Shrapnel 2013
Young gunslinger shoots through the heart and mind on his solo debut.
An integral part of the metal scene for the last seven years, since he was 16, this lad has work with the late Jani Lane under his guitar belt and been a member of LIZZY BORDEN since 2009. Such credentials may speak multi-decibel volumes of Lorina’s speedy fingers, but his self-titled personal effort holds a lot of surprises, the major of them being Dario’s ability to slow down – up to the blues that many a shredder detest – so “Silhouettes” serves as an dynamically impressive showcase of its author’s talents as both composer and performer.
With a cover of “House Of The Rising Sun” in the midst of it, building from the original’s strum to a baroque dance, the record embraces a symphonic jam of the bookending “Demon Rum” and “Amor Odium” as well as riff-fests that are the meat-and-bones in the heavy, if harmonies-rich, likes of “My Heroine” which weaves acoustic thread into a richly textured metal grid. In the ballads department, though, “Words Unspoken” provides a welcome release after the preceding assault without releasing its full, organ-elevated potential.
A prodigy phase coming to pass and his name established, it’s this promising album’s follow-up that should deliver the juicy fruits.
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