Nico’s Alchemy

You have to admit...when you see Virtuoso Rock Guitarist plastered everywhere; you just know it’s going to be anything but virtuoso. Usually it’s just an attempt at copying Joe Satriani or Steve Vai or at worst, a dull 25 minute solo here and there or an album lacking any real structure, just the guitarist playing as fast as humanly possible without any real thought.

Fortunately, Nico Tamburella is anything but. “Fundamental Darkness” is an easy listening album, where you can appreciate the guitar work without ever thinking, “What a show off!”. On the whole it’s a hard rocking album that owes its roots to the 70’s; very bluesy sounding along the lines of Deep Purple and Van Halen. At times however, especially the heavier tracks, things do get very modern sounding indeed.

There are of course the usual “guitar driven” tracks that you would expect that, when compared the instrumental tracks where he really showcases his talent, you would say he hardly gets going. Instead he opts to create a great complete track overall and somewhat sacrifices unleashing his complete set of skills. Vocalist Candido has a great voice, a little familiar sounding perhaps, but great non-the-less. There are a few tracks on here however that would have benefited from a more powerful vocalist, and a few more instantly catchy and memorable choruses.

The album starts off with “No Time for Sadness”, you would be forgiven in thinking that this was one from Joe Satriani. Tracks 2, 3 and 4; “It’s Enough”, “Miss Sensation” and “Save Me Jesus” are by far the most memorable and standout tracks of the album.

There were a few gripes with “Fundamental Darkness” though, as things could have been done much better. There’s no denying that Nico is a gifted guitarist, and when he’s unleashed on the instrumentals it’s great. With the second half of the album however, you’ll find yourself drifting off and losing interest, as it just simply cannot compete with the first half, which is a real shame. As far as talent goes, I don’t think this will be the last time we hear Nico Tamburella.