Although the instrumental rock scene reached its peak in the 80's, more and more promising instrumental guitarists seem to emerge. Unfortunately, all of these talented guitarists aren't able to get themselves a record deal, since this genre isn't that popular anymore... nonetheless, there are still some labels that sign instrumental artists, and one of them is Michael Angelo Batio's M.A.C.E. Records. Their newest find is Katrina Johansson, whose debut recording "Guitarsongs Volume 1" shows that there's always room for one more instrumental guitarist.

The music on this EP is melodic instrumental metal with some nicely varying phrasing. There are plenty of hooks that'll stay in listener's head for quite a while. That's actually one of the most intriguing qualities about Johansson's music - the melodies are really memorable. However, on occasion Johansson gets carried away with shredding, but surprisingly always finds her way back to the unforgettable melodies.

Production-wise Guitarsongs Volume 1 isn't that spectacular though. The sounds are quite good on the first three songs, but regarding the last track the sound quality deteriorates considerably. Nonetheless, the beauty of music still shines through and that's what matters the most.

One of the biggest letdowns regarding this record is its short length... fortunately all the songs are of good quality and that compensates for the small amount of material. I'm sure Katrina Johansson will release a full-length album in the near future, and this is only a taster of things to come. She has already got herself an endorsement deal with Dean guitars, so things are really starting to look good for her.

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- MAGE (May 17th, 2005)

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LINE-UP:
Johansson, Katrina: Lead and Rhythm Guitar Batio, Michael Angelo: Bass Rohrssen, Brad: Drums
Producer:	Johansson, Katrina
Mixing by:	Djuricic, Chris & Batio, Michael Angelo (Tracks 1-3); Harvey, Jim & Reid, Ron Track 4)
Mastering by:	Unavailable

	TRACKLIST:
	01. Driven 02. K-9 Lullaby 03. Intuition 04. Daredevil Length: 14:34