Artist: Kelly Simonz's Blindfaith CD Title: "Sign of the Times" Reviewed by: Nick Martinelli Reviewed: 9/26/02

     Well fellow shred fans, I'm a super excited to be able to bring you one of Japan's hottest and newest shred demons, Kelly Simonz. It's always a privilege to be able to review CDs with of this high caliber. And I thank my stars everyday that I have the opportunity to get to know all the players I review. Kelly is one of the hottest and most impressive guitar gods I've heard in a while. Hell, hottest is an understatement. More like this dude is on fire! Kelly Simonz is reinventing the meaning of neo-classical guitar playing in today's music space. I know what your saying to yourselves, "what another Yngwie clone?" I know, that's what always pops into my mind when I hear a new neo-classical guitar player mentioned. I guess its been force of habit for all of us in the past. I'm here today to tell you that Kelly Simonz is totally fresh meat! This guy enthralled me with his amazing melodies, blazing ttechnique and melodic vocals. Yes, for once a guitar player can sing, and SING GOOD! On a scale from one to ten, this CD gets a 15. Every moment just took me away to another state of mind. Its hard to describe, but you know when you get that feeling in your gut that something has really inspired you. Well that's how I first felt after giving this CD a listen. Kelly really renewed my interests in neo-classical guitar playing. I'd have to say, out of all the current neo-classical driven guitar players Kelly Simonz and James Byrd are at the top of my personal favorite list. These guys are keeping the flame burning for this genre. So without further a do, lets get into Kelly Simonz's world!

     Track one "Eternal Flame" opens with a beautiful and melodic keyboard intro that reminded me of a church like organ. Then soon after Kelly blazes into seriously heavy metal guitar riffing.  Kelly knows how to write a killer riff that's for sure.  I like how he incorporated many palm muted mini runs into the main riffs. They added a nice touch. The main lead is something real special. Kelly just shreds his ass off combining pedal runs, melodic bends and some amazing tremolo screams! All I could say was GOD DAMN! All joking aside my friends, Kelly is a bad ass! Another interesting fact I learned after reading the inlay card was that Kelly performed everything on this album, including guitars, vocals, bass, drums and keyboards. That in itself is quite amazing.

    "Still" song two is a slow melodic number focusing on Kelly's harmonious vocals and super melodic keyboard playing. The songs moves along very nicely and progresses effortlessly.  I really liked his orchestration and arrangements, the song flowed very effortlessly.  His main lead line was breath taking piece of melodic guitar playing as well.  I won't reveal to much, I suggest you go buy the CD and hear that amazing piece for yourself. You owe it to your ears.

     "King of the Castle" opens with bad ass riff that will rip the paint off the walls. Get ready for a metal meltdown! This song is just packed with highlights. Simonz's vocal performance is something to talk about. He has a great singing voice and is always in key. Whether it be his normal range or the higher metal registers, Kelly hits them all with perfect execution. Then check out the lead section at 02:11, it opens with some blazing harmonies and speed licks, then it progresses into a full blown classical orchestral jam, driven by Kelly's harmonic minor usage. Overall this song was one that I put on loop over and over.

     "Solitude" is one of my personal favorites from the CD. Its just Kelly and his nylon string guitar. Ok shred heads I must admit, I am overly biased by nylon string performances. So I couldn't say a bad thing even if I tried. This song is simple and to the point. Kelly's playing is very melodic yet dark and mysterious at the same time. If I were to pick out a song to listen to first this song may just be the one. He paints an interesting picture with his guitar and I highly recommend you check it out!

    "Blind Faith"  opens with a pounding guitar and bass duo that sets the stage for this hard rocking, head banging number.  I loved the main riff, Kelly's guitar tone is very ballsy and rough.  He has the beefed up stratocaster guitar tone with just a tad of effects processing. This song is defiantly one of my favorites from the CD. The chorus really rocked my world. Its sing a long one all the way. The vocals are super catchy and you'll be jamming to this chorus in the shower everyday. 03:10 begins the massive lead / keyboard section of the song. I liked this movement, because it broke up the song nicely and took a different fork in the road. Kelly ranges from fast neoclassical lines to more moody bend release ideas. I also enjoyed the keyboard accompanies through out this section. Hands down, Kelly Simonz is a true guitar god! He's the type of player that you'd go to a concert to watch and just be blown away and mesmerized. To this day that feeling is hard to explain and you really have to have a passion for music to truly understand what it means to a person. Anyways, I could just see myself at one of Kelly's shows with this same feeling. Kelly is just that type of player. One final note, please check out his last lead section for the smooth double harmony at 05:26. Its so melodic and tasty its not even funny!  As a matter of fact, listen to the last sixty seconds over and over until your head explodes from melody overload!

