What happens when you have three of the most successful and technique-based musicians in the same studio? Just like that, they can create wonderful music from nothing. Tony McAlpine (Steve Vai, PLANET X, RING OF FIRE, Vinnie Moore), Bill Sheehan (MR. BIG, RING OF FIRE, David Lee Roth, TALAS) and Virgil Donati (PLANET X, RING OF FIRE, SOUL SIRKUS) joined forces and DEVIL'S SLINGSHOT came to existence. Maybe Clinophobia is SLINGSHOT's first instrumental album but this 'trio' worked together again in a number of deferent projects, mostly on stage.
Maybe to some ears instrumental rock music is boring, but these guys really know how to attract the listener's interest. From the first song Nederlands the guitar intro and the alternate rhythm changes it seems like we have a progressive album to our hands. But as the music flows McAlpine drops in a melodic guitar riff, just like the ones that JOE SATRIANI creates. Then the 80's clean, delayed guitar gives him the chance to star a shredding solo and this is were the song passes to jazz fusion for a little while so that it can return on the melodic riff to close.  This is the way DEVIL'S SLINGSHOT produced this album. With no particular style: because of their unbelievable skills they can pass from progressive metal to melodic hard rock and then to jazz improvisations. Ballade De Bastille has again the main melodic guitar line with an excellent bass solo in the middle from virtuoso Bill Sheehan. Def Bitch Blues steps in with a thunderous drum break, Virgil Donati produces a great steady rhythm for McAlpine and Sheehan and sets the solid foundation for each song to build on. In this song Bill Sheehan has a great tapping bass moment (that is why they call him the 4-string Eddie Van Halen).
Every song has the melodic riff that characterizes SLINGSHOT's music direction. JOE SATRIANI with Surfing With The Alien opened the doors for a bigger audience on instrumental hard rock music and McAlpine produces some very similar melodies and sound. But DEVIL'S SLINGSHOT use a variety of ingredients to make their music more palatable.
On the song Hourglass that McAlpine and Donati co-wrote, Bunny Brunel (C.A.B., Chick Corea) comes in for a special guest appearance to give an even more that jazz/fusion style with his incredible improvisation solo in the middle of the song.
I must say, the first time I heard Clinophobia didn't realized how soon time passed by, because the music flows smoothly. I know it is hard to hear great musicians soloing one after the other throughout an album but there is a great deal of ideas musically unique. DEVIL'S SLINGSHOT just finished touring Europe. Let us hope that after their individual projects these three amigos will join forces again for a second DEVIL'S SLINGSHOT album. I know that I'll be waiting.