You cannot argue that Ioannis Anastassakis does not know his way around a fret board and his resume is pretty impressive; having been taught by the likes of Steve Vai, Marty Friedman and John Pretrucci amongst others. Throw into that mix that Ioannis has performed and/or recorded with the likes of Whitesnake, Deep Purple, Jeff Beck, Ozzy Osbourne and the less rock orientated delights of Elton John, Cher and Celine Dion, then you maybe somewhat surprised to have not heard of Ioannis Anastassakis.

Whilst the likes of Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Yngwie Malmsteen may be more recognisable names in the art of instrumental guitar rock, under that radar Ioannis releases Orbital Attempt, which is technically his third album after the rock album ‘Suspension of Disbelief’ and the flamenco guitar album ‘Flamenco Live at Ionnina’. It is that latter album that reveals insight into some of the feel for the music provided through Orbital Attempt.

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The Promised Land; the albums opening track; launches straight into slab of heavy guitar riffs, whilst the drums provide a rock base from which the solo guitar soars in above that underlying beat. There are moments when Ioannis demonstrates that he can power the guitar into stratospheric realms, none more so than just over four minutes in when there is a huge diversion that eventually returns to the main theme. Once the main theme returns, there is a sense that everything has moved onto a higher plain, emphasised by more synthesised sounds and then suddenly the track begins to fade out, which is slightly unsatisfying.

For something slightly heavier Astrochicken’s Victorious Attack is aided by much heavier backing kick drums and a nicely phrased idea that the guitar returns to, once it has finished its wandering solos. According to Ioannis’s sleeve notes by the end of Astrochicken’s Victorious Attack he is turning out 17 notes per second; needless to say that eventually the whole track slides off into what sounds like a crash landing.

Despite the pacey guitared opening of Weird Thing, there is something almost danceable about the middle section, yet this notion is taken over again by more rapid guitar gunslinging. Fear not though if by this stage you are somewhat tired of relentless rapid riffing, how about a bit of flamenco? Demonstrating a beautiful touch, A Mi Madre (Soleares) is both stunningly delightful, skilful and a wonderful change of pace, as is the later track Veridiana (Rumba) which makes use of a rumba rhythm to great effect.

The title track Orbital Attempt begins with an atmospheric sound which the guitar then obliterates, providing a structure that rises and falls rapidly as though it was a Bach organ piece transcribed for guitar with additional notes for the skill of the artist to come through.

The final track is The Greek Power Jam which is the opportunity for Ioannis’ guitar students to demonstrate their talent alongside their master. The addition of two bonus recordings is let down by one simply being short samples of Ioannis’ guest solos from different records. This track comes at the request of his students and comes across as little more than showing off.

The album Orbital Attempt could be simply appreciated as a demonstration of Ioannis Anastassakis’ skills as a guitarist and composer. However by placing a track of shredded guitar notes alongside the classical flamenco work it could well tempt the curious listener to delve into either ‘Suspension of Disbelief’ or ‘Flamenco Live at Ionnina’. The speed at which the guitar is played is breathtaking to listen to and is bound to be appreciated by fans of the shredding genre. If you're intrigued you can grab the record from Amazon or simply by signing up to Ioannis’ newsletter via his website www.ioannis.org, where you’ll receive three free full audio tracks from Orbital Attempt.

Reviewed by Jimbo Walsh