It is very rare for a talented guitarist to get noticed so easily in the 21st century. Many famous guitarist virtuosos, notably Steve Vai, have spoken of a new guitarist who is extremely talented. That person is Matteo Mancuso. Eliminating the need to use a guitar plectrum, Matteo Mancuso has created an interesting set of sounds and songs to show that Rock music is far from dead. Although many like to point out that popular music is mainly Rap and R&B today, Rock music is still widely sought after. It seems that Matteo Mancuso’s musical timing is spot on. Let’s take a listen to his debut album here and see how it sounds.

Silkroad begins with some drumming and guitars which sound very good indeed, on the Hard Rock side of things. It is not overly unusual sounding here but sounds very determined and brilliant musically. A really cool listen, this quickly launches into an interesting Bluesy sounding tune, especially given that Matteo Mancuso is playing on the Blues pickup on his guitar here. His tone is unique on the electric guitar, especially as he is playing with his fingers. All in all, this is very good and illustrates the fact that Rock music is still very much alive and well today. A great listening experience, this is extremely awesome to hear. There is some manic shredding present around the middle of this track, showing the world the awesome nature of Matteo Mancuso. A brilliant listen nonetheless, this certainly sounds excellent. The track changes in the second half dramatically into a Classical acoustic fingerpicking piece, which is awesome and different. Soon enough, crunchy guitars enter into the mix as well, just towards the end. This eventually fades out at the end. A great start to the album.

Polifemo begins with some funky palm-muted guitar parts, quickly launching into an excellent instrumental that sounds like a postmodern lounge Jazz piece. It is really unique in its own way. Matteo Mancuso plays exceptionally well here, and his fingerpicking on the guitar is really excellent. The piano here is quite good to listen to as well, quickly launching into solo mode with said piano in it. Nonetheless, this sounds great, much like a blast from the past into the future. A very, very good listen, all the same, it works some great wonders here. This is followed up by some excellent pseudo-shred on electric guitar, which sounds really awesome and classy. Matteo Mancuso does extremely well for a guitarist who is using a fingerpicking style at hand. He simply delivers here. It sounds unusual in the second half, with some odd phrasing and technique that is surprising for most guitarists. Regardless, a fine effort that deserves to be heard. The backing band are excellent as well, providing enough room and space to be heard. A great five-minute long listen, it ends with some delicious electric guitar harmonics. Another great effort.

Falcon Flight begins with some excellent free-form drumming, quickly launching into a great piece of retro 1980s sounding guitar work. This has some very impressive guitar work here, and it sounds quite like some of the most innovative and interesting guitar work of the 21st century so far. Regardless, this instrumental is melodic, interesting and passionate throughout. It simply sounds superb from start to finish. A really cool and great listening experience, this sounds wonderful and joyful simultaneously. A very good three-minute tune that works as a great sample of Matteo Mancuso, there is some electric sitar thrown into the mix towards the end as well, through to the fade out. Cool.

Open Fields is an extended six-minute plus piece that begins with some great electric guitar fingerpicking, with some other multitracked guitars and drums here. Again, this is very, very good. The music present is an amazing listening experience that is quite spacey and forward-thinking in its musical appeal and approach. The melodies present are really sublime. All in all, this is an excellent listening experience that is definitely worth your time and ears. Matteo Mancuso plays with heart, soul and intelligence here. His freeform fingerpicking on the guitar is really excellent, showing many of his musical peers how it’s done. Towards the middle, the music gets rather subtle here, just sounding pretty and unique throughout. Matteo Mancuso’s playing is really fantastic here, with some excellent and different fingerpicking on the electric guitar that deserves to be heard. This is perfect for those who want some new guitar music informed by some of the music of the past. A very good listen, this is a really interesting and intricate tune to enjoy. Towards the end, it launches into a solid electric guitar jam that sounds a little like 1990s Alternative Rock music. Matteo Mancuso will raise eyebrows at the end here with his amazing and informed guitar playing that simply Rocks. This ends abruptly, great work.

