Perpetual Burn

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Perpetual Burn is the debut studio album by guitarist Jason Becker, released in 1988 on Shrapnel Record. Cacophony guitarist Jason Becker's all-instrumental solo album is a winner. On Perpetual Burn, Becker gets to stretch out and really show his talent, whereas in Cacophony, with fellow virtuoso Marty Friedman sharing the spotlight, some of the subtleties of Becker's style are lost amid the cluttered speed metal maelstrom. Floating in on a bed of ethereal keyboard, Becker's guitar opens the album with a lyrical solo on the stately "Altitude." His compositional skills allow the piece to build naturally and make it a coherent, satisfying statement rather than a jarring collection of unrelated idea. The album's best moment, "Air," features some traditional classical fingerpicking that gives way to multi-tracked arpeggio orchestrations and Bach-style counterpoint. The piece, which consists almost solely of clean, unprocessed electric guitar and no further accompaniment (with the exception of some keyboard textures in the beginning and end), is a wonderful respite from the rest of the album's more metallic style and supersaturated guitar tone. There are also some quirky, humorous touches sprinkled liberally around Perpetual Burn, which add to its charm. Review by Andy Hinds Track listing All songs written and composed by Jason Becker, except where noted. 1. "Altitudes" 5:40 2. "Perpetual Burn" 3:30 3. "Mabel's Fatal Fable" 4:52 4. "Air" 5:39 5. "Temple of the Absurd" (Becker, Marty Friedman) 4:42 6. "Eleven Blue Egyptians" (Becker, Friedman) 5:44 7. "Dweller in the Cellar" 6:15 8. "Opus Pocus" 5:39 Personnel Jason Becker – guitar, keyboard, bass guitar, producer Marty Friedman – additional guitar solos (tracks 5, 6, 7), co-producer Atma Anur – drums .

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