SHREDDED SWEET Instrumental Heavy Metal Hard Rock Christian Shred Guitar Music!

The Songs

1. Shredded Sweet (All PB)                                                      8. Fire and Ice (PB and Matt Eltringham)
2. Sacred Aggression (PB, Jim Griffin on bass)                 9. Memory Lane (All PB)
3. Bed of roses (All PB)                                                           10. Wolfgang's breath (PB and Jim Griffin)
4. Chunky Monkey (All PB)                                                     11. Dr. Philgood (PB and Sonny Lombardozzi)
5. Rolling Thunder (PB and Sonny Lombardozzi)             12. Soul Life (PB and Art Kalenda)
6. Sinai Daydreams (PB and David Jacob)                        13. Go Irish! (PB and Joe Nardulli)
7. Child-like Sweetness (All PB)                                            14. Flooded (PB and Andy England)

Once SHREDDED SWEET
is released--I'll post some reviews here. But until that day...

"Got 'shredded sweet' yesterday. I listened to it all day yesterday and all day today. I gotta hand it to you, it sounds killer. Great songs, production, everything. love all the music on Shredded Sweet. There are so many different metal styles on there that it's sure to appeal to all metal guitar fans. Great job."
--Andy England

A REVIEW OF SHREDDED SWEET, By Andy Rockwell, of AngelicWarlord.com
Shredded Sweet, the third instrumental hard rock release from Altoona, Pennsylvania based minister Pastor Brad, continues where his very fine 2007 offering Reshredded leaves off. The album, for example, heads in an instrumental guitar (i.e.: “shred”) based direction certain to appeal to fans of Joe Satriani (Surfing With The Alien), Steve Vai (Passion And Warfare), David Chastain (Within The Heat & Elegant Seduction), Joey Tafolla (Out Of The Sun), James Byrd (Son Of Man) and Fourth Estate (Finesse And Fury & See What I See). Musically, I would describe Shredded Sweet as another work allowing the artist to put his abundant soloing abilities on full display. This is best exhibited on up-tempo pieces “Childlike Sweetness” – a real showstopper of a track – and the metal edged “Sacred Aggression”. The trend is maintained on the bluesy (if not ethereal) sounds of “Bed Of Roses” in addition to the acoustic and anthemic flavorings characteristic to “Sinai Daydreams”. “Chunky Monkey”, a mid-tempo number distinguished by its fast bass line, and the more tranquil “Memory Lane” make effective use of acoustic guitar as well. The albums diverse title track almost comes across experimental in feel (this one delivers an abundance of time changes).

At this point it must be noted that Shredded Sweet actually goes under the heading Pastor Brad AND Friends; and nothing could be more fitting when taking into consideration the talented guest guitarists appearing on it: Jim Griffin, Sonny Lombardozzi, Matt Eltringham, Art Kalenda, Joe Nardulli and Andy England. Sonny Lombardozzi showcases his pyrotechnical soloing on the catchy “Rolling Thunder” and “Dr. Philgood”, a hard rocking “play on words” that breaks for a cool jazz flavored guitar interlude. Art Kalenda, a shredder in the truest sense of the word, spices up “Soul Of Life” while the same can be said for Matt Eltringham’s work on the all out metal of “Fire And Ice”. “Wolfgang’s Breath”, another track standing out with a pronounced bass line, and “Go Irish” – Pastor Brad is a big Notre Dame football fan – find Jim Griffin and Joe Nardulli in top form respectively. Finally, closing out Shredded Sweet is “Flooded”, a creative composition combining the heavy duty riffing of Andy England with medieval flavored Gregorian chanting.

In the review of Reshredded I put together last year, I described the album as “song orientated instrumental hard rock”. And the same holds true here in that the artist has again struck the near perfect balance of quality musicianship and memorable songwriting. I have a few too many instrumental guitar albums in my collection, for instance, whose express purpose, as far as I can tell, is to showcase the musicianship of the artists involved. While one cannot necessarily find fault with that, what we often wind up with is non-stop jam session after jam session with the end result being that the songs can take a secondary role to the musicianship. Not so on Shredded Sweet. What Pastor Brad has put together is another group of songs characterized by distinct melodies and harmonies that, at the same time, allows the musicians involved – himself included – to display their abilities without overdoing it. That, if anything, is what I mean by “song orientated instrumental hard rock”.

Shredded Sweet maintains the same strong production values found on Reshredded: the lead work stands out cleanly in the mix as does the bass guitar; the rhythm guitar holds its own as well. Drums are mostly programmed again. Not that that is a bad thing (the drum sound here is quite good; you cannot tell they were programmed); that said, what can get lost in the process is the human element – and the feeling and emotion that goes along with it – a live drummer can bring to a recording. Just a thought.

