Gus G.’s New Solo Track “The Quest:” Listen if you Dig Marty Friedman

I’ll always be interested in anything Gus G. is doing. I enjoyed a couple Firewind albums and some Dream Evil tracks even if I wouldn’t call myself a full-fledged fan of either, and I dug his playing on Ozzy’s 2010 album Scream even if I couldn’t get into that album as a whole. But more than anything I respect him as a musician; he’s one of those guys you pay attention to just because he is who he is.

So here’s a new Gus G. track called “The Quest,” which will appear on his second solo album Brand New Revolution. If you’re familiar with his past work you know what to expect, but this particular track seems to have a very Marty Friedman-y bent to it. Maybe I’m just projecting because Friedman is on the mind lately, but there’s something about the melodies here — especially in the chorus — that remind me a whole lot of Friedman’s solo work. And that’s pretty much the highest compliment one could ever pay to a solo shredder… so, well done, Gus!

Brand New Revolution will come out on July 24th via Dismanic/eOne Music, but if you buy a copy of the September issue of Guitar World at newsstands you’ll get a copy for free, limited to the first 10,000.