Drop D refers to the specific electric guitar tuning. It begins with some fluid electric guitar fingerpicking before this song kicks in with multitracked guitars and seismic playing that sounds really awesome. This is a really cool listening experience. The Drop D tuning here sounds quite heavy and is likely informed by Metal and other genres out there that use this tuning specifically. All in all, this sounds great. It breaks down into a fingerpicked acoustic guitar section near the middle, which sounds really great. This is pretty, intricate and innovative. Soon enough, this briefly stops, before returning back into the main section of the song at hand. A fantastic and impressive listen, Matteo Mancuso sounds like a legend of shred on this instrumental. Some heavy guitars enter in the second half, sounding very odd indeed. A tremendous effort of music and energy, this has some very expressive and joyous guitar playing. A lively number that works well, this sounds very creative and interesting musically. It finishes up just before the five-minute mark, great work.

Blues For John begins with some unusual Jazz-inspired guitar playing, launching into a cool, quirky and different sort of jam band experience. It sounds really different and fantastic here, being an arty and unusual listen. It doesn’t really sound much like traditional Blues music, a bit more freeform than you’d usually expect instead. A really different and awesome tune, there is some really incredible and amazing fingerpicked guitar work on this tune. In the second half is a loud and fiery electric guitar jam that works wonders and sounds really awesome. Matteo Mancuso plays like an absolute champion here, as does his backing band. There is some really cool bass guitar work right at the end, just sounding top-notch and really brilliant. A fine piece of music, and definitely worth hearing.

Time To Leave sounds quite different with some acoustic guitars, gentle drumming and other sounds that are quite decent and fantastic to listen to. This is exactly the sort of music that deserves to be played in a European restaurant with your friends, it fits that sort of scene perfectly. In any case, Matteo Mancuso and friends play well here, and the real star of the show is Matteo Mancuso’s guitar work. He plays really well and wonderfully here and puts in 100% into his interesting and fluid guitar work. Nonetheless, this sounds really incredible and lovely to hear. A great and interesting listening experience throughout, this music works some magical wonders and sounds awesome overall. The fingerpicked guitar playing here is amazing sounding, and the second half of the tune in particular sounds really amazing, just as the drumming builds up momentum to a climax in this tune. A really great and different listening experience, this sounds really fine and amazing musically. Towards the end, we had some interesting guitar phrasing and playing, before this reaches a very logical conclusion. Nice work.

Samba Party is a short tune at over three minutes long. It begins with some acoustic and electric guitars that sound really fresh and unique, quickly launching into an interesting and tuneful melodic piece with soloing galore and some great playing by all. It is a cool mixture of styles, sounds and playing by Matteo Mancuso and company that is quite Rocking and different. The fluid guitar chops by the star are really awesome and different to hear musically. The guitar parts in particular are worth paying attention to here, and the whole thing sounds like a big and bold mixture of chaos, particularly in the second half of the track. A really awesome and great listening experience, this sounds incredibly wonderful and interesting to hear. A decent listen throughout with some different and innovative leads. Good work.

The Journey is the last track on this album. It is a slightly more spacey sounding piece of music that has delayed acoustic guitars that sound really quite excellent. A really deep and interesting tune with some beautiful and memorable melodies to it, this is quite a sonic adventure here that sounds deep and interesting. A nice change from the jam band music previously, it does work quite well here. A really cool and great listen, this sounds very pretty and different. Let’s hope Matteo Mancuso has a long and successful career, this is a unique and pretty piece that seems to confirm this. Nonetheless, a great listen, and exactly what you want to hear when lying in bed with your eyes closed, listening to this song. A really romantic-sounding piece of acoustic music that sounds awesome, it is a fine piece of instrumental music. This does sound mindblowing. It ends very gently after four minutes in length, a great way to finish a good album off.

This is a very good album that, despite being an instrumental based listen, sounds really different and amazing throughout. It captures the spirit of music that needs to be heard more often by today’s listening audience. The only real flaw here is that it isn’t as good as some of his competitors’ efforts in instrumental guitar music today. Still, it is a descriptive listen of guitar work. Should you listen to this album? Maybe, it depends on whether you dig instrumental guitar music or not. If you do, then enjoy this album and have a listen to it. If not, then do look elsewhere as this is still a niche product for that sort of audience in that respect.

Very, very good.

8/10