April 17, 2001 - Inertia

Two weeks after my last release and nearly two years since his debut "Planet X", Derek Sherinian released his second album "Inertia" on April 17, 2001. There's a lot of turnover since Derek's debut album with guitarist Brett Garsed and drummer Virgil Donati no longer in the fold. Bassist Tony Franklin plays on 4 songs only, with 3 songs being played by Tom Kennedy (the bassist from Derek's band Planet X) and 2 songs by another bassist Jimmy Johnson. All the drums are done by new drummer Simon Phillips and most of the guitar is played by Steve Lukather (from the band Toto!) The 3 songs Lukather doesn't play, the guitar is done by Zakk Wylde, that's pretty cool! Let's check out this mishmash of Sherinian songs!

The album kicks off with the title track "Inertia" and after a trippy opening they settle into a pretty cool main riff with Sherinian and Lukather playing very similar riffs simultaneously, Phillip's playing sole solid drums and Kennedy playing some cool bass in the background as well. It's a pretty cool main riff with lots going on and eventually we reach solo time with Sherinian playing some pretty fast and pretty sweet stuff. Lukather's guitar playing is way better than I would have guessed and he gets his own chance to solo, and he fucking nails it with a super fast and pretty awesome solo! They jam out the main riff a but more to finish things off and this was a pretty good way to kick things off! Up next is "Frankenstein" and it not only features Wylde on guitar, but it's also a cover of Edgar Winter! The guitar is very distinctly Zakk Wylde as he plays a cool main guitar riff to lead the way as Sherinian comes in and out with epic keyboard bits. Phillips plays a short little drum solo that has lots of cool stuff going on and Zakk follows that right up with a cool guitar solo. Sherinian is surprisingly never really in the spotlight on this one, but he's still a solid contributor and unsurprisingly having Wylde around makes things sound pretty good. An interesting cover! Track 3 is "Mata Hari" and it's a longer song with a slow pace as Franklin keeps the pace with  some nice backing bass, Sherinian plays backing synths and Lukather leads the wat with a slow but smooth guitar riff. Sherinian and Lukather sync up for sections and together things sound loud and epic, but Lukather's lead guitar is perfect slow, epic, prog-y stuff and once again Sherinian seems happy to take a back seat. Aside from one solid keyboard solo midway through, most of this song is a little bland for Sherinian I think. It's good, don't get me wrong, but the lighter side is not really what i'm here for. The next track is another one with Wylde and it's called "Evel Kneivel" and Zakk plays some more signature guitar that is nice and fast and sounds pretty good. Sherinian then comes in with some pretty wicked keyboards overtop and he just plays a few seconds of awesome stuff, then drops back out and let's Zakk take the lead again. It's a pretty cool formula with several cool keyboard breaks and then Wylde goes off on an absolutely bonkers guitar solo that is just jaw droppingly good. He then beautifully sets the stage for Sherinian's solo and he goes off as well with some super fast and pretty amazing keyboard shredding. This is what I'm fucking talking about! This is easily my favourite off the album, Derek and Zakk both sound awesome! Track 5 is "La Pera Loca" and it starts off with Sherinian playing some interesting and pretty cool piano for a bit, then Lukather comes in and they shift to a more typical Sherinian sounding riff. The guitar is pretty heavy and pretty catchy as well and Sherinian now plays his usual keyboard style with some typically pretty cool stuff. Then Sherinian returns to piano, Lukather plays some epic light guitar and Johnson plays some pretty sweet bass in this part as well! These two riffs are very different but somehow go together pretty nicely and this is another pretty cool song! Up next is "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" and it's a cover of jazz musician Charles Mingus. It's got a very slow pace with Lukather and Sherinian both playing some slow and light stuff. After almost a couple minutes the rhythm section finally joins in, but it's still the same slow riff, just a little louder. Eventually we reach solo time and Lukather goes off for a pretty epic and cool guitar solo. Sherinian follows with a similarly epic keyboard solo and the solos are easily the highlight, but this song is almost six and a half minutes long and there's not a ton happening the rest of the time. Track 7 is "Astroglide" and it's the only song on the album with no guitarist at all! Johnson and Phillips form a pretty cool rhythm section and Sherinian just takes the lead by himself with some epic keyboards. The guitar isn't really missed that much honestly, and it gives Derek more of a spotlight to show off, especially in a super fast and pretty awesome keyboard solo! Derek plays a few different keyboard styles throughout this one and I think it's a pretty good tune overall. Phillips plays some cool drums in a short part before they nicely return to the main riff and Derek shows off with a bunch more pretty sweet stuff. The next track is "What A Shame" and it has both Lukather and Wylde on guitar on this one! Lukather starts us off with some light guitar that Sherinian syncs up with for a nice riff and Franklin plays some cool bass as well while Wylde plays an epic lead guitar part overtop. Things are pretty chill until Zakk cranks things up with some typically heavier guitar and I like this shift as Wylde takes the lead with some great guitar. Lukather solos first and he plays a very smooth and solid solo, then Wylde turns up the heaviness with a typically cool solo. Sherinian wraps it all up on piano and this was definitely an interesting combination of styles! Track 9 is a short song called "Rhapsody Intro" and Sherinian plays some slow, sad piano and Lukather adds the sappiest guitar riff overtop. It's definitely not my favourite and doesn't bring much to the table, other than to set the stage for the album's final song "Rhapsody In Black". They move right into a coop main riff with Lukather playing some much better, heavier guitar and Sherinian adding some crazy and cool keyboards for a pretty nice, headbanging main riff. There's lots of cool stuff on this long song, including another sweet drum part by Phillps midway through. Lukather's guitar is pretty good the whole way through and he and Sherinian play off each other really nicely. There's some silence at the end of the song, then the last minute is some super psychedelic and trippy keyboards that sound pretty awesome to me! A pretty cool finish!

That is the end of "Inertia" and I thought it was a pretty good album from Derek Sherinian. There are a couple slower and sappier parts, but there's lots of heavier stuff as well and I love all the songs with Zakk Wylde unsurprisingly. His debut "Planet X" was a pretty good album as well, and I think it's close, but I'm giving the slight edge to this newest album. Where will Derek Sherinian go from here? I'll be here to find out!