Most people know Steve Stevens as the guy who played the Top Gun guitar anthem. Hang on, actually most people who I've asked seem to think Joe Satriani and/or Eddie Van Halen did the honours, so I guess he's robbed of that laurel even. To sum it up, the guy co-wrote and played guitar for a few Billy Idol albums before breaking out into his solo career, which included collaborations with all manner of artists from Michael Jackson to Vince Neil, a few kickass solo albums and two very cool Black Light Syndrome projects with Tony Levin and Terry Bozzio. And he has REALLY big hair. Can't miss him, really.

The turning point for him came when he was influenced by the flamenco playing of Paco de Lucia and began to work some of that into his style. You'd think this would lead to a complete wussification, but credit to the man, he hung on to his family jewels (or maybe it was the other way around) and maintained a slightly polished version of that sleazy 80s guitar playing he had going on. Mucho mojo.

So what can we expect from this guy now, in the year 2008? Well, nothing less than an asskicker, that's for sure. Start the album, and after a brief intro with synth swells and power anthem guitar lines, Hellcats take the Highway is off in grand style, flaunting high speed swinging blues with balls and panache. I wouldn't quite call it reckless abandon, because there's a sort of calculated air about his chops where he keeps things on a tight rein and picks his spots to freak out. While I usually tend to appreciate unrestrained enthusiasm in axemen, this guy knows how to keep things fun and tidy at the same time.

The title track is half thumping, sharp, bad boy riffage and when he snaps the leash, the other half breaks out into a great racing spacey groove. The gentle acoustic strains of Water on Ares offer a change of pace, constructing a beautiful downtempo lull for the most part. I wasn't too bowled over by Day of the Eagle, which seemed to be a little on the generic bluesy side with a geriatric-sounding Doug Pinnick handling vocal duties, but I had little time to complain because my pick of the album (and at 7 and a half minutes, also the lengthiest song on offer) Small Arms Fire follows up right after. Beginning with a deceptive turbulent acoustic flamenco passage, it slams into a crunchy power groove with some sweet guitar harmonies over. The song almost never abandons the heady mid-pace tempo, switching between a bunch of infectious riffs and a few melodic bridges. It might come off a little modern metal for the elitists, but this bitch is so groovy, fat and catchy that I couldn't care less.

The rest of the songs don't really up the ante, but the damage has already been done. The ass has already been kicked. He goes on to carry out a few different styles, including a Steve Vai-esque ethereal delay effect trip with Joshua Light Show. The versatility on display is probably one of the most compelling reasons to give this album a listen. It can get a little off-putting when players fluctuate between radically different styles of music to show how multifaceted they are, but in this case, it feels like a result of the organic growth of a well-rounded player. Here's to Steve for keeping the music and the hair alive.



Year of release: 2008
Label: Magna Carta Records