Animal Instinct in Bloomington, MN

On his 1993
Warner Bros.
debut, instrumental rocker
Gary Hoey
plucks and hammers his way through 40 minutes' worth of post-
Satriani
rock
noodling. Despite several attempts at genre-bending
blues
and
soul
references,
Animal Instinct
is all melodic (bordering on adult/soft)
. The aggressive opener,
"Mass Hysteria,"
and the upbeat shuffle
"Texas Son"
count as highlights, but the real standout is probably
"Drive,"
a cut that boasts what is clearly the record's finest melody.
Hoey
plays admirably, and his supporting cast --
Tony Franklin
(bass) and
Frankie Banali
(drums) -- also provide solid performances.
is a respectable offering for sure, but
doesn't demonstrate a rhythmic or melodic capacity anywhere near that of his obvious influences,
Joe Satriani
Steve Vai
. Fans of virtuoso
guitar rock
would do better to search out superior shred material from the likes of
Michael Lee Firkins
,
Tony MacAlpine
, and
Blues Saraceno
before picking up this or any
disc. ~ Vincent Jeffries