Guitar legend George Lynch will release his sophomore instrumental album, “Guitars At The End Of The World”, via Rat Pak Records on September 8. The LP, which features 10 all-new studio tracks along with three new bonus tracks, is the highly anticipated follow-up to George‘s 2021 opus “Seamless”, which fans of the shred-master embraced with open arms.
“Guitars At The End Of The World” features pro drumming legend Curt “Kirkee B.” Bisquera, who has worked with such greats as Elton John, Mick Jagger and Tom Petty, and also features renowned bassist Tony Franklin, who is known for his work with THE FIRM, Jimmy Page and Kenny Wayne Sheperd. Also appearing is LYNCH MOB drummer Jimmy D’Anda on the track “The Crucible”.
Regarding George‘s approach to instrumental albums, the virtuoso states: “I always focus on creating guitar-driven music that delivers something outside the realm of what most people would expect, coming from a semi-redeemed ’80s hair shredder. I want my instrumental records to be challenging, but not exhausting; personal, without being belligerently self-indulgent, include a fair amount of guitar histrionics, and pay tribute to the masters without making it sound like I’m competing to be the end-all summation of all guitar legacies that preceded me. I also wanted the underlying music to be more than vehicles for solos, I want the compositions to stand on their own.”
Track listing:
01. The Knowing
02. Psycho Beta
03. The Crucible
04. The Passage
05. Borracho Boogie Delux
06. Shadow Of The Needle
07. The Wolf
08. Serpentarium
09. The Ritual
10. Contraflow
Bonus tracks (CD and digital versions only)
11. Tone Bender
12. Brilliant Lion From The Second Mountain
13. Bitches Be Trippin’
For the recording of “Seamless”, Lynch was backed by D’Anda and bassist Eric Loiselle.
Produced by Lynch, “Seamless” included three bonus tracks that were added to the album after the extra tracks were presented to the label.
Lynch previously said: “‘Seamless’ is my attempt at creating a guitar-driven instrumental record that delivers something outside the realm of what most people would expect from a guitar instrumental record coming from a semi-redeemed ’80s hair shredder. I wanted the record to be challenging but not exhausting; personal without being belligerently self-indulgent and include a fair amount of guitar histrionics and pay tribute to the masters without making it sound like I’m competing to be the end all summation of all guitar legacies that preceded me. I also wanted the underlying music to be more than vehicles for solos; I wanted the compositions to be able to stand on their own.”
Asked by Audio Ink Radio what made 2021 the right time to release his debut instrumental album, Lynch said: “The real story is I had written a record intending it to be a new LYNCH MOB record, and it didn’t pan out, because none of the vocalists that I talked to and worked with on it could really come up with anything to go over it. Nobody was really feeling it, and that’s the first time that’s ever happened to me as long as I can remember where I completely failed at a record. It wasn’t even salvageable. Looking at it and listening to what these singers were telling me, the critique of it was that it was just too intricate and too busy and too involved and wasn’t leaving enough space for the vocals to put their footprint on it, and I got that. I’m usually aware of the kind of thing when I’m writing, so I don’t know how that happened. I think I just got carried away and was having fun with the compositions. I think by default — a happy accident — I was making an instrumental record and didn’t know it.”
Starting in music in 1977, Lynch has long since been considered one of the most-notable guitar players of all time. His work with DOKKEN and LYNCH MOB has garnered him a legion of devoted fans around the globe. His creativity and musicianship has been showcased on over 50 albums since 1982, and 2022 marked his 45th anniversary as a professional musician. Lynch continues to redefine guitar playing and songwriting while showing no signs of slowing down.
In recent years, Lynch has recorded albums with a number of different projects, including LYNCH MOB, KXM, SWEET & LYNCH, THE END MACHINE and DIRTY SHIRLEY. One of his most recent releases was “Heavy Hitters”, a collaboration with his former DOKKEN bandmate Jeff Pilson on a collection of studio recordings that turn pop music classics into metal anthems.
In 2020, Lynch told Guitar World magazine that staying “diversified” was key to making a living in rock music today. “Do everything,” he said. “Be an engineer, be a composer, play every instrument you can, get endorsements, learn how to make a web site, be social-media savvy and keep your eye on everything.”
Photo credit: Cat Parker
