Band:	Tiago Della Vega
Album:	Hybrid
Style:	Heavy metal
Release date:	September 2008

01. Bugus
02. Destiny
03. Caprice 24 [Paganini version]
04. Lost
05. Violet Rose
06. Distant Dreams
07. The Flight Of The Bumblebee [320 bpm - Guinness World Record version]
08. Acalanto

Hybrid is the first solo album of Tiago Della Vega, a Brazilian guitar virtuoso. Unlike this opening line, Tiago Della Vega is actually a far from boring guy. As a matter of fact, Tiago Della Vega can be seen as the Chuck Norris of guitar shredding. Moreover, last year he has set a Guinness World Record as the world's fastest guitar player. What? Don't believe me? Just take a look at this video. Don't worry, I'll hang on for a couple of minutes... You done? Good. Now that you know who Tiago Della Vega is, let's get this show on the road.

Opposite of one would expect, this half-an-hour instrumental piece is not your regular look-how-much-I-can-kick-ass guitar show-off type of record. On the contrary. What I enjoyed the most on the record was its major focus on the easy listening aspect, with some subtle guitar virtuosity in between. Regardless of the man's reputation as the world's fastest guitar player, this record is not about speed picking. It's about impeccable technical fluency in harmony with melodic arrangements, like piano, accordeon, violin and percussion.

Tiago Della Vega is the kind of guy you just have to throw a few superlatives at. After all, his guitar play is just most amazing. Unfortunately the same cannot be said about his solo album. Sometimes the music reminded me too much of the over-the-top keyboard drenched versions of well known songs, which were collected on a sugary and nausea inducing CD that came with the study book of music class back in the first year of high school. The song "Violent Rose" for example, could be on that CD without any hesitation. My point being, the music could use a bit more cachet and character. In other words, what I'm a bit missing here is a band around the guitar player that also plays together as a band.

It looks like the Brazilian metal scene is becoming an emerging hot spot in the metal world. Or at least so it seems. Coincidence or not, this is already the fifth Brazilian-flavored press kit I received this year for the occasionally dirty review business. But with talented musicians like Tiago Della Vega this hardly comes as a surprise. Hybrid turns out to be nothing less than the masterly showpiece of supreme guitar technicality. But it's nothing more either.