Rendell Gary

U.S. guitarist Rendell Gary (Newport News, Virginia) so far has two solo instrumental recordings. The first one is called And the Gods Cried Guitar from 2017, comprised of seven songs in 22 minutes. The second recording is called The Seven String Theory from 2022 and it is also seven songs in 24 minutes. Metal Archives states that Mr. Gary takes care of all the instruments. (Apparently there was a demo in 2006 (!), although I have not heard it. Amazon Music and Metal Archives show only the two recordings mentioned here.

Both are instrumental works recommended for audiences interested in serious and multifaceted guitar. The songs go beyond a particular subgenre or style, reflecting Mr. Gary's love of variety of different musical traditions channeled through a wide interpretation based on heavy metal guitar foundations, which is to say that it is not a single-genre songwriting method. It is not shred, for example. There is shredding in which the fast-finger action comes out of the woodwork, but there is also lots of melody. In addition, there is acoustic or clean guitar. The 2017 recording ends with an acoustic rendition of Beethoven's famous piece "Für Elise." Of course, there is a certain heaviness to balance out the variety, and it does not sound like a super crazy mix of eclecticism. There is variety, but to my ears it all sounds coherent, and not simply a compilation of different styles.

The 2017 recording feels like it is half and half: classical, clean, acoustic or Spanish guitar, on one hand, and heavy metal on the other. The 2022 recording leans more towards electric guitar/metal music, while still celebrating the classical guitar elements. Both recordings are similar but they feel a bit different due to the song sequence. Either way, it does not matter: both are enjoyable and fun if you like instrumental guitar music.

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