LMC306
EAN6419922003060




€13.90


$18.90








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



www.eliasviljanen.com
www.myspace.com/eliasviljanen 

 




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.