June 6, 2000 - Planet X and Universe

Two weeks after my last release a new band joins my library when Planet X released their debut album "Universe" on June 6, 2000. But who is Planet X? They are a four-piece instrumental, progressive metal band formed by drummer Virgil Donati and keyboardist Derek Sherinian. Both of these guys were also on Sherinian's first solo album (also named Planet X), but the band Planet X is meant to be a more collective effort and not just a Sherinian solo album. They are joined by bassist Tom Kennedy and guitarist Tony MacAlpine, but despite this being a separate project than just his solo stuff, Planet X still play the same style of progressive metal and still have no vocals. Let's check out the debut by Planet X!

The album kicks off with "Clonus" and Kennedy and MacAlpine play some solid stuff that keeps the pace while Sherinian plays some space-y keyboards overtop. They nicely jam out in this vein for a couple minutes, then it's solo time, starting with guitar. MacAlpine plays a pretty sweet guitar solo with Sherinian nicely backing him and then it's Derek's turn to deliver a cool solo with some fast and crazy keyboards. The latter half of this song is filled with all kinds of cool stuff, including a wicked drum fill by Donati, and it is pretty cool that Sherinian is still delivering some epic lead keyboards, but the guitar is from taking the back seat with lots of cool stuff by MacAlpine as well. A fine opener! Up next is "Her Animal" and MacAlpine leads the way with a slow and catchy guitar riff that everyone nicely builds around for a space-y and cool riff. Sherinian then takes over with some super distorted and cool keyboards and things sound pretty sweet. MacAlpine gets a couple chances to show off his stuff too and he doesn't disappoint with two excellent guitar solos. There's a ton of cool music on this whole song and I love that all four members contribute some great stuff. Track 3 is "Dog Boots" and Donati fires off with some wicked fast drums before the guitar and bass come in with a slow but catchy riff. Sherinian copies the same riff at first, then they both switch to a new harmonized riff that sounds pretty cool. Kennedy plays a bass solo at one point and that sounds pretty sweet, and the rest of the song sounds pretty cool as well with Donati never letting up on drums. Keep 'em coming! The next track is called "Bitch" and MacAlpine plays a cool guitar riff that Kennedy and Donati nicely build around until eventually Sherinian comes in and out with synth bits. After a bit of jamming Kennedy plays a cool new bass riff that perfectly sets the stage for MacAlpine's guitar solo and together they play some awesome stuff. After a bit more jamming the main riff it's Sherinian's turn to solo and he plays some pretty wicked keyboards! Donati throws in a few wicked drum fills as they're jamming out the finish and this was yet another pretty sweet song! No let up so far! Track 5 is "King Of The Universe" and it starts with a man speaking in a very epic Scottish accent and delivering an interesting opening monologue about being the one chosen by an Oracle, the one whom the prophecies "have spake" (that's what the Scot sounds like). After loudly proclaiming "KING OF THE UNIVERSE" Sherinian starts up some cool lead keyboards and the rest of the band nicely falls in. Derek takes the lead for pretty much this whole eight-plus minute track as there are a bunch of solid keyboards throughout as well as a couple pretty wicked keyboard solos. About halfway through the mood shifts to quiet and space-y and Sherinian plays a new piano riff that sounds solid to lead the way. MacAlpine plays a short but pretty awesome guitar solo overtop and Donati plays a ton of cool drums from here all the way to the end of the track. This song may have been a little too long, but it was pretty good for the most part! Up next is "Inside Black" and Sherinian leads the main riff with some catchy keyboards while MacAlpine plays some slow but very epic guitar overtop. Words don't do proper justice to all the different and cool riffs these guys are writing on this album and they also don't do proper justice when I say Sherinian plays another pretty wicked keyboard solo and Donati adds some more great drums to back him. Some people might say all this instrumental metal sounds the same, but it's the exact opposite and this was yet another solid song. Track 7 is "Europa" and MacAlpine leads the way this time with a catchy guitar riff and Sherinian nicely comes in and out with some epic keyboards. Tony starts to solo overtop of everything else and things sounds pretty sweet when he does as he shreds and slowly plays some cool stuff! Sherinian eventually gets his turn in the spotlight and he does not disappoint with back-to-back different, and both pretty awesome, keyboard solos. They packed a lot of good stuff into this one! The next track is "Warfinger" and after a very trippy opening MacAlpine leads the way with a catchy guitar riff and Sherinian adds more space-y keyboards overtop. MacAlpine delivers a wicked early guitar solo with all kinds of fast shredding and then after another round it's Sherinian's turn to solo. He also plays some super fast stuff that sounds crazy and after his long solo it's Kennedy's turn in the spotlight as he delivers some pretty sweet bass! There's a lot of cool stuff packed into this song! Track 9 is "Chocolate" and Kennedy and Donati provide a solid rhythm section, Sherinian plays Sherinian space-y backing keyboards and MacAlpine leads the way with a chugging and pretty cool guitar riff. This pretty much covers this whole song, but MacAlpine does a great job in the lead, including another cool guitar solo. Sherinian is a great keyboardist as we know, but it is nice to see him complementing and contributing rather than just having lead keyboards every song like his solo stuff. Up next is "Pods Of Trance" and it's got an upbeat main riff with some cool offbeat keyboards by Sherinian. The early guitar solo by Tony is pretty awesome and it fires right back into the main riff nicely. After a great guitar-led part the mods shifts and Kennedy sets the stage nicely for Sherinian's solo. Derek delivers some pretty crazy keyboards in this pretty long solo and there is a lot happening here, all pretty awesome! This was another above average tune! The album wraps up with "2116" and Sherinian plays some fast and cool keyboards to start us off before they settle into an epic main riff with some droning keyboards and lots of great drumming by Donati. Sherinian and MacAlpine harmonize in a really cool part that only gets more impressive the faster they go! Then we're treated to keyboard solo/guitar solo/keyboard solo and that's a nice trifecta! This was a great way to tie things up!

That is the end of "Universe" and I thought it was a pretty awesome debut album from Planet X! Not only do you have Derek Sherinian playing cool keyboards, but Tony MacAlpine shows that he is a pretty great guitarist as well! Together they drive this album and along with a more than adequate rhythm section this collective effort is what makes things better than just Derek's first solo album. I look forward to hearing more Planet X in the future!