Vinnie Moore - Mind's Eye (1986)^{Release ID: 11286}

One man, one guitar, 3 other guys to back him up with their own instruments... This is Vinnie Moore, known as one of the heroes of metal guitar shredding besides Yngwie Malmsteen! Anyone who keeps comparing the former is a direct rip-off of the latter should stop f***ing around and pay closer attention to his debut.

Mind's Eye has some superb shredding throughout the album. Just because Vinnie Moore came after Malmsteen is no reason for this man to be deemed a clone to that key developer of neoclassical metal. This album is much more than that! Mind's Eye has emotional aggression, and it's more progressive, with the neoclassical side being saved for more of just the soloing technique without being the main genre. The progressiveness is helped out by the spacey keys of Tony MacAlpine.

"In Control" starts the album heavy in the riffing just before the catchy leads enter the picture. After two minutes, MacAlpine performs astonishing synth soloing, having the complex velocity of the leads that return shortly after. "Daydream" comes in as one of Moore's most well-known tracks. It's more mid-paced, while the listener can marvel through his melodic leads. Over 3 minutes on, there's more spacey synth soloing from MacAlpine, sounding so f***ing mesmerizing, you'll be hypnotized within the first few seconds. Heading on into "Saved by a Miracle", acoustic guitar opens the track before some great leads, followed by aggressive drum soloing by Tommy Aldridge!

"Hero Without Honor" is an honorable standout, a 7-minute epic that showcases the best of both the progressive (in the keyboards and complexity) and neo-classical (in the soloing and some melodies) worlds. "Lifeforce" almost reminds me a bit of DragonForce's leads and solos. Same with "N.N.Y.", though with some slight weakness.

The title track really displays Moore's pioneered mix of progressive/neoclassical metal, similar to how Rorschach invented metalcore and Meshuggah invented djent, though obviously in a different genre. "Shadows Of Yesterday" can be considered the album's power ballad. "The Journey" is a recommendable end of this amazing journey. I think I hear some of the song's progressiveness and melody in later bands like Persefone. No wonder that band had the idea to cover a song by neoclassical metal duo Cacophony.

Vinnie Moore's debut is quite solid throughout. Even though it's not really one of the most unique albums I've heard, most of the songs have interesting freshness in every bite. If you're up for a progressive mix of neoclassical solos and spacey synths, this album shall enter your mind!

Favorites: "Daydream", "Hero Without Honor", "Lifeforce", "Mind's Eye", "The Journey"

Delaware-based guitar virtuoso Vinnie Moore was a major influence on me as a young musician. I picked up his 1986 debut album “Mind’s Eye” on CD through my father who had spotted it for cheap in a second-hand store & thought I might like it some time in the very early 1990’s & I then followed it up by purchasing Vinnie’s 1991 third album “Meltdown” shortly afterwards, both proving to be important players in the shaping of who I wanted to be as a guitarist. Swedish icon Yngwie J. Malmsteen had already opened my eyes to the possibilities in regard to super-high velocity, ultra-technique-heavy instrumental guitar music but, despite the fact that Vinnie was clearly influenced by Yngwie, he offered something additional that gave him the edge over the great man in my opinion, at least from a compositional point of view. You see, Vinnie knew how to write great melodies & construct pieces that work as songs as well as they do demonstrations of his technical proficiencies. Yngwie wasn’t as adept in these areas & also tended to verge on the cheesy a lot more often. He also pushed the neoclassical component much further than Vinnie who used it more sparingly & subsequently gained maximum impact from it.

Vinnie was already very well connected when he recorded “Mind’s Eye” & you can see evidence of that in both the fact that the album was released on Mike Varney’s Shrapnel Records label (which would go on to become the premier label for this style of music shortly afterwards) & also in the amazing line-up of musicians he had supporting him. I would imagine that Mike had connected him with fellow Shrapnel shredder Tony MacAlpine who provides some amazingly accomplished keyboard work here for a multi-instrumentalist. Tony would release his debut solo album through Shrapnel the following year but his contribution to “Mind’s Eye” is the most significant of the supporting musicians with his performance leaving most full-time keyboardists in the dust. The rhythm section is no less well credentialled though with talented Dixie Dregs bassist Andy West & legendary Ozzy Osbourne/Thin Lizzy/Whitesnake drummer Tommy Aldridge ensuring that Vinnie had a rock-solid basis from which to showcase his astounding skills.

