There are independent hard rocking metal music albums and then, there are independent hard rocking metal music albums. Enter guitarist and bass player Leo Viridi. The musician’s new collection LV1, released Aug’ 2, 2019, features former and current bandmates from Megadeath, Dream Theater, Firewind, Sons Of Apollo, Mutiny Within, Dissension Rising and others. No wonder the songs from LV1 are tightly woven with expert musicianship. But this is just the beginning of the story.

The eight song album from Leo Viridi opens with the 4:05 lead single “Something To Prove,” which turns it up with a thick but ordered guitar tone. The drumming stands out as aggressive and persistent to a fault, while the bass smoothly thunders through the mix. There are keyboards, too. Meanwhile, the explosive almost Rush-like vocals quickly ignite the track into full throttle speed. Listen to the harmonics as the guitar lead takes off at approximately 2:50. The axe texture and tone are quite different from the phaser rich second track, “April Showers,” showing off a variety of Viridi’s creative ideas.

Next up, “Disillusioned” continues the hard-rock, guitar-driven ferocity with distinct rhythm and lead lines, providing generous listening pleasure. We spoke with Leo Viridi who told us he uses a Charvel San Dimas for the leads on LV1. Song four, “Blood Of Warriors,” has that same razor sharp fret movement. But the highpoints do not end there. Check out how the intro to the mix plays in one speaker and then the other, yielding a nice stereo effect. Once again, the skins and cymbals excel. “Blood Of Warriors,” a fast growing favorite for these reasons and more, is definitely on the recommended listening list.

Skipping around, another highlight from LV1, “The Belligerent Dr. Ink,” sounds like a buzz saw ready to chop down anything in its path. So avoid getting in the way. Conceptually, “Dr. Ink,” shortened from “Dr. Drink,” provides LV’s take on a pun about excessive drinking. According to Viridi, “The song is loud and aggressive like a belligerent drunk.” By the way, Viridi uses a hardtail Strat on rhythm guitar for “The Belligerent Dr. Ink.”

Also interesting to note is a bonus track cover of “Thrill Of The Night,” a song from singer James LaBrie’s pre-Dream Theater band.

The band roster for Leo Viridi’s LV1 is:

Leo Viridi – rhythm guitar, bass guitar (all tracks) and lead guitar for tracks 3, 4, 6-8; Shawn Drover (Ex-Megadeth, Act of Defiance) – drums (all tracks); Glen Drover (Ex-Megadeth, King Diamond) – lead guitar on tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 and keyboards (track 2); Derek Sherinian (Ex-Dream Theater, Sons of Apollo) -keyboards (track 3); Henning Basse (Firewind) – vocals (track 4); Chris Clancy (Mutiny Within, Wearing Scars) – vocals (track 8); Devin Mysyk – lead guitar (track 6); Danni Carroll (Dissension Rising) – vocals (tracks 1,2, 5, 7, 8); Keith Garrett (Dissension Rising) – lead guitar (tracks 5,6,8).

For more about Leo Viridi please visit:

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Paul Wolfle, the publisher of musicinterviewmagazine.com, is a web-based journalist and guitar player who has written for several popular sites. Paul has a passion for connecting with a diversity of musicians who are looking to grow a positive presence by way of the World Wide Web.