METAL MONDAY SHRED WEEK: Y.R.O. by Racer X - Felt inspired by some impressive guitar slinging by an 8 year old Japanese kid to do another Shred Week! I had not returned to the shred side of metal for quite some time, so this week will hopefully touch on a few artists I did not get to the first time around. However, no shred week can be without Paul Gilbert during his Racer X days.
While I prefer the second album where he teams up with one of his students Bruce Bouillet to do the dual guitar thing, there are some choice cuts on the debut album. While there are better songs, I would be remiss not to go with Y.R.O., which is a "tribute" to the king of neo-classical shred guitar Yngwie Malmsteen (the song is short for Yngwie Rip Off). In fact, the bass line is a total copy of Yngwie's most famous piece Black Star which I posted to kick off the first Shred Week. It is a fun speed piece nonetheless and the launching pad for his career as one of the premier shred guitarists of our generation. Might be time for me to break out my axe and get my chops working again.