The purely instrumental tracklisting begins in a rich vein of form with the entire A side being very solid indeed & highlighted by the spectacular “Daydream” which is a genuine shred classic in my eyes (& as usual for me it’s the least popular track on the album – go figure). The way that Vinnie balances out some truly memorable melodies with extreme technique is remarkable & is a very rare talent in this niche marketplace. The B side isn’t quite as strong with the quality level dipping a touch on a few tracks & this is usually the result of melodies that edge towards the cheese line a little or licks & structures that take too much of a neoclassical route as I’ve never found that style of guitar playing to be as attractive as Vinnie’s more mysterious & exotic one. You see, regardless of the technique on display, it’s Vinnie’s ability to create spacey, moody atmospheres that’s the real differentiator from his peers & represents the main attraction for an album like “Mind’s Eye”.

It's interesting that “Mind’s Eye” is almost universally tossed into the neoclassical metal bucket alongside the Yngwies & Jason Beckers because there really isn’t all that much of a classical influence in the song structures & accompaniment here. It’s really just Vinnie’s use of similar lead guitar techniques to those guys (i.e. sweep-picking, strong use of pedal notes, etc.) that provides the link with classical music but that’s not enough for me to want to label “Mind’s Eye” as being inherently neoclassical & it’s perhaps this distinction as much as any that sees my favouring a record like “Mind’s Eye” over other highly regarded releases from the genre like “Rising Force” or “Perpetual Burn”. To my ears this album sits somewhere between your classic heavy metal sound & a more expansive progressive metal one with MacAlpine’s keyboard work being the main link to the progressive side of that equation.

Regardless of what you label it as though, there can be little doubt that “Mind’s Eye” is a magnificent example of instrumental guitar wizardry & it was always going to appeal to someone like myself who not only understands just how difficult it is to pull off a lot of this stuff but also lives for soaring lead guitar hooks. If any of you ever listen to my 1999 solo CD you’ll no doubt hear a strong Vinnie Moore influence in the opening track as I get the feeling that I might have taken a fair amount of inspiration from “Mind’s Eye”. If this is neoclassical metal then it’s the finest example I’ve ever heard & it should be essential listening for any budding young shredder. Just don’t take it too personally when you inevitably discover that you’ll never be half as good as this bloke because none of us will be. He’s nothing less than a total freak of nature.

Aside from perhaps Watchtower, this was the most technical, progressive, and impressive display of musicianship in metal as of 1986. Sure there were other guitar gods – Malmsteen, MacAlpine, to name a couple – and any one of them could be considered “the best.” Vinnie Moore could absolutely compete with the big names in terms of pure technical skill. However, Moore had two qualities that most guitar shredders lack.

First of all, Moore is not just a soloist – he is a brilliant songwriter. As far as instrumental metal goes, Moore doesn’t write songs that sound like no more than a showcase for his talent; they are complete compositions, entertaining throughout, memorable, sometimes catchy, sometimes evocative. I haven’t quite figured out why yet, but I do prefer my music to have vocals, and usually instrumental music feels like it’s missing something to me. Mind’s Eye does not. It is fully realized material that stands on its own.

Second of all, the backing band. This might as well be a supergroup – MacAlpine himself is on keys, just as proficiently filling the role as he does shredding solo – but every member is very, very skilled. Moore is obviously the bandleader, but he does not outshine the other members. They keep up, they are given moments to shine, and they constantly add unique elements under the masterful guitar playing. Not only are there no songs less than great, but there are really no moments less than great, as there is always so much going on in every given moment.

Unfortunately, it does have a ceiling. Instrumental virtuoso metal might not get better than this, but that style is still a limited, niche style best in small doses.