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"Speed Metal Symphony," the first of two albums from Cacophony, a guitar-virtuoso combo of Marty Friedman and Jason Becker, is nothing if not a complete and total shred-fest from beginning to end. The boys can play, that is for sure -- and boy can they ever play. And anybody that has experience listening to Megadeth would gladly testify to this fact. But it is only on this 1987 recording that they uncork a seemingly endless orgy of memorable thrash riffs and cascade of fan-bloody-tastic solos. (The solos build off each other really well, and intertwine together perfectly.) The end result is a terrifically dense, technical, and overtly masturbatory handbook in how to shred.
The album kicks off with "Savage," a heavy and all-around excellent introductory piece that favors big riffs, sweet dual-guitar harmonies, and infectious melodical solos. And it flows perfectly into "Where My Fortune Lies," which has a dual-guitar harmony-laden intro (that takes a page out of the Judas Priest playbook) fading into blistering speed metal territory with a steady, grumbling bass bottom, racing (yet perfectly in-sync) guitar leads, and blistering, speed-of-light soloing. But the solos, no matter how truly blissful (and not to mention epically lengthy, mazy, winding, and wailing) they may be, are not the song's sole attribute, as it also features an immediately catchy and memorable chorus. Next up, a stunning strings-and-all arrangement backs "The Ninja," the first of two entirely instrumental songs found on the album, as does another truckload of purely neo-classical-derived solos. And "Concreto" is another vertigo-inducing solo fest that rips out one very wailing and astonishingly mazy solo after another. Indeed, the solos found in this song are superbly lengthy, uber-technical, insanely intricate, wrist-spraining, and all-around eargasmic -- and they the kind that seemingly sprawl across a million notes in just one solo.
The record's latter-half gets underway immediately with "Burn The Ground," an aggressive, up-tempo cruncher of a song with energetically driving riffs and swift drumming. But no matter how tasty, crunchy, thrashy and chugging the guitar licks might be (and no matter how deft the track's drum solo might be), it is again the amazing, shred-tastic guitar solos that dominate the maelstrom, here, with solo flights that are wailing and steep enough to rival any sky-scraper. And the guitars continue to crunch away throughout the ensuing "Desert Island," which is a quintessential speed metal anthem that boasts inventive, galloping guitar hooks and Megadeth-ian, industrial-strength riffing. "D.I." also features some brief yet tasty (and very tasteful) guitar sweep interludes, muscularly throbbing bass lines, and a brief-yet-nevertheless-still enthralling, crystalline-sounding melodic string breakdown. And it all serves as the perfect lead-in to a truly blistering, twiddly, and just-plain godly melodic solo section and catchy, mosh pit-ready chorus. (The lyrics "does it shred?" seem like an oh-so-perfect inclusion in the mix, here.) And finally, Friedman and Becker continue to uncork one gorgeous, stellar, and blissfully-melodic solo and jazzy-sounding lead after another throughout the closing title song, thus making it an epically epic prog-metal anthem that you could listen to all day, every day.
Again, "Speed Metal Symphony" does repeatedly bog down in unabashed inclinations to shred, thus making it one of the most self-indulgent recordings in the history of heavy metal music. But this is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, depending on your point of view, it might even be a good thing. So if you like speed, progressive and/or neo-classical metal, or are just looking for a plethora of truly amazing guitar work, then you most definitely came to the right place.
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Reviews with images
Vinyl release 2022
Nice to have on vinyl, but would have been better split over two records. Not because of the playing time, but the sheer density of the music. Both “Concerto” and “SMS” are the last songs on the sides. Inner groove distortion is a thing. I’m not knocking it, please buy it. I’m sure some proceeds go to Jason Becker
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