Andersen, Soren Live in the homeland

One of the best guitarists, songwriters and in-demand producers when it comes to a multitude of heavy rock / metal genres, Dane SOREN ANDERSEN is an impressive dude. He has recorded, mixed or produced the likes of Mike Tramp, Pretty Maids, Tygers Of Pan Tang, Glenn Hughes - just to name a few.
Andersen released his last record Guilty Pleasures back in 2019. Obviously staying away from stages due to the pandemic for a few years, he was able to get 100 (!) shows under his belt once the live scene opened up again - for which one date in his hometown of Fredericia would be captured on May 28, 2021 - now released and titled "Live in the Homeland".
Backed by drummer Allan Tschicaja (Pretty Maids) and bassist Michael Gersdorff (Michael Catton), you'll enjoy a fun-filled night of musical talent taking elements of bluesy-based melodic hard rock and metal to intricate, progressive heights.

Before you go away due the instrumental nature of "Live in the Homeland", you better give this record a chance. Instrumental Guitar albums are out of fashion, but let me tell you that when you have some serious talent writing a song and perform / produce with gusto, sometimes lyrics and vocals are absolutely unnecessary. If the man behind the 6-strings is good, Guitar sings for itself.
Seriously, if instrumental albums bore you, it's not the case with "Live in the Homeland". Andersen literaly makes his guitar sing, and better than a skilled vocalist. Additionally, this is one of the best recorded / produced albums we heard in a long time. Everything just sounds perfect.

There was praise from 'some' guitar colleague after the release of Glenn Hughes' 'Resonate', on which Soren produced and of course also plays guitar. Megastar and guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani said the following about Soren's playing on: "This guitarist is somebody I don't know and who's also the co-producer, Soren Andersen. And man, he's so good... Soren is up there with the classic guitar greats, but Soren is totally into the future. His playing is very natural-sounding, and he manages to perform to the songs while still putting in some crazy textures. His choice of notes is interesting... Every time I put the record on, I go: Hey, I didn't hear that before".
Big words from a true guitar legend...

On "Live in the Homeland" certain songs contain heavier main components where the transitions feature blazing breaks from Andersen as Gersdorff and Tschicaja support his work while also getting the opportunity to flex their seasoned proficiency at their instruments.
Aspects of everyone from Joe Satriani and Steve Vai to Deep Purple, Rainbow, or even great players outside the heavy world like Steve Lukather come to mind when listening to the Soren chord progression to virtuoso techniques that fly out of his fingers on the fretboard track by track.
Wah-wah accents next exotic measures infiltrate "The Kid", while harder 70s influences make "Bad Weather" another standout, the rhythm section laying into a slower, swanky groove as the fiery guitars see saw next to some smoother, main melodic hooks.

Beyond originals, you can expect an almost nine-minute extended tribute to the greatness of Ritchie Blackmore for "The Man in Black", where you get to hear portions of "Burn", "Mistreated", and a few other classic licks/riffs before returning to a tremendous, bombastic "Burn" ending.
Allan's drum solo contains a portion of Mr. Big's "Addicted to that Rush" where Michael mirrors the one-of-a-kind Billy Sheehan, while Michael's bass foray alone contains plenty of classical components next to his progressive, jazz-like free form motions.

"Live in the Homeland" showcases Soren's love for the guitar - and instrumental music around the melodic hard rock / heavy genres - in a digestible way. It's never easy to attract both the musician, schooled populace and the normal fans, but this release should achieve that goal.