by Robert Taylor

Joe Stump's debut, Guitar Dominance, was an unlikely success and proved that there was still a market for guitar shred in the '90s. Critics came out of the woodwork to slam his style as being outdated and unoriginal. On this release he continues to sound like a Malmsteen/Blackmore clone, even when playing his tributes to Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix. The selections are even more banal than is typical for this genre, partly because they came ten years after the fact, and his self-indulgent playing lacks any sort of dynamics. While this session is a fan favorite, closer inspection reveals some rather obvious growing pains. Loaded with talent, Joe Stump would go on to better things than this callow recording.