expect a certain amount of shredding - but, while there are plenty of impressive technical solos on this album, it is far from show off shredding all the way through, as Achard also delivers melodic solos and guitar harmonies aplenty, and the other instrumentation is never obscured by the lead guitar, which is good since the rhythm guitar and the drumming are the primary contributors of the more metallic side to this album.

I think this is one of the better guitar hero albums out there, and it should appeal to fans of Tony Ermolli, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and other guitar heroes as well as progressive metal bands like Dream Theater and 90s era Fates Warning.

(review originally posted on metalmusicarchives.com)"