In terms of playing ability, few can hope to rival the likes of Joe Stump, as in his career as a Shred extraordinaire he has essentially put the tech back in technician and the virtue back in virtuosity. His emulations of Neo-classical clichés, Blues inspired Rock of both the 70s and 80s, utterly flawless rhythmic precision, catchy riffs, idiomatic songwriting and technical versatility are always spot on. The only complaint that one could really throw at this guy and have stick is that he isn’t Avant-garde or Progressive enough to push the genre of Instrumental Guitar Metal and Rock in a completely new direction, thus his songs are pretty predictable. But artists who seek to write great songs often will do so within a pre-established format.

“Virtuostic Vendetta” functions very much like a stylistic tribute album of sorts, though containing original songs. Homage is paid to a wide range of well regarded classic albums including DEEP PURPLE’s “Burn”, RAINBOW’s “Rising”, Yngwie Malmsteen's entire 80s catalog, and caries some tendencies in common with Gary Moore, Uli Jon Roth and arguable founder of the shredding style Jimi Hendrix. Stump himself is quite forthcoming about his influences and embraces the entire concept of guitar shredding without any inhibitions or apologies, rubbing it in the faces of everyone who decreed this art form dead when he first hit the scene in the mid 90s.

He tends to emulate Ritchie Blackmore the most in playing character, but also rivals Malmsteen in terms of sheer flash and intensity from time to time. “Symphonic Pandemonium” is the most blatant fit of Neo-classical tip of the hat to the original maestros of Baroque and Classical virtuosity from C.P.E Bach to Niccolo Paganini, blazing forth like a crazed Caprice, but with the strictness of an Etude. “Fire And Brimstone” goes for a more direct homage to Malmsteen himself, conjuring up some similar though original variations on several RISING FORCE classics such as “Trilogy Suite” and “Far Beyond The Sun”. His guitar tone on these songs is a tiny bit sweeter and huskier, closer to a traditional Blackmore character, but these songs are definitely meant to exist in the more advanced and frenetic world of the 80s than the mellower and easier going era of the 70s.

In spite of these obviously technical though quite musical displays, STUMP does give the listener’s brain a little time to breath with some more accessible work. “The Dance Of Kashani” takes the mystical, Eastern music direction with a keen sense of melody, sort of like a mid paced groove in the style of Blackmore, but with a darker and heavier production. “Old School Throwdown” gets a little too obvious with the title, but Rocks hard in the traditional Jimi Hendrix fashion with the pentatonic scales blazing and the wah pedal slamming. This one seems to come from a Malmsteen interpretation of late 60s Rock at first, but actually holds off a little on the blurry note passages and establishes some easy themes to grab onto. “Strat Sorcery” also makes its intentions pretty obvious in the title, but elects to function as a restful and Bluesy conclusion to the album rather than a finale wreathed in a flaming fret board. The guitar tone on this is incredibly bottom heavy and distorted with phasing effects, yet comes out as crystal clear as a distilled stream.

It’s reasonable to assume that if fast and expressive guitar work is your thing, this is a good place to go to get it. It’s a fine offering from someone who mostly tends to stick to tradition and gives each rehashed stylistic device a new sense of life by taking it to a slightly different place than any of his heroes would. Like any teacher of this instrument, he understands the history of it well enough to go wherever he chooses, and a sense of familiarity maintains itself from the simplest melodic phrase to the wildest river rapid of a scale run.

(Online May 1, 2009)