There can be an endless argument to the identity of the greatest guitar shredder of all time. Some will support Yngwie Malmsteen or the late Gary Moore, because they began a wide string of Neo-Classical Metal legacies, the former after the first years of his RISING FORCE band. On the other hand, the ones that came after them like David Chastain, Chris Impelliteri, Michael Angelo and Joe Stump among others gained a lot of fans over the years that crowned them as the most top notch Shred guitarists of all time. So will that fight end? I don't think so as every year there is a newborn dude that starts playing fast and furious with great quality and right afterwards starts his project and the rest you already know. Whether it will subside or not, the attempts for the top will never cease. On that note, Joe Stump, once the Shred master of his own late REIGN OF TERROR band, presents another album, his tenth solo release, "Revenge Of The Shredlord", via Lion Music. As if all the types of arpeggios and other different special scales weren't covered already, Joe Stump fumes with epic instrumental notifications continuing his amazing technical skill with various types of guitars. Nevertheless, as much as I liked this release very much, it is the same thing all over again following the same patterns of the Neo-Classical approach.

It is not that Joe Stump isn't special, because every guitarist no matter how influenced from others, has his own singular signature, even if not evident at first listen. With Joe Stump it is the same thing. Most of the way I felt as if I was listening to Yngwie Malmsteen just without a working vocalist or a song structured formulations. I noticed that most of the tunes and playing styles of very similar to the latter. However, Yngwie Malmsteen wasn't the one that started or invented shredding fast as he was also influenced by others. In the bottom line, Joe Stump has been continuing that same prominent line of Neo-Classical breed with only a few new pointers that can be summoned up by strong rhythms of ferocity. "Pistoleros", "In the Master's House", "Evil Beasts Below" and "White Knuckle Mayhem" weren't just plane examples of amazing guitar skill, which has been evident right from the first licks of "The Ritual Begins", I felt that those actually had something to state, a short, or epic, story, grim or the other way around, to tell, a theme song to follow and hang on to. Stump might have shredded his way through passages but I sensed that he was able to make the guitar unravel the ambiguities behind each tune. Though I would have preferred a vocalist alongside the powerful shredding, I felt fortunate to listen to such great displays of technical abilities.

Despite the fact that Joe Stump has been one of many Shred guitarists reaching for the top, he is one of the greater good of veterans. "Revenge Of The Shredlord"coming at number ten for this guy is one of the many great features under his belt. I can't say if it is the best of them all as I haven't listened to too many of his earlier albums, but I bet it can be one of them. However, it is still a Shredder's album and I would really recommend for Stump on bringing a vocalist to sing at least several of tunes.