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Parmar, Jay: Circle of Fire

Melodic Hard Rock/Metal

4.0/5.0

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Digital Nations
by Craig Hartranft,  02.15.2013

Jay Parmar is an aspiring guitar wizard who's been at his craft for better than 20 years. Recently he's developed some fine credentials including producing and contributing to a George Lynch, his main inspiration, tribute album, playing with melodic metal band Eden's Curse, and signing with Steve Vai's notable Digital Nations for the release of his second album, Circle of Fire.

Jay Parmar:: rips it up.

Unlike the previous album, Circle of Fire is a vocal album of heavier melodic hard rock with several notable guests on vocals. These include Carsten Schulz (Evidence One, Paradise Inc), Andreas Novak (House of Shakira, Mind’s Eye), Pete Newdeck (Eden’s Curse, Tainted Nations), who also played drums, and Tim Wallace. Parmar pitches in on one song, When Angels Cry.

Basically, Circle of Fire is a platform for Parmar's extensive guitar skills. His style leans more towards traditional rock and metal, relying less on neo-classical twiddling. You can hear Lynch but, alternatively, also other influences like Vai and Satriani. The songs by style, as mentioned earlier, are heavier melodic hard rock; there's definitely a metal edge. Yet, Parmar and company were careful to wrap them in tight melodies and crafty hooks, giving this melodic heavy rock a definite AOR feel. You hear this on Walking in Circles, You're Not Alone, and Stop Laughing, by example. There are some lighter songs, relative to the rest, but probably shouldn't be called ballads or the like. These include Now You're Gone and possibly When Angel Cry, especially early on. Thanks to this depth of song writing and composition, Circle of Fire doesn't play only as a Jay Parmar guitar show, and that's a good thing. Circle of Fire is easily recommended.

Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.

With Circle of Fire, Jay Parmar applies his extensive guitar wizardry to heavier melodic hard rock songs, supported by several guest vocalists, with very impressive and entertaining results.

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