James Murphy-Convergence (Shrapnel)James Murphy
James Murphy
has played guitar in Death, Obituary
and most notably Testament.
James Murphy-Convergence (Shrapnel)
1. "Since Forgotten"
(5:45)
2. "Convergence -instrumental (4:22)
3. "Last One (6:45)
4. "Vision -instrumental (6:54)
5. "Touching the Earth (7:49)
6. "Red Alert -instrumental (4:31)
7. "Deeper Within (8:04)
8. "Shadow's Fall -instrumental (5:18)
9. "Tempus Omnia Revelat -instrumental (3:50)
When I saw the Shrapnel label I was expecting some Greg Howe/Joe Satriani-shred album. Well, to my surprise, what James Murphy gives us is actual songs, although the instrumental attributes are of more importance than the song writing. Unlike his work with Testament, Death, and Obituary, James stretches himself and allows room for his guitar to do the talking, especially on tracks like the album closer "Tempus Omnia Revelat." Murphy is a skilled and technical guitarist, drawing depth from more than just the standard D-tuned death metal riffs. Another nice thing about this disc is that James allowed for lyrics in some of the songs and brought on some of the best to sing for him. Guest vocalists include Chuck Billy (Testament) and Devin Townsend (Strapping Young Lad). Also appearing on "Convergence" is the aforementioned Greg Howe sharing leads in "Red Alert."