PAUL WARDINGHAM SHREDS WITH STYLE, GRACE AND CHARISMA

I like Paul Wardingham for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that he’s a really good player. But I also like to hold him up as an example of the following: 1) not all solo multi-instrumentalists play “djent,” 2) not all solo multi-instrumentalists just masturbate on their instruments without any regard to actual “songs.” Listen to “Assimilate Regenerate” in the playthrough video below; there’s a discernible verse riff, a discernible chorus riff which repeats, a distinct bridge, etc. Which isn’t to say that a huge chunk of this song isn’t one giant progressive tangent — it is — but even that’s got structure and, in the end, returns to the A/B section that kicked things off.

Wardingham is a beast. I definitely hear the “Scar Symmetry with shred instead of vocals” comparisons, and that’s fine with me.

-VN

[via TNOTB]