Shredwave virtuso Ultraboss is back with a bang with two brand new releases called Slave To The Passion 1 & 2.

The name speaks for itself and project mastermind PJ d’Arti brings his sheer love for ex David Lee Roth guitarist Jason Becker and makes it heard with every note he plays. The past few years have been busy for Ultraboss as more releases are being fired everywhere like dollar notes at a stripper. Does Slave To The Passion live up to the previous releases? The title track, Slave To The Passion, is already an addictively catchy song that sounds like it’s been taken from an 80’s childhood cartoon and beautifully sung by Robert Beachgrove. Straight for my Heart follows suit with its girly yet shameless Cyndi Lauper bop. JJ Mist appears on Master of Desire to continue the girl power with it’s Vixen vibes and fist pumping lyrics. Rico Franchi is a regular guest on this album with the first song being Souls Are Not Strangers; a calm and tear jerking ballad sounding like it’s straight from a Foreigner album. Dana Jean Phoenix continues her synthwave invasion with Ultraboss’ remix of All I Need. More guest vocals on this album, this time from George Ergemlidze, on Time Slowing Down which takes this album from 80s cartoon theme tunes to a vicious synthwave power anthem. Franchi returns back with the video game nostalgia for Back To The Past pretty perfect for those summer car rides. Hunger may be a favourite track for those die hard synthwave fans and Oscillian provides some soothing vocals to go along with the mix. Loving You All Night screams glam metal straight at your face with such a thunderous riff and epic vocals from Franchi. Heart of Sound finishes with the album brightly as you try to resist getting your lighter out and waving it to such a awesome ballad. Ultraboss may not have created an album that may be suitable for those die hard fans, but for those who either grew up in the 80’s or love 80’s culture will appreciate Slave To The Passion. It’s nostalgic without pointing a finger back in time through most of the album. The album is packed full of tremendous guitar solos and juicy synth sounds to keep you entertained. Shredwave is a ridiculous genre that Ultraboss completely champions.

Normally you could wait up to a year for a next part of a series, but it was merely a week or two for this. Ultraboss is back immediately with the second part to his incredible previous album Slave To The Passion. The shredwave pioneer has decided to ditch the insanely catchy vocals and purely focus on the music by riffing the guitar and blasting out the synths. The album is called Slave To The Passion 2: The Peril of Shredwave Decadance. Will this album give off the same AOR vibe that the first one did, or will it play a different ball game? The frantic bassline and guitar playing serves well for the first song on the album called Chains of Destiny. Much like the first song, Hungry for the Thrill gave off such incredible SEGA arcade game vibes. Moonchild crashes in with heavy bass and pounding drum beats pushing though. Outrun and heavy metal go hand in hand in Thundersynth which features Wolf and Raven as Ultraboss plays guitar as perfect and hectic as you’d expect. Venus Eletricficata rolls on the Outrun and metal vibes only to make it sound more soothing with the synths. Irrlitchter brings a strange Led Zeppelin edge to such a slow and eerie ballad atmosphere. Threshold Moment kicks the album up a notch with such amazing musicianship and features the super talented Cody Carpenter. Vincenzo Salvia brings his talents to a work out montage caper with the blood thumping Dont Stop. Season Of The Boss is an heavy metal anthem that continues the montage vibe and electrifying guitar solos. The last song to conclude the duo of Slave To The Passion albums is Soli Deo Gloria with the only vocals on the album which are to a bare minimal which only chant the song name. Slave To The Passion 2 offers a concept album feeling without really telling much of a story. The songs transit from one to the other very smoothly with the excellent use of the Outrun and Jason Becker style guitar playing. It’s a good album however it was not filled with as much shred as we expected and Ultraboss is absolutely outstanding when it comes to his guitar. Not every song has the mind melting solos as you would expect. However, Slave To The Passion 2 is a worthy sequel to the previous album that focuses less on guest vocals and more on the awesome talent that is Ultraboss.

– Matthew Clewley
Designed by SpaceMaster

All told, the two Slave to the Passion albums are a terrific time, and a welcome addition to the Ultraboss catalog.

– Nine Circles