Jeff Loomis and Keith Merrow are Writing an Album Together

MetalSucks-favorite legendary shredder Jeff Loomis and MetalSucks-favorite multi-instrumentalist Keith Merrow are collaborating on a full album, so sayeth Merrow in a Facebook post early this morning. The two are no strangers to one another — they both live in the Seattle area and Loomis contributed a guest guitar solo to Merrow’s 2012 release Retrospecial — so the news isn’t really surprising, but that doesn’t make it any less tantalizing to shred nerds like you and me.

I’m extremely excitebike to hear what both men can do together on an entire record. Will this be billed as a Jeff Loomis record, a Keith Merrow record, something straight-forward like “The Loomis Merrow Project” or under a new moniker altogether? Dunno, and don’t really care; I’m certain it’ll be worth your time to listen to either way.

Loomis and Merrow will also be appearing live together at the NAMM show in Anaheim later this month, presumably at the Schecter Guitars NAMM Party that was announced last week at which Loomis is already scheduled to perform (along with Exodus and Prong). I’ll be there, and I’ll be sure to let you all know.

Here’s Merrow’s Facebook reveal of all of the above:

Very excited to let you all know, Jeff Loomis and I have decided that we’ll be doing an album together. We’ve been talking about it for a while, and it just seems right. So, we’ll start writing some new music for that, soon. I’m extremely motivated by the thought of this, and I know that the chemistry between the musical ideas we have will make for a truly amazing album. Be stoked. I’m stoked!

So, our “jam” today was mostly about this collab, and also practicing for a performance at NAMM together. I know some of you were hoping for a new video, or a a bunch of pics… but, there will be plenty of that in the future. Count on it :)

And here’s “Spice Dealer,” the Merrow track released last year to which Loomis lent his long, spidery fingers:

[via The Monolith]