By 1996, guitar solo-heavy instrumental albums were looked down upon by the majority of rock fans -- as many had moved on to focusing on artists who put the importance of songwriting over shredding.
However, you have to give Tony MacAlpine credit -- he didn't stray too far from his prior musical path on his solo release that year, Violent Machine.
Featuring plenty of MacAlpine's six-string heroics, Violent Machine easily could have been released in 1989, and probably would have done battle with Flying in a Blue Dream in Guitar World magazine's year-end poll -- as evidenced by such selections as the album-opening title track, plus "Shoe Shine Cyber Boy" and "Mr.
Destructive." But unlike many of the other similarly styled guitarists that MacAlpine has been compared to over the years, he is also a highly skilled pianist, and listeners get a glimpse of this on "Chopin Etude #12 Opus 10." And there are also a few other non-metal detours along the way, including the jazzy melodicism of "Sophisticated Domination," as well as the almost new age-ish "Carolina Blue." With Violent Machine, MacAlpine proved once and for all that he was sticking to his stylistic guns.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Violent MachineTony MacAlpine | Tony MacAlpine | Play | 03:41 | 8 MB | 37 MB |
| 2 | Unfortunate LazarusTony MacAlpine | Tony MacAlpine | Play | 03:54 | 8 MB | 39 MB |
| 3 | Sophisticated DominationFrédéric Chopin | Tony MacAlpine | Play | 05:00 | 11 MB | 50 MB |
| 4 | Chopin Etude #12 Opus 10Frédéric Chopin | Tony MacAlpine | Play | 02:40 | 6 MB | 27 MB |
| 5 | Shoe Shine Cyber BoyTony MacAlpine | Tony MacAlpine | Play | 03:25 | 7 MB | 34 MB |
| 6 | Carolina BlueTony MacAlpine | Tony MacAlpine | Play | 04:30 | 10 MB | 45 MB |
| 7 | ARS NovaTony MacAlpine | Tony MacAlpine | Play | 03:06 | 7 MB | 31 MB |
| 8 | Circus Du Soleil | Tony Macalpine | Play | 04:39 | 10 MB | 47 MB |
| 9 | Little Gem | Tony Macalpine | Play | 05:11 | 11 MB | 52 MB |
| 10 | Out Of Touch | Tony Macalpine | Play | 04:43 | 10 MB | 47 MB |
| 40 mins | 93 MB | |||||
| 40 mins | 413 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frédéric Chopin | Composer |
| 2 | Kevin Chown | Bass |
| 3 | Bob Fisher | Mastering |
| 4 | Tony MacAlpine | Composer, Guitar, Keyboards, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 5 | Lars Eric Mattsson | Artwork |
| 6 | Mike Terrana | Drums |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |