CACOPHONY — Speed Metal Symphony (review)

CACOPHONY — Speed Metal Symphony album cover Album · 1987 · Neoclassical metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
siLLy puPPy
It's safe to say that this is a showcase for the absolutely phenomenal shredding abilities of Jason Becker and Marty Friedman to show off their chops of highly technical playing with fast tempos, melodic solos, neoclassical scales and dual guitar harmonizations all under the guise of the band CACOPHANY. They recruited Peter Marrino on vocals and Atma Anur on drums. Marty covers both guitar and bass duties at least on the record. Criaig Swain was recruited for live performances. This band only put out two albums, this one being the first.

This is one of those love/hate albums for me. I am a fan of (good) shredding and neoclassical dual guitars doesn't get any better than this. Musically this is a bonafide masterpiece of neoclassical shredding unmatched by no others. The compositions are brilliantly written and executed perfectly at a speed of light pace. There are two major downsides. First of all the production is absolutely horrible. It is so tinny and weak that you'd swear they recorded it on a home-owned cassette recorder of the day. The second is that I find some of lyrics kinda goofy and not on parr with the seriousness of the music and i'm not really a fan of the vocal abilities either.

Where this album shines in all its glory is during the solo breaks which include the two entirely instrumental tracks “Concerto” and the title track. I have learned to put up with the negatives for a healthy dose of dual guitar ferocity that is some of the most incredible collaborative shredding i've ever heard to this very day. This would have been a masterpiece if it was entirely instrumental.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Asbestos Tiles Hardcore Punk
SUNDOWNER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Lysergic Ritual Sludge Metal
SUNDOWNER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Terra Preta Sludge Metal
TITANOBOA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Endless Suffering Sludge Metal
LØV
Buy this album from MMA partners
Beyond The Shed Sludge Metal
SINICYST
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Agremorta - Adrocitas (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Agremorta - Ploratus Umbra (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Agremorta - Vertex Membrana (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 1 day ago
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR - The Temple Of Curved Space (Official Track Stream)
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR
adg211288· 1 day ago
In Sulfur - The Gate (OFFICIAL VIDEO) 2022
IN SULFUR
Bosh66· 2 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed