James Murphy - Feeding the Machine (1999/Shrapnel)
Rating - 6.9

No One Can Tell You--RealAudio

The second solo release from the former (sometime) guitarist of Obituary and Testament. Different styles are present here, as there are a couple of instrumentals, and then the ones with vocals tend to mold around each individual singer's strengths. Even the songs themselves often have multiple sections, with rhythms, leads, and solos intermixed.
Among the guest vocalists are Clark Brown of Geezer, Chuck Billy of Testament, and John West of Artension/Royal Hunt. A decent release throughout, but this just solidifies the point that Murphy is a lead man, and needs a strong rhythm player (read: Eric Peterson) to truly make his contributions complete.
The Billy-sung "No One Can Tell You" is a strong track, and "Deconstruct" with Clark Brown is good as well. "Contagion" is a thrashy yet experimental guitar piece, while at the other end of the spectrum is the calm and serene "In Lingua Mortua," reminding of Neal Schon's work on 'Beyond the Thunder'.

TRACK LIST: Feeding the Machine/Contagion/No One Can Tell You/Epoch/Deconstruct/Odyssey/Through Your Eyes (Distant Mirrors)/Race With Devil On Spanish Highway/Visitors/In Lingua Mortua

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