Born of Osiris Guitarist Lee McKinney’s New Solo Track is Actually Pretty Sweet

Please understand why I was skeptical when Born of Osiris guitarist Lee McKinney announced he’d be releasing a solo track: notwithstanding my personal opinion of Born of Osiris (neither here nor there, really), his previous solo effort did not exactly inspire confidence.

But McKinney is a man who had the forethought to start selling his AxeFX settings before it was cool to do so, proving his mettle in a scene crowded with good guitarists all vying for the same earholes, and his new track “Skylasher” is actually very good! It’s just slightly Born of Osiris-y sounding in its production aesthetic, but the similarities end there: while it definitely falls under the umbrella of “solo guitar music,” it’s mostly un-shreddy and more focused on vibe, groove and feeling. Think like what a much more straight-forward Animals as Leaders would sound like and you’re getting close. Stream the track below or purchase it on iTunes.

For now “Skylasher” is a lone wolf, but McKinney promises more once tracking for the new Born of Osiris record is done, and he seems keen on having plenty of special guests. Here’s what he had to say about it via press release:

McKinney states: “The track, ‘Skylasher,’ is the first solo guitar instrumental song I’ve created in what will hopefully become a long discography of full-length records from here on out in my music career. Growing up, playing guitar for the past 16 years, releasing solo guitar albums has always been a goal of mine. Listening to ‘Ah Via Musicom’ by Eric Johnson, ‘Perpetual Burn’ by Jason Becker, ‘Surfing with the Alien’ by Joe Satriani, ‘Passion and Warfare’ by Steve Vai, and many other solo guitar efforts helped plant the dream into my head at an early age.

“This project finally came together during the process of writing the newest Born of Osiris record. To be quite honest, I’ve become a bit of a workaholic off tour when it comes to the studio. After breakfast every morning I get to my studio and sometimes sessions don’t end till much past midnight. Off tour I rarely go out, and I dialed back on the partying a lot to be able to balance more musical projects in my life. This is now the third musical project I have on my plate, and to be able to balance them all and give my best effort to each one, this kind of work ethic is necessary now in my mind.

“The most fun part about creating this song was that it was limitless when it came to options. I like to keep Born of Osiris fun, live, bouncy, energetic, epic and groovy. While some of my solo stuff will also share these elements, I finally feel like I can get as odd and crazy as I want too! The ideas I already have for the debut album are whacky as hell and I can’t wait to bring them to life. Players like Mattias Eklundh and Guthrie Govan are perfect examples of how insane you can get on solo guitar records these days, and I intend to join the ranks of these guys pushing the limits of guitar to the next level.

“As far as this first solo album goes, I will begin the writing process for it immediately after finishing tracking for the new Born of Osiris album. I’ve made a ton of insanely talented musical friends in the past 8 years of touring, and I plan on featuring as many of them as possible on the album. I don’t feel like enough musicians are collaborating in this music scene. There’s so much cool collaboration potential out there, and I want to take full advantage of it.”