Metalheads rejoice in Chicago

Metalheads rejoice! Rotter's promotional EP, "WRAITH", is a collection of old and new material that barely hints at the majestic bombast found on the recently released full-length by the same name. There are a couple of furious wallops ("Freakshow", "WRAITH") - lingering echoes of prog-metal's heyday; reminders that guitars can be crushing and nimble; reminders of what metal used to sound like before metal bands thought they needed a DJ. There's also a dash of the neo-classical guitar-smithing that fans of Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai will find satisfying. Even in its brevity, the EP manages to demonstrate Rotter's celebration of heavy metal in the tradition of long hair, bright lights and fist-pumping scorchers.

ILLINOIS ENTERTAINER REVIEW 1/2005 - P.C.

5/2004

Howdy Steve. Over the past 4 months or so I have been absolutely captivated by guitar9.com. So many amazing artists and albums - it has opened up unearthly vistas for me! I have purchased some real gems off of there, and I have been listening to the mp3 loops at work at night until I have purchased them. "Wraith" is one of the spectacular album's mp3s that I loop over and over. Boy, how refreshing your music is. Anyway, I wondered if you had a Paypal account or something so I could send a lump payment for all of the releases on your website - that's why I don't have "Wraith" yet. I will send a money order if not.

I just wanted to let you know that what I have heard so far from your album is very touching and you deserve much success as a musician. Please let me know if you are going to play in CA and I'll be stoked! Even though I am a native Californian, I really respect the mid-west and the rest of our country and it is a special place where you live. I will buy all your music when I know what kind of payment options I have. Keep up the stellar work and take care.

Regards,

Jason F.

- Guitar 9 Records

Chicago-area guitarist Steve Rotter has released his debut CD, entitled Wraith. The album features 8 instrumental and 3 vocal tracks and is hard rock driven with neoclassical overtones. A wickedly fast soloist, Rotter's style is reminiscent of guitarists such as Randy Rhodes, Paul Gilbert and Oz Fox. Three years in the making, Wraith demonstrates Rotter's attention to detail in both production and songwriting, as heard on tunes such as "Freakshow", "La Dance De Sol" and the heavy title track. Be sure to check out the unaccompanied guitar solo cut, "Quite A Hassle". Instrumental Guitar (Electric (Heavy)/Hard Rock/Shred), total running time, 55:19

Author: tim-alan Date: 2002-10-22 05:48 PM

Great Satch/Vai type playing. Also some good classical guitar as well! The production is great and the compositions are well written and arranged, I would recommend this cd to anyone into great guitar playing!!

I loved your DVD! This is your best work to date, IMHO and here's why. First of all, I know how much technology & expertise it took to create such effects as the clouds moving at 3x speed behind the castle image, for example. So from that aspect I give it an A+. The song CONVICTION itself is of course, classic Steve Rotter. The guitar tone sounds a bit like a cross between a Rectifier Amp and a Solid State Oz Fox/George Lynch kinda sound and if that's what you're going for - you NAILED it. I must admit that I need to watch it a few more times to listen to the audio because I was enraptured with your video - forgive me for that. But the video was simply wonderful.

EDWARD D. - Hipcat Productions

the intro on the boogieman song was really cool, those guitar effects were amazing, and the song kicked up and sounded way cool. some far out riffs there too. i liked the arrangement, it didnt drag and the drums helped it sound cool and it had a great beat and groove. the vocals were pretty cool, and that riff behind made my face melt. seriously you guys can play some guitar. great job

nice beat and rythem. why i like this is it is bassed on the guitar licks and not just the solo stuff. i mean it has flashes of the old 1-4-5 stuff. but of coarse it takes of from there. somthing about this sounds familiar. almost like i heard it before. mmmmmmmmm.goood stuff.

the audience is listening
immedietally i got the total vai influence ,in the the arrangement , style of play, some good pieces in the bunch, maybee a little over arranged for me, cold have got it thru to me with about half the song, guitar player was good/developing, shows skill and an attemp to create rather then play a song,like the v man, just go for it!

Which steve is it steve r or steve vai!?
Really good guitar playing,this guy sounds like steve vai on speed!?,Really chunky and gutsy drum sound.Clever use of vocals(talkin!?)in the song with pretty good arrangement.

very nice
guitars are freat love the tone, nice arrangement, i dig all the guitars and the horns. this guy can shred!!!

sound a bit like vai and scatterbrain

This boogieman tune jams
Cool intro. Good job on the stereotyped DJ voice. Damn this tune jams. Your guitar playing is awesome and has a good sound. I love the spoken interjections in the song. The mixing is great and the production is fantastic. The arrangement is great. I wouldn't change