Search - Marc Rizzo :: Colossal Myopia

Ground-breaking guitar

M H | 07/02/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As a collector of instrumental guitar music, I have to say that there are few albums which equal "Colossal Myopia." There are several reasons:



1. Mastery of metal AND flamenco styles. In fact, a great deal of the songs do not feature the electric much at all, or only allow it to add a solo. To younger audiences who may be partial to metal, this album will help break down the idea that flamenco/latin guitar cannot sustain the same amount of speed and excitment as metal or hard rock guitar. For those who favour flamenco/latin/classical syles, it proves that metal and hard rock musicians cannot not only dabble in more traditional styles, but wholly master them.



2. Mixing of styles and themes. The showcase song, "Colossal Myopia," brilliantly weaves flamenco and metal guitar, coupled with mind blowing speed and complexity (in both syles). Yet the playing never becomes overbearing, it simply leaves you wanting more. The same may be said when the more trance-like flamenco songs are brought to new heights with flawless electric soloing, sometimes metal, sometimes reminding you of Carlos Santana. In this sense, Rizzo's work is not simply "a guitar album", and not simply a mixing and matching or styles, it is groundbreaking combination of the best of two worlds that happen to be played on guitars.



Of course, all this is an aquired taste. If you enjoy guitar, and feel like challenging your musical boundaries, buy this cd and support one of the most dynamic musicians around today."

NEW & FRESH FLAMENCO / 'METAL FUSION !!!

Gypsy Guitars | Kula, UpCountry Maui, Hawaii | 07/15/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Marc Rizzo's all-instrumental CD "Colossal Myopia" is indeed a fresh, fun & ground-breaking fusion of basic flamenco guitar w/ rockin' metal electric guitar- as well as integrating Latino, Son-styled, guitar stylings- into the overall presentation that inspires repeated listening to his refreshing style of composition & tastey riffs throughout this stellar recording !!! hopefully, much more will be done w/ this style of playing by young gypsy guitarists in Europe who play both traditional flamenco & electric guitar styles as the integration of Flamenco & 'Metal is a natural fusion of 2 extremely passionate guitar styles !!! in watching Marc's Youtube videos [& there are quite a few] you can observe a basic knowledge of Flamenco & flamenco guitar techniques yet his knowledge of Flamenco is much more "Flamenco Nouveau" than a real understanding of the art of Flamenco's forms & rhythms... still, this CD really opens the imagination's doors of perception to the beginning of a new direction & fusion style that should inspire European gypsy flamenco guitarists [who also play electric] to take this concept to the next level by incorporating the entire repetoire of Flamenco forms & playing techniques into the electric, solidbody format- in both clean fusion & 'metal distortion styles... i LOVE young maestro Rizzo's most excellent pioneering CD which wets my imagination's appetite for the music that will eventually be recorded- that goes totally into the depths of Flamenco's passionate virtuosity yet embraces Jimi Hendrix's "Electric Gypsy" format... i applaud young, ground-breaking electric guitarists Marc Rizzo & Kiko Loureiro for their fresh approaches to creating very natural styles of beauty-full traditional guitar forms with the electric format like Hendrix did with 'da Blues & Santana did with Son- the integration of the ancient with the future is the wave of evolution in world music's creative inspiration !!! OLE !!!!!"