     Song six "Sing of the Times" is a neo-classical wonderland. This instrumental is one of the most ballsy ones I've heard in a while. Simonz's playing was over the top 150%. He really went out there and tore it up with many uses of pedal phrasing, arpeggios, and runs. Kelly used plenty of harmonic minor throughout the track and kept each lick and run fresh, never repeating the same idea twice. I highly recommend listening to this one a few times before reaching a final decision on it. To be honest it took me a few listens before I took in every part. Still to this day, I swear I hear new lines every time I put it in. Also, check out Simonz's keyboard playing. At times he reminds me of everyone's favorite keyboard player Jens (former Yngwie and now Stratovarius keyboardist). He uses a harpsichord sound for his keys and it really adds to the authentic neo-classical sound. Go Kelly!

    "Suite In B Minor BWV1067" song seven really drives home the way a classical song should sound. This song could be easily transposed into a full orchestra piece. The song partakes in many movements, but never strays from the original melody line. I think its safe to safe Mozart and Bach would give their two thumbs up. I had to replay this one a few times as well, because of the complexity of the movements and the songs nature. It truly is a classical arrangement.

     "Cry For You"  is a real emotional guitar roller coaster. Kelly's playing just weeping of soul and feel. His choice of bend phrasing is priceless and furthermore so is his articulation and release response. This song is one of the slower numbers, but it creates a huge wall of sound around the listener. I could just imagine sitting in huge orchestra hall listening to this one being preformed live. There are so many good parts to mention so I'm requesting that you pick up this CD and try it on for size yourself. I know you'll fall in love with Kelly's heartfelt guitar dream. His guitar truly cries out for you in the night.

     Song nine "Serpent in a Paradise" brings back Simonz's high energy neo-classical driven shredding and riffing. One thing that really makes him stand out is his riffing. He always has a driving guitar riff. I tell you, you'll be wanting to learn every one on the CD afterwards. The main riffs aren't complex, focusing on a central note then moving throughout the scale with a fast up and down palm muted picking motion. This style can be found in standard power metal guitar playing. Accept, Kelly kicks it up a notch with tons of fills. His fills and runs make each section of the song even more interesting as it moves on. The main lead starts at 02:50, but check out 02:56 - 03:02 to get a real good representation of how clean he plays. His alternate picking technique is flawless. You can tell he's put in the man hours to get his playing to this level and it reflects in his music.

     "Pain" track ten begins with some super melodic and peaceful nylon string guitar playing. This also is another perfect example of how clean Kelly's technique is. You can't cheat a note on a nylon guitar that's for sure, and I never heard a buzz! At 01:44 Simonz picks up the pace with a almost gypsy like feel bringing more rapid picking and phrasing. Shortly after he returns to the slower more moody style.  Overall this was a short, but sweet and to the point song. Its only just around 3 minutes long, but it seems like an eternity.

     "Stay in my heart" is a real tear jerker of a guitar performance. Kelly's playing is very melodic and soulful. I really like the lyrical content and the way he sung the song. His vocal lines can be easily sung along with and also take notice to his layered vocal harmonies. Man this guy can match harmonies like nobody's fool. Check out the breathtaking guitar harmony starting at 04:29 though 04:41, it starts of with a heavily palm muted slow climb leading into some killer bends.  Lastly, Kelly just shocked me at 05:22. He broke into my personal favorite classical piece, "Cannon in D" by Pachelbel. This short segment just blew me away. Cannon is such a beautiful melodic piece and it just fit so well into the track adding some more depth and feel.  Thanks Kelly, you really made my day with that one.

     Lastly, Kelly added in a LIVE version of "Blind Faith."  After hearing this I was sold all over again. Not only can this guy kick immortal ass in the studio, but live too! His playing was flawless! Simonz's vocals sound just as polished as well, never missing a note and always on key. I also liked that he kept in the nylon guitar part in the song as well, the transition to and from was effortless. I wish I lived in Japan, because if I did, I'd be at every show in the front row CHEERING MY ASS OFF for Kelly and playing air guitar along with him. I started pumping my fists in the air while I was typing this review, I kid you not! Kelly's execution is unbelivable, not to mention he's super consistent as well.

     Well shred heads what can I say other than "Sign of the Times" left me in total amazement and awe. Kelly Simonz is one of the new breeds of neo-classical shred monsters that has something new to say. This release was flawless and I couldn't ask for anything more accept for all his other CDs! I'm now a huge fan of his work and will do everything in my power to get my hands on every CD he has put out to date. He's just that good my friends. Hell better than good, lets try larger than life. That's the impression Kelly left on me with "Sign of the Times."  I can't even begin to tell you how many times a week this CD goes into my player, its truly a masterpiece and every guitar fan should own it. Even if your not really into neo-classical playing, this CD will strike a nerve and soon become a favorite of yours as well. Simonz's playing is very energetic and tight. He's always on top of his game striving for that tonal harmony and inner tranquility with his playing. So if you call yourself a real guitar player, take the time to give this guitar masterpiece a major listening to. I fell in love with it and I know you will to.

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