On The Virg - Serious Young Insects -1999 - Vorticity

To put a label on the music of On the Virg, an Australian band led by drummer extraordinaire Virgil Donati, would be downright difficult. While there is an obvious metal feel, the harmonic level of sophistication and complex arrangements elevate this above standard prog/metal fare. The maturity of the musicians and their sensitive interaction prevent this from being just another technical showcase. That being stated, all these guys can certainly play -- but the drumming acrobatics of Donati truly make this a recording worth seeking out. His rhythmic abilities are on a par with Dave Weckl, while his footwork will give even the speediest thrash metal drummers a fit. The term jazz-metal has been thrown around for years to describe everything from Mike Stern to Allan Holdsworth; if the label is necessary (as pointless as such stylistic labelling can sometimes be), perhaps it could best apply to the music on this album. After hearing Serious Young Insects, one has to wonder how much higher the bar for technical competency could be raised. © Robert Taylor © 2012 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/serious-young-insects-mw0001149754

A very good album of highly technical and original heavy, progressive jazz rock fusion by the extraordinary Australian drummer, Virgil Donati and his band, On The Virg. Virgil Donati's fantastic multi-dimensional polyrhythms are legendary, but all the players on the album are given ample room to improvise and express themselves. Simon Hosford (guitar), and Phil Turcio (keyboards) are amazing musicians, and together with guest guitarists Brett Garsed and T.J Helmerich and guest bassist Ric Fierrabracci have created an album of immensely challenging and complex song structures. There are lots of odd timing grooves and amazing individual solos from all the players on this album. These guys may have invented some sounds you've never heard before! The album is HR by A.O.O.F.C. Listen to Frank Gambale, Virgil Donati, & Ric Fierabracci's "Made In Australia" album and Brett Garsed, TJ Helmerich, Gary Willis, & Dennis Chambers' "Uncle Moe's Space Ranch" [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 130 Mb]

TRACKS

1 Native Metal
2 Malfunction
3 Alien Hip-Hop
4 Sort Yourself Out
5 Pyramids on Mars
6 Dragon Bones
7 Trencherman
8 Out of the Haze
9 Invasion of the Ants
10 Running from the Aliens
11 Penthalon

MUSICIANS

Simon Hosford - Guitar
Brett Garsed - Guitar [Guest] on Tracks 3,11
T.J Helmerich - Guitar [Guest] on Tracks 1,3,4
Evripides Evripidou - Bass
Ric Fierrabracci - Bass [Guest] on Tracks 2,5,9,10
Phil Turcio - Keyboards
Virgil Donati - Drums, Keyboards

ABOUT VIRGIL DONATI

Virgil was born of Italian descent in Melbourne, Australia, and got his first drumset at age 2. He started playing right away with his father's showband, and kept on doing these shows until he was around 6 years old. He began taking lessons at age 7 with Brian Czempinski and later Graham Morgan, now a legend in the Australian drumming community. He joined his first rock band at the age of 20. The band was called Cloud Nine, later to become Taste. (www.taste.us.com) Donati left school when he was 16, focusing mainly on the drums, but also piano, and practicing hard every day. These days he spends most of his time in the United States playing with a number of different bands. Playing 6 nights a week with Taste was what really “got his chops together”. Australia was very isolated as far as instructional books and big international tours, so he had to rely on self-motivation and listening to records. With his father's choice of records, including Louie Bellson and Buddy Rich albums, Virgil quickly became a fan of those great jazz drummers, trying to emulate their solos. The first rock drummer to make a big impact on him was Ian Paice of Deep Purple. Donati was “blown away by his clarity and power”, something for which he later would become famous himself. Practice became a way of life for Virgil, who tried to learn as many different styles as possible, enabling him to cope with any musical situation he was confronted with. At age 19 Virgil travelled to the U.S. to study with Philly Joe Jones, and at Dick Groves School in L.A. He also took lessons from snare drum specialist Murray Spivack. He returned to Australia at the age of 21 where his career finally took off. Playing jazz with Allan Zavod and Brian Brown, and rock with Peter Cupples' band, he was a busy touring and session drummer Down Under. His own pop band, The State turned into Southern Sons, which led to Virgil's first taste of international fame, with their self-titled debut selling multi-platinum and producing the international hit single 'Heart In Danger'. The big break came in 1995 where Virgil's first solo album Stretch was released to a stunned community of drummers worldwide. In 1999 Virgil released On The Virg: Serious Young Insects through Melbourne based record company Vorticity Music. With tracks like the timebending Native Metal this CD cemented Virgil's status as a progressive musical mastermind. Virgil was voted the number 1 clinician of the year (2004) by the readers of the popular drummer magazine, Modern Drummer. Virgil's own band 'Planet X', formed after Virgil's collaboration on Derek Sherinian's 1999 solo album "Planet X", is one of the most advanced progressive fusion groups, setting new standards for other musicians to follow. They have released three studio albums; Universe, Moonbabies, Quantum and one live album, Live From Oz. Virgil has also made numerous live appearances worldwide with fusion leaders Scott Henderson and Tribal Tech. © Lion Music 2012. http://www.lionmusic.com/artists/shadrane.html