01. Evoke The Spirit.
02. Evil Rock.
03. The Axemaster.
04. I Go Solo.
05. Northern Breeze.
06. Beyond Twilight.
07. Taking The Lead.
08. A Dream Come True.
09. Hyper Boogie.
10. Written In Stars.
11. Passion For Glory.
12. Speed Of The Devil.
DVD
01. The Axemaster.
02. Touching The Sky.
03. Evil Rock.
04. Nothern Freeze.
05. Up to Speed.
06. Fast and Furious.
07. Evilized.
Elias Viljanen - Guitars
Rami Herckman - Bass
Tomi Ylönen - Drums
Tero Ylönen - Keyboards on tracks 1, 2, 3,
5, 8
Jani Kemppinen - Keyboards on tracks 6, 9,
11, 12
All songs written by E.Viljanen.
All song arrangements by Evil Spirit.
Recorded and mixed at Phantom Studios
(Tampere, Finland) and Rantajatkat Studios (Ylojarvi,
Finland) between May and August, 2002.
Mastered at Lion`s Cage Studios, Aland.
Engineered by Tero Ylönen.
Digitally mastered by Lasse Mattson at Lions
Cage Studios, Åland.
DVD recorded live July 12th 2006 Supporting
Stratovarius in Tullikamari Tampere,
Finland.
Cover artwork and layout by Markus Walldé
Photography by Markus Walldé
Lion Music is proud to
introduce the release of a special edition
of Sonata Arctica guitar whiz Elias
Viljanen’s 2002 debut solo release “Taking
The Lead”.
This new special
edition re-release sees the original 12
track instrumental tour-de-force packaged
with the added bonus of a professionally
shot previously unreleased 7 track live DVD
entitled “Evil Spirit Live” which contains
material from Elias’ 2 solo albums released
on Lion Music.
The live DVD is
something long requested by fans of Elias’
solo works and we are proud to be able to
introduce this added bonus which allows
guitar fanatics worldwide the chance to
experience Elias formidable technique live
and up close.
Some 9 years after
original release “Taking The Lead” is still
regarded as one as one of the best debuts of
instrumental rock/metal guitar to have
emerged in the 21st century from a then
unknown guitarist, and Elias has built a
reputation that has seen him advance into
the upper tier of hard rock shredders
founded on the solid foundations of this
debut solo release.
Fans of highly charged
guitar instrumentals will find much to enjoy
within “Taking The Lead” thanks to its heavy
dose of melody intertwined with the
thrilling guitar flash and virtuosity for
which Elias is known. The quality of
material saw the album upon original release
end up with a top 10 rank in guitar9.com’s
2003 end of year best sellers chart. The
album even attracted the attention of one
Steve Vai who had gotten hold of the album
and subsequently sent Elias some positive
feedback on the release.
The new dual CD+DVD
version of “Taking The Lead” hits the
streets on 19th August 2011.
• Special edition release of debut solo
album of Sonata Arctica lead guitarist Elias
Viljanen.
• Bonus live 7 track pro shot DVD
• Excellent guitar instrumental that will
appeal to fans of Vai. Satriani etc as well
as being of interest to Sonata Arctica’s
large fanbase.
• Reviews in leading rock/metal press.
• Adverts in press and key websites.
