In case you hadn’t heard, Aborted guitarist Mendel bij de Leij (best name in the universe) has some pretty jammable solo material. The Netherlands-based guitarist is slated to release his third solo album Universal Omega on October 26th, 2017. And in anticipation of what’s to come, Mendel has just released a streamable premiere of the single “Descending Upon Hades” from his upcoming album on YouTube! You might want to sit down for this one.
Now this is a true gauntlet of a song, with the inclusion of loads of heavy riffage, searing guitar and synth solos, and enough harpsicord arpeggios to bring Bach back to life. The track also features a killer keyboard solo by guest keyboardist Alex Karlinsky, whose work on the short film Kung Fury soundtrack has been heard across the globe. There’s a little bit of everything in this single, and Mendel does a great job of showing just what he’s capable of. There also seems to be just a touch of Yngwie influence in this song, which can’t hurt, right?
According to Mendel,
As some of you may know, I’m a great admirer of Bach. There is even a small part of his bwv 578 fugue “hidden” in this song somewhere plus some bwv 565, which I consider as a great and clear showcase of counterpoint. As you probably can tell, this song has a thick classical foundation. I tried experimenting with counterpoint and implementing this in the riffing as well as the lead playing. I also always wanted a “guitar vs keyboard solo” duel, Malmsteen style. This song would be the perfect fit, so I asked my buddy Alex Karlinksy to do it and oh boy did he deliver! Saying this track is just the tip of the ic berg for the album would be an understatement. It’s truly one of my favorite tracks on my upcoming third solo album “Universal Omega”. If someone would ask what my solo carreer sounds like in one song, I would let them listen to Descending Upon Hades. Enjoy!”
To prepare for the onslaught that is soon to be Universal Omega, get at Mendel’s artist page. The single will be available on iTunes, Spotify and all major digital stores. And don’t forget to hit up the man’s Bandcamp. You can preorder it on there, so like, why are you still here?
