Rithiya Khiev - Riding Along The Wastelands
Rock, Metal, Instrumental
Massachusetts, United States
Overall Impression: Having grown up listening to a great deal of virtuoso guitar myself, from the likes of Yngwie Malmsteen, Greg Howe, and Paul Gilbert, to name but a few, I instantly found myself connecting with this outstanding instrumental from Rithiya Khiev. "Riding Along The Wastelands" is a technically proficient and melodically captivating piece of songwriting that's brimming with a diverse range of ideas and themes, great work!
Strongest Point(s): It goes without saying that the guitar playing is phenomenal, the song's many diverse melodic ideas are handled brilliantly by a highly technical, yet full of feeling, playing style that showcases a great amount of technical dexterity and melodic awareness, Rithiya Khiev clearly knows the genre very well and does an excellent job of always putting an emphasis on the music and how the tracks many ideas are continually developed. Another highlight of the piece is the fantastic use of contrast, the opening has a brilliant Latin feel to it, whilst the much heavier section that enters at 0:28 takes the track into far darker territory before returning to a slightly softer and brighter sound and texture at 0:49, this tonal shift in the music works very well and ensures the listener is always kept on their toes. You can certainly hear Rithiya Khiev's influences within the music, but what's great is that Rithiya has put his very own unique identity into the track, which results in a brilliantly written, and exceptionally performed instrumental that is both thoroughly absorbing and enthralling from start to finish.
Target Audience Appeal: Fans of instrumental technical guitar music will thoroughly enjoy "Riding Along The Wastelands", it's one of those tracks that makes you want to pick up the guitar and practice, which is always a good sign!
Artist target suggestions: Yngwie Malmsteen, Marty Friedman, Jason Becker, Michael Romeo, Jeff Loomis, Marc Rizzo, John Petrucci, Racer X, Cacophony, Kiko Loureiro, Rusty Cooley, Stephan Forte, Joe Stump, Andy James, Vinnie Moore, Scale The Summit, Marco Sfogli
Interested in having your Song Reviewed by our Professional Staff? Head to your RadioAirplay.com dash and click Song Reviews under the Special Offers menu!
About the Reviewer:
Andre Avanessian is a freelance session musician, composer, and sound engineer based in the U.K. Having studied music production and composition at a degree level, he has taken his passion for all things audio-related to a level that has allowed him to become both a competent musician and performer. Being a self-confessed "Guitar Nerd" Andre has been continually studying the guitar, as well as teaching it, helping students both learn the instrument, develop their songwriting, and how to become proficient in home recording.