Artist: DEREK SHERINIAN [ex-DREAM THEATER]
Album: BLOOD OF THE SNAKE RE-ISSUE (CD)

Year: 2006/ 2014
Media type: CD

With “Blood Of The Snake”, former Dream Theater keyboardist Derek Sherinian has once again released a collection of virtuoso performances. The album features a mixture of metal, progressive rock and elements of jazz fusion as well. Sherinian has also once again assembled a guest list of internationally renowned players such as Zakk Wylde, Billy Idol, Yngwie Malmsteen, John Petrucci and Slash.

Sherinian is one of the most charismatic and innovative personalities in progressive rock music. A former alumni of the Alice Cooper Band, Kiss and prog metal masters Dream Theater, Sherinian also regularly tours with Billy Idol and has released a total of 5 solo albums to date. His latest is called “Blood Of The Snake” and offers a diverse mixture of various styles. As one would expect, the album showcases a superb level of musicianship but also nicely shows the compositional confidence with which Sherinian has developed in a number of different genres of music. “For me it’s impossible to give a special name to my music”, Sherinian says. “It’s definitely based in hard rock, but it also touches on areas of metal, progressive rock and jazz fusion amongst others. For example, there is a new song on the album called ‘Prelude To Battle’, which draws heavily from my Armenian roots”.

Sherinian is fortunate to enjoy an excellent reputation amongst his peers, as can be evidenced by the list of celebrated musicians who glady accepted his invitation to join him in the studio on this particular outing. Zakk Wylde for instance sang and played guitar on “Man With No Name” which strongly recalls Black Sabbath. A steaming riff-based metal monster full of dynamics. Wylde’s fantastic fretwork can also be heard on the title track, together with renowned Swedish guitar virtuoso, Yngwie Malmsteen. Malmsteen also lends his technical prowess to the track “Viking Massacre”, a song which seems thematically dedicated to the Swede.

“Blood Of The Snake” also includes an excellent collaboration with Sherinian’s former Dream Theater partner John Petrucci on “Czar Of Steel” and a liaison with the former Guns’n’Roses axe slinger Slash on “In The Summertime”. The track is a cover version of Mungo Jerry’s popular tune from the Seventies and features vocals by Billy Idol, with whom Sherinian will again be touring with in Europe over the summer. “I’ve loved this song since I was three years old”, Sherinian explains. “A few years ago, Billy sang it spontaneously during a sound check, whereupon we proceeded to jam on it. We quickly agreed that this would make a cool cover. Slash joined us directly at the end of the production in the Studio and played his guitar parts for the song”.

Aside from those already mentioned, the album also features a rhythm section to be proud of. Drum duties are ably handled by Simon Phillips (Toto, etc.) and Brian Tichy, while most of the bass was played by Tony Franklin (Blue Murder, Jimmy Page, David Coverdale). Sherinian himself lets his varied keyboard sounds and his compositions – on which Tichy and Phillips helped out – speak for themselves. “They are excellent drummers and songwriters”, Sherinian says. “In a completely different way it was a lot of fun working with them. Thanks to those great guys it was a pushover to record this album”.

TRACKLIST:

01. CZAR OF STEEL 6:01
02. MAN WITH NO NAME 6:55
03. PHANTOM SHUFFLE 4:21
04. BEEN HERE BEFORE 4:30
05. BLOOD OF THE SNAKE 6:09
06. ON THE MOON 4:34
07. THE MONSOON 6:08
08. PRELUDE TO BATTLE 2:55
09. VIKING MASSACRE 4:58
10. IN THE SUMMERTIME 3:51

LINE-UP:

Tony Franklin (Bass)
Yngwie Malmsteen (Guitar)
John Petrucci (Guitar)
Simon Phillips (Drums)
Derek Sherinian (Keyboards)
Brian Tichy (Drums)
Zakk Wylde (Guitar, Vocals)

Special Guests:

Billy Idol (Vocals)
Slash (Guitar)