  
Magna Carta/Border
Guitarists Eyal Levi and Emil Werstler of DÅÅTH have featured on previous outings from Magna Carta, but only with a single track. Here they are with a full-length album featuring Sean Reinert of CYNIC and AEON SPOKE on drums. The other players are bassist Kevin Scott and synth/keyboard player Eric Guenther. A technical excess can be expected but is it anywhere near accessible?
Opener “Noxious Vermin, My Friend” hints at instrumental music by the twisted title alone. Excellent production by the guitarists themselves; and a mix of classical and modern guitar work is helped by thunderous drumming by CYNIC-legend Reinert. But there is ample melody and many changes of styles and paces. Everything from heavy metal to high-class almost symphonic fret work find their place and time in here. The drum patterns are intricate to say the least, and the union of Levi/Werstler/Reinert is a perfect match. Amidst the technical workout the album is still very accessible, a feat that has proven too much for many other guitarists over the years. The hypnotic horror movie score like melody of “Plague House” is among the highlights of the disc. Notable is also the seemingly eternal variation on offer, both within and between songs. An orchestral and jazzy moment is evoken in “Trellis of Thorns”. There is no strictly ackoustic track on the album, but the beginning of “Trepanation & Bliss” has its moments. I may lack vocals occasionally, but LEVI/WERSTLER hit the right buttons to such an extent that I can but recommend this piece of virtuosity.
Track List
Noxious Vermin, My Friend
Dura mater
Obsidian Fissure
Plague House
In Amethyst, Through Moldavite
Trellis of Thorns
Hollow Thorax of the Gilded Eye
Loathsome Little Fiend
Trepanation & Bliss
Architectural Necrosis
Castling the Molten Sea
Chrysalis Wound
www.magnacarta.net www.myspace.com/leviwerstler
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