Kilpailut ›

It was both intriguing and challenging to explore the multitude of entries in this contest. I feel that we are deeply indebted to Mr Fareri for making this round definitely the most interesting one in a long time - I wouldn't be surprised if the national music magazines took notice of this (did anybody remember to tip them off?).
 
On the other hand, the sheer number of entries made it a rather daunting task to pinpoint down the most memorable ones without doing gross injustice to the other contestants. Some of the entries that had to be left out could have easily dominated some of the earlier contests. Even after selecting the top three, I find myself unsure: if I had given the solos one more listening, I might have rated them very differently.
 
3 p: Kukkis - the most generous melodic content and almost seamless interplay with the background. A stint of individuality to characterize the whole.
 
2 p: Hell's Bells - a new and a very positive acquaintance for me in these competitions. Slightly leaning towards pure shredding but definitely not without content or melodiousness. Satisfying interplay with the background.
 
1 p: Fareri - I am of two minds about this entry. First, let's get one thing straight: as far pure technical skill and virtuosic speed is concerned, Fareri plays rings around every other competitor. One is left gasping for breath when you cannot realistically even *count* how many notes mr Fareri can fit in a single second. However, it generally takes more than just technical prowess to write a balanced and melodically convincing solo. This solo was hardly a perfect match for the background, a fact highlighted by the tonal conflicts between the lead guitar and the background. A showcase of technical virtuosity, seriously lacking in melodic invention.
 
A few other entries that deserve mention:
 
Safaweb - as a whole, this solo seemed to make the most sense to me - until the last 10 seconds where it (sadly) apparently lost track of where it was heading.
 
EQ - crisp, energetic sound (probably my favorite sound in all entries), but the solo never quite manages to lift off.
 
Starlia - an unchallenged nominee for the "I Did It My Way" award of this round. Guaranteed to make your jaw drop - "What the heck was he thinking of?"
 
JCM 9000 (I *assume* it was his entry, the competitor name was missing from actual file name) - a somewhat over-effected tone: due to the thick (chorused?) sound and a very prominent in-your-face delay effect, the emerging solo was muddy and chaotic. Effect overkill.
 
Drlecter - not Drlecter's best entry so far, but a strong display of lead guitarist talent nevertheless. I am confident that Drlecter will hit the jackpot sooner or later.
 
Millionflame - a fascinating array of different techniques and styles that does not, regrettably, form a well-balanced whole.
 
Robert - Robert... van Halen? :) (I am, of course, referring to the ending.)
 
Spiralmind - does your amp have a "Treble" control? If it does, please turn it down.
 
Kuha - strong as usual.
 
Finally, a plea to all competitors - please do NOT link to m3u files, they make the downloading just a bit more tedious for those of us who prefer to download everything first and then listen to them on various systems / in special order. Besides, not everybody is using Winamp - in which case they would have to manually get the URL of the actual mp3 from the m3u file.