John Petrucci - Suspended Animation

Ever since John Petrucci burst onto the progressive metal scene with his Berklee schoolmates, he has always been ranked amongst the most acclaimed guitarists in the world. With a flawless technique and a trademark tone, which hasn’t been altered much through the years, he has been an inspirational figure for budding guitarists and musicians alike. After many albums with the band he co-founded, Dream Theater and many more collaborations with other great musicians of the past and the present, John released his first solo album, Suspended Animation in 2005.

For some one who hasn’t tested the album till now, it would be safe to say that it is not very much different from what John has produced before. Although one obvious difference would be that it is even more guitar driven than any previous work and that the listener’s attention does not get deviated from the guitar itself. In the absence of Jordan Rudess and John Myung, Petrucci displays the freedom to construct songs revolving entirely around himself, rather than allowing enough gaps for the other musicians.

Being inspired by guitarists from different layers of music, Petrucci’s sound as an individual musician has a mix of bits and pieces from each idol of his. Throughout the album, John shifts emphasis from one influence to another.

From a technical stand point and from the eyes of a guitarist, the album has few shortcomings. Whether the melodic control of “Glasgow Kiss” and “Wishful Thinking” or the whammy bar acrobats on “Curve”, in addition to the expected gushing legato work, Petrucci is everything that guitarists aim to be from a mechanical perspective. But, it is perhaps this very robotic aspect of John’s playing that is the biggest drawback of the album. Petrucci plays with such an element of ease that at times it is misinterpreted as him not putting enough thought into his work.

The all in one feature that John brings to the table at times becomes overdone, and one almost wishes that he would falter at places and be less superhuman, thus adding more character to his playing. Half way through the album one can’t help but yawn and say to themselves “Heard that, now what”. Quite a few songs on the album are very Satriani like and sound to familiar to be enjoyable time and again. Great guitar work is a must coming from a veteran guitarist such as John, but fans would be hoping for something more than just that.

Suspended Animation is a good album to pick out licks and to learn challenging songs from, but from a macro aspect of a music album it is very dull and hard to get through.