Reviews
of "The Absolute" taken from Virtuosity One.com
http://www.virtuosityone.com/borislav_theabsolute.htm
Back after an absence of almost a decade, guitar virtuoso Borislav
Mitic made waves in the late 90’s and turn of the century
as the hot new wonderkid on Shrapnel Records. Hailing from Serbia
originally but now having been a Canadian passport holder for the
best part of a decade. Quite why Borislav seemingly disappeared
from the scene is unknown aside from the odd trade show here and
there but back he is with another impressive slice of instrumental
goodness. More straight metal than his two more neo-classically
flavoured predecessors the album shows that Mitic has lost nothing
over the years, and gained a more worldly appreciation for the various
formats metal can offer.
The
opening title track is a nod to earlier classically routed works
whilst “Secret Life” has a 90’s thrash appeal
in the rhythm department before this notion is blown out the water
when the lead melody comes up which is just a strong melody with
nice doubling and harmonisation. “Hidden” is a highlight
with its heavy dark vibe which leads to some fusiony liquid legato
and long sustained note melodies. A little Vai in flavour at times
thanks to some Lydian based licks moves this nicely into dreamy
areas and overall its another highlight. “Within All Existence”
has an early 80’s traditional metal feel which has a nice
Michael Schenker-ish slant to it. The track is relatively straightforward
in terms of complexity being just a good rocker at heart. “Promises”
mixes strong metallic riffs with fluid lead work where Borislav
lets the arpeggios and linear lines do the talking along with some
good old fashioned wah inflected pentatonic drenched motifs. “The
Prize Of Eternity” is again back to an 80’s sound and
is one of the weaker tracks on offer, although there is still some
nice playing to be found. “For The Chosen” sees octave
harmonised lines work well over the dark Malmsteen gothic metal
background. “Fighter Of Glory” is another track that
seems to get lost amongst other material with it lacking the quality
of other numbers, still some good lead work to be found. “Walking
The Path” is back to the darker classical tinted sounds and
again some nice rhythms in the basis of the track. Closer “To
One Truth” ends the album on a high note with nice harmonised
lead lines (this time in a major sounding tonality) before some
exotic lead work brings about a nice contrast.
It’s
nice to have Borislav Mitic back on the scene and "The Absolute"
is a strong return. The album does lack a little power and depth
in the production department, it does sound like a budget was adhered
to, Borislav is credited with everything so I presume it was recorded
at his home studio, the main issues are the obvious use of no real
drummer means the drum work is a little stiff in places, and the
overall sound is less full and very dry sounding compared to his
self titled Shrapnel debut, but then in this day and age instrumental
music doesn’t sell by all account so the restrictions have
to be made somewhere – rest assured the playing is as good
as it ever was. However, this is still a perfectly listenable album
just don’t expect Vai big budget lushness. Metal head should
dig “The Absolute” as should fans of Mitic’s earlier
works so overall this is a worthwhile release and nice to see Lion
Music getting a missed player back on the scene.
Hot Spots : The Absolute, Hidden, Promises.
Rating : 80%