Vitalij Kuprij
High Definition

Kuprij:keyboard=Malmsteen:guitar

With this analogy, you can get a good idea of who Vitalij Kuprij is: everything Malmsteen does on the guitar, good ole Vitalij replicates on the keyboard. Malmsteen plays 10,000 notes per second? Same for Vitalij. Malmsteen loves Bach, Vivaldi, and Paganini? Same for Vitalij. Do you find Malmsteen annoying because he endlessly plays the same things? Surely, you'll find Vitalij annoying too. The only thing I'm sure of is that the big and fat Swede has probably earned so much money that 100 Vitalij's couldn't, but this, as we know, is the one thing two people sharing the same approach to music will never have in common.

Many are already ready to mock with pots, spoons, bells, and stray dogs, yet I'd be careful because when Vitalij Kuprij sheds the Luigi XIV shirts to dress in a tailcoat, he becomes an esteemed classical pianist among the most renowned in Ukraine, his country of origin, and appreciated as a performer of Chopin. But it's in his metalhead guise that we want to review him, and especially in his soloist form, and maybe we'll delve into his group projects, Artension and Ring of Fire, at another time.

This High Definition came to light in 1997, under the protective wing of Mike Varney, who as a discoverer of fast-fingered talents is second to none. Accompanying (or perhaps imposed upon him, who knows) as guitarist and bassist is Greg Howe while on drums is Jon Doman, other faithful members of Varney's Shrapnel. Howe is a guitarist with a purely fusion background but here he adapts, really well, to the neoclassical escapades of Kuprij, alternating, overlapping, and traveling in tandem with the Ukrainian's nimble fingers.

The first quartet of tracks (Beyond infinity, High definition, Symphony V, Divided world) is an endless string of virtuosity, a mad torrent of notes that will sweep you away without giving you the chance to catch your breath. Not forgetting that he's primarily a classical pianist, Vitalij offers us a solo piano adaptation of Mozart's Sonata in A minor, a true oasis of peace to surrender to after the initial frenzied orgy. Paganini's Caprice No. 24 is reinterpreted in the subsequent track Opus 1 with the theme dialogued between guitar and keyboard and alternated with structures typical of more canonical progressive metal. The final triptych (Why, Parallel in time, Silent destiny) retraces the initial paths between self-indulgent outbursts and more relaxed moments of clear classical influence.

The audio quality isn't the best; the drums are muddy, and the keyboard overpowers the guitar which seems like a distant mosquito, yet for those who appreciate certain musical evolutions, this album is essential.