One area of improvement worth noting is the albums packaging, which consists of a single page insert with a black and white photo on the front and track listing on the back. Liner notes, however, are available at the artist’s website. Now, I understand that packaging does not come cheap – or ultimately makes or breaks my enjoyment of an album – but I would like to encourage the artist to put together a “mini booklet” with any project he records in the future.

“Shredded Sweet” opens to narration stating “And now for something completely different”. And that would be the best way to describe the albums title track- different but in a good sense. What stands out most about the song is its time changes galore, alternating between quieter passages in which a softly played guitar and keyboards add a highlighting touch and others moving at a faster clip in which PB showcases his melodic style of playing. A pronounced bass line makes its presence felt as well.

“Sacred Aggression” immediately jumps out of the gate fast and heavy to a blend of pounding drums and muscle laden riffing. Energetic, upbeat and driven, the song proves its “aggression” as PB lays down a weighty rhythm guitar sound and backs it with more of his emotionally charged soloing. Jim Griffin makes his first appearance of the album in handling bass guitar duties.

“Bed Of Roses”, conversely, slows things down to a plodding and almost bluesy tempo. The song moves ahead as fluidly mixed lead work is reinforced by a thick sounding bass line, not picking up in pace until its final minute as a passage is procured in which the rhythm guitar plays the more prominent role.

Introduced to several seconds of “jungle noises”, “Chunky Monkey” begins acoustically before a heavy duty guitar riff pushes things forward at a fixed mid-tempo clip. The song maintains the steadfast momentum throughout, occasionally tapering off for an acoustic based interlude that soon gives back to a steadfast mix of rhythm guitar. All the while PB decorates the scene with his stylish lead guitar work.

A short stretch of quietly played guitar gets “Rolling Thunder” underway prior things kicking into high gear. The song proceeds to rollick ahead to a catchy guitar riff until, just past the minute and a half mark, Sonny Lombardozzi steps forward with a run of intricate delivered soloing (the guy reminds me of Buckethead in terms of style). PB returns and showcases more of his ardent playing over the songs final minute and a half.

“Sinai Daydreams” begins its first minute acoustically. The song picks up in pace once the rhythm guitar cuts in, carrying things ahead in near anthem-like fashion only to decelerate back to an acoustic guitar as PB delivers a message detailing how God is in the people business and how He loves people (the narration is taken from an actual message he gave at his church). “Sinai Daydreams” maintains the acoustic direction as it slowly fades out over its final minutes.

The open air rhythm guitar at the start of “Childlike Sweetness” is soon joined by a melding of fixed bass lines and crisp sounding drums. The song takes on a hard rocking tone as it moves forward, PB applying his trademark fast fingered lead work – this is one in which he REALLY cuts loose – as quite the energetic setting is put into place. Melodic but spirited at the same time, “Childlike Sweetness” ranks with my favorite compositions off Shredded Sweet.

PB and Matt Eltringham trade off during “Fire And Ice”, a shorter (3:30) pieces that covers its distance to a metal laced guitar riff placed strategically in the mix. Eltringham comes in after a minute and cranks out some lead work that comes across almost biting in capacity (nice aggressive edge to his playing). In the end, “Fire And Ice” gives us a well rounded combination of the heavy and the melodic.

“Memory Lane” effectively slows the pace down, commencing to a bluesy uniting of acoustic and rhythm guitar that gives rise to an atmospheric feel. Once the acoustic guitar drops from the mix, the song maintains its calm disposition until the tempo abruptly explodes as the rhythm guitar returns and carries things to their close in commanding fashion.

The hard rocking “Wolfgang’s Breath” starts to a huge bass line that soon underscores a resilient expanse of lead guitar. As the song moves past its minute and a half mark, Jim Griffin makes his presence felt with a demonstration of his shredding abilities on lead guitar. PB returns during the songs final seconds and closes things out in the more smooth sounding manner.

“Dr. Philgood” – nice play on words here – gives us another duel between PB and Lombardozzi (you will find quite the contrast in terms of their respective styles). The song proves a mid-tempo rocker in which an abundance of rhythm guitar carries it from front to back- although I do enjoy the quieter passage at its halfway featuring a jazzy guitar interlude. But it is Lombardozzi’s flashy soloing that helps put things over the top, his blinding riffs and chops reflecting a level of ability obtained by only a select few.

A short stretch of open air guitar slowly sets “Soul Life” in motion before a metal edged rhythm guitar takes over. Shredmaster Art Kalenda cuts loose a minute into the song, his mercurial flavorings rivaling Lombardozzi in terms of technical prowess (if I were to invite a direct comparison it might be Barnabas axe man Brian Belew). Irregardless, he adds a riveting touch that makes a good song even better.

As you can tell from the title to “Go Irish”, PB is a big Notre Dame football fan. (The song even features a couple of radio broadcast interludes from an actual contest between the Fighting Irish and UCLA.) Musically, what we have in “Go Irish” is an almost fusion based piece – nice upbeat feel to this one – in which PB and Joe Nardulli give us a well performed lead guitar duel. All in all, you have to give the artist props for the creativity displayed here.

“Flooded” proves an interesting piece. The song opens serenely before a razor sharp rhythm guitar kicks in, impelling things ahead before an abrupt time change is made to several seconds of Gregorian chanting, which works to perfection. The chanting in question is later carried over the heavy duty riffing – creating quite the contrast in the process – of Andy England. Great way to close the album.

Review by: Andrew Rockwell

"Shredded Sweet, the third instrumental hard rock release from Altoona, Pennsylvania based minister Pastor Brad, continues where his very fine 2007 offering Reshredded leaves off. The album heads in an instrumental guitar (i.e.: “shred”) based direction certain to appeal to fans of Joe Satriani (Surfing With The Alien), Steve Vai (Passion And Warfare), David Chastain (Within The Heat & Elegant Seduction), Joey Tafolla (Out Of The Sun), James Byrd (Son Of Man) and Fourth Estate (Finesse And Fury & See What I See)."

--Andy Rockwell
AngelicWarloord.com

A REVIEW OF SHREDDED SWEET, By Arttie Parker, of The Christian Metal Realm
Shred. In different worlds, the word has very different meanings. For paper, for example, shred is NOT a good word! In the world of guitar, especially hard rock and metal, however, shred is an excellent word. If a guitar player is said to "shred", he is being described as possessing not only great speed in his playing, but also a certain knack for the way the notes are put together. When speaking of "shredders" in the guitar world, many names come to mind...Malmsteen, Vai, Friedman, Satriani. All possess incredible talent, speed, accuracy, and a certain sense of rhythm and melody that many other players only strive for. And while not a name most would commonly see alongside these legends of the axe, Pastor Brad has shown on this, his latest effort, that he is certainly up to the task of joining these guitar heroes, if not in name recognition, then, at the least, in level of respect.

Pastor Brad explains in the liner notes to this latest effort that he is not simply "about just playing a million notes as fast as I can. There'll be lots of distinct melodies and harmonies all over this thing!" And that is a very accurate statement. Where as his previous instrumental efforts (this is his third "shred" disc) did, in fact, put a lot of emphasis on pure speed, this one features a much more layered sound, with intricate progressions in the songs. Melody is not forsaken here, simply so that he can show you how fast he can pick. Perhaps more than any other "big name" I listed above, Pastor Brad can be likened to Satriani on this effort. He utilizes speed, to be sure, but he allows the songs to express themselves as he is playing them, making so many of the tracks seem to come to life. So many discs of this genre totally lack "feel" in the songs...they are nothing more than technical riff-fests designed to show off the player's skill in
one or two specific areas. Not here. Here, the song's feeling and groove are every bit as important as the speed and technique with which they are played, again, likening themselves to "Surfing With The Alien"-era Satriani.

Pastor Brad is not afraid to slow things down from time to time here. On cuts like Sinai Daydreams Pastor Brad plays around with the idea of slowing things down, only to crank things back up once again, but without forsaking the vibe of the song. On Memory Lane, tempo changes abound, as the listener is nearly lulled into a contemplative state before being jarred back to full alert...and then lulled back again!

Looking for full-on metal? Tracks such as Sacred Aggression and Fire And Ice are the leaders of the pack here, as both feature much more uptempo rhythms, more aggressive drumming, and an overall more "metal" approach. Sacred Aggression features a pounding bassline laid down by Jim Griffin, which really adds to the overall feel of the track, and it is probably my favorite on the disc.

Another favorite of mine is Soul Life, which features Art Kalenda on axe-assist. This is one of the songs on this release that definitely has that 80's metal shred feel to it, as blazing fretwork is traded off over a relatively simple drum pattern. While there is no distinction in the liner notes as to who is playing which part on this track, I can easily picture these two in an almost gunslinger-type duel on this track, each trying to be faster and more accurate and intricate than the other. Pure fun to listen to!

Being a Husker fan, I could have done without Go Irish, at least as far as the subject matter goes, but the track itself is again a solid one. Bits of sportscasting are thrown in for feel here, but don't detract from the overall sound of the track.

On "Shredded Sweet", Pastor Brad takes the step forward that I have longed to hear from him on his past releases. Frequenters of the Christian Metal Realm may recognize Pastor Brad's name from his inclusion on the second CMR CD, "The Narrow Path". That track, Jesus Stomp, was merely a precursor of things to come, however, as every track on "Shredded Sweet" is equal, or superior, to that stand-out cut. I look forward to hearing more from him in the near future, and can't wait to hear what he contributes to CMR Volume III!

As far as production goes, as usual, Pastor Brad's self-financed projects are of very high quality sonically, even if they are a bit weak in presentation visually. The artwork is fully black and white, and the insert is a simple, single sheet featuring little more than the tracklisting, a brief intro to the CD, and some contact information. My copy is in a slimline jewel case, as are all of the others I have reviewed, so I am assuming this is the standard format once again. However, let none of this deter you, for packaging is NOT where it is at with a disc such as this. Shredded Sweet is easily the best instrumental disc I have heard in a couple of years and is well worth tracking down.

"Shred. In different worlds, the word has very different meanings. For paper, for example, shred is NOT a good word! In the world of guitar, especially hard rock and metal, however, shred is an excellent word. If a guitar player is said to "shred", he is being described as possessing not only great speed in his playing, but also a certain knack for the way the notes are put together. When speaking of "shredders" in the guitar world, many names come to mind...Malmsteen, Vai, Friedman, Satriani. All possess incredible talent, speed, accuracy, and a certain sense of rhythm and melody that many other players only strive for. And while not a name most would commonly see alongside these legends of the axe, Pastor Brad has shown on this, his latest effort, that he is certainly up to the task of joining these guitar heroes, if not in name recognition, then, at the least, in level of respect. Shredded Sweet is easily the best instrumental disc I have heard in a couple of years and is well worth tracking down."

"Pastor Brad and his Shred series has arrived! I would put this disc up against any instrumental cd out there. There is so much going on here! Thanks to a bunch of killer guests who also play on this disc. PB wears his influences right on his sleeve. You can hear bits of Zeppelin, AC/DC, Iron Maiden and some cool shredding as well. There are some different styles on this one also I know the title screams SHRED but, that is only a part of the music on this. Some cool funky stuff and flashy guitar effects for lovers of 80's style metal. I love the spoken parts and soundbytes mixed throughout. Sinai Daydreams is incredible. Go Irish is a must for any Notre Dame fan! Childlike Sweetness is very very upbeat feelgood track thats pays tribute to Guns n'Roses style of playing. Memory Lane is different than anything on the other two discs as well. I really do not think anyone will be disappointed in this at all. I think one day we will all be buying the SHRED Box set with live tracks from an all star jam...YEAH!! I don't see an end to this ha ha. Go to www.guitarjams.net and look up all of these guitar playes and see what they are all about but, before you do that--buy this cd!!"

Bruce Miller
Fan @ CD Baby

A Word from Pastor Brad... 3/9/07
Big THANK YOUs are in order! Guest players (you can check 'em out HERE) THANK YOU--you guys are just awesome-- every one of you. It really is a very cool thing to me that 8 players can all take the same basic 6 strings and 22 (or so) freats and come out with so many different sounds and styles. The diversity on this disc, I think is one of it's most appealing features. Be sure to click over and get to know these great musicians and check out their links/music.

In brief-I'm just very proud to be able to offer this disc to you as an effort of love---obviously, I hope you'll pick one up-and when yoy do--I hope you'll absolutely love it!

Metal Blessings,
pb!

"This is the 3rd instrumental Metal release from PASTOR BRAD. And yes, he told me he is a real Pastor. Brad & his friends play all instrumental music that is extremely tight, diverse & extremely good through & through. The music has a very strong Metal sound that takes elements from Classic Rock, Progressive Rock, Power Metal, Speed Metal, Thrash Metal & Traditional Heavy Metal & combines them all together to create one sweet sound. Each song sounds much different from the previous, but it all has that same vibe that would like them all back to being done by the same band! This is definately worth checking out!"

Burt Beowolf
BEOWOLF PRODUCTIONS

"My husband and I put the CD in the player, sat down in the living room and made ourselves comfortable. As soon as the first note was played our house lifted off of its foundation, spun around in the air and flew over Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Sanibel, Marco Island and Naples. Not until Fire and Ice ended did our house begin the return trip home. By the time the last note on the CD was played, our house was once again safely on the ground where it always was. It was a wild trip, and we enjoyed it immensely. All of the guitarists are amazing!"

Joan Eltringham
Fan @ CD Baby

"PASTOR BRAD AND FRIENDS have done it again with the new offering from the 'Shredmaster' himself entitled "Shredded Sweet"! We're happy to include this heavely metal masterpiece in our playlist"
Steve Roush
Program Director, Almighty Metal Radio

Click BUY NOW and download a 128k version of SHREDDED SWEET, complete with all art files, for the very special price of $5.00! All transactions are handled securely by paypal. The SHREDDED SWEET MP3 zipfile link will be delivered to you via payloads. SHREDDED SWEET is also available at other fine distributors--such as CD Baby, iTunes, eMusic, etc. at normal prices.

To listen to SHREDDED SWEET songs--Simply scroll through the songlist below--until you see the songs you want.