Pat Reilly’s Path to Transcendence (ex-Tengger Cavalry) Will Elevate Your Existence

Solo projects have a knack for being either really good or really bad without much in between, especially when coming from a guitar player. The pitfalls of an entire record filled with nothing but incoherent noodling and ego-stroking solos are all too easy to be trapped in, but Path to Transcendence manages to avoid all of that and is an absolute killer record to start off 2020. It will mark Tengger Cavalry guitarist Pat Reilly’s first solo effort, a record that exists largely in part due to the late Nature Ganganbaigal, who Reilly credits with lighting the fire under him to write it.

As I said, Transcedence contains much more substance than just “hEy lOok At aLl tHe NoTes i CAn PlAy LoL.” Transcendence doesn’t just stick to one style, though, and in fact it ranges from heavy riffs I would play while shooting people out of the sky in a fighter jet to something a little more moody and soul-searching. And although this is primarily an instrumental, guitar-driven album, “Winter Sunrise,” “Birth of Freedom” and “Vitality” all feature different vocal techniques ranging from regular cleans (performed by Anthony “Q” Quiles) to Anselmo-esque growls (by Michael Centrone). Fans of Pantera, Marty Friedman and Joe Satriani will feel right at home here.

There’s a lot to like on Transcendence and it makes quite an impact on first listen. Because Reilly has managed to fuse so many different ideas and elements of his music into one coherent piece of work, there are no dull moments, which makes this a very easy listen from front to back. And since January tends to be a pretty slow month for new releases, you all have plenty of time to sit down with this record and transcend to a higher plane of existence.

Path to Transcendence drops today, January 3. You can listen to the single “Between Two Worlds” below and stream the album on your preferred platform here.