And now for something completely different...at least for fans of Washington, D.C., metalcore also-rans , whose rather ignominious demise after just one critically acclaimed but poor-selling LP wound up freeing resident guitar virtuoso to accept an offer from to deliver his first solo album. That album, like the pseudonym adopted to mask the ostensible solo nature of 's new project, was , and it proceeded to showcase the guitarist's formidable mastery of his instrument through a wholly instrumental, daringly progressive, and, perhaps most surprisingly, oftentimes mellow and ambiently new agey collection of songs. Of course, 's heavy metal proving ground inevitably takes charge on more aggressive, maniacally intense workouts like and -- all of which make reference to extreme explorers like . But kinder ruminations like take a different approach by weaving cascading melodies and fleet-fingered tapping (somewhere between and two-hand-tap trailblazer ) out of his customized seven- and eight-string guitars. Meanwhile, overt electronics are kept to a bare minimum aside from the programmed drums and occasional electronic hiccups ( ), fluttering synth patterns ( ), and overdriven synthetic percussion runs ( ) that flare across listeners' panoramic widescreen. And on another surprising tip, the oddly named ( fans just perked up!) actually boasts gentle, mildly bossa nova-ish acoustic melodies. Having praised all that, the album's endless parade of circular scales and sheer barrage of flickered notes (epitomized by the dizzying ) may prove just a bit tiresome to less adventurous musical tourists, but for those looking for sounds that both awe and challenge their faculties, delivers quite the cerebral workout. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia