MOMM (21)

I lost interest in Ghost along the way as they banked in on their stage theatrics & their music diminished in intensity. They are not a firm metal act to me, they have the essence of heaviness in them but they are steep into the hard rock side of music more than anything else. The anonymity & fiendish facade do help convince the metal fans, definitely. I pretty much ignored them after the If You Have Ghost EP, the Abba cover was impressive. The thing that intrigued me here more than a new Ghost album per se is the fact that Fredrik Akesson handled guitars here. 

Jumping into the content of Impera here, I must say that it's an acquired taste but the good thing for fans like me is that this one sees the return of that dark, sinister element that defined Ghost to begin with. Akesson's contributions here are in terms of melodic refinements, solos included. No trailblazing shred stuff here but you know those marked guitars passages are Akesson's master touches. 

If you think that cover there looks familiar, then you know what inspired that pose.

Pic: SCMP

PRS sale: Recommendations

It's June :-) The PRS promo had begun at Davis GMC. I was there to take a look at the range on offer; 2 recommendations for you, interested parties.

Firstly, it's the SE 245 (pic above), the scale length is a whisker shorter than a Les Paul unit & this was done to invoke some familiar feel in terms of playability, not to mention added boom from the tone. There's something about the body that you should know about: CLICK So that, plus the open coil humbuckers struck a perfect balance in terms of tone; nothing too excessive in any bass/ midrange/ treble performance.

Secondly, the SE Fredrik Akesson (Opeth) signature model is a worthy consideration. It's every bit an SE 245 in specs but it sports an ebony fretboard instead of the 245's mahogany. This is a rather notable difference because both guitars feature identical pickups. The ebony fretboard would mean a healthy dose of clarity from the neck humbucker. Some other differences to note:

• Rounder + slightly deeper cutaway- only notable upon playing
• TonePros stop tail- with adjustable saddles for intonation accuracy

You can deliberate your decisions till the end of June, plenty of time for those of us who have yet to receive the month's salary (your truly included).

Despite being a signature model, Davis GMC did not price this one excessively, in fact, it's in the same price bracket as the 245- a sub-$900 price tag after the promo discount.

Have a great weekend, everyone!