For the idea behind the album of the week, go here. (It is becoming more like the album of the month, but I'm defiantly carrying on as best as I can. ;-))
I have to make a disclaimer here: I have a lot of sympathy for Kirk Hammett. I grew up listening to him; his guitar solos and his music were what drove me to learn to play the guitar and I practiced hours on end to play some of them, driving my family crazy at times (<3 Fade to Black); and I find him infinitely sympathetic. That's why I decided to give his solo EP a spin this week.
His 4 songs on the EP are all instrumentals and range from progressive rock, to early Black Sabbath influences, to blues-rock and at times almost classical influences (e.g. Enrico Morricone). This mix of influences can occur within a singe song, which is both richly diverse (e.g. the almost soundtrack-like "The Incantation", which would not be out of place in a horror movie), but also a part of the downside of the songs.
Because the songs are somewhat meandering and directionless without the necessary thrust forward: some parts are simply not going anywhere nor interesting enough to hold your attention. Yet in the same song there might be a very redeeming part which you find interesting and moving, but it gets lost somewhere in the shuffle.
The one exception I make is for the song "High Plains Drifter," which, to my ears, is nothing short of extraordinary. It's a track that resonates deeply with me, and that French horn part is almost as if it carries a redemptive, healing or even transcendent energy.
Standout track: "High Plains Drifter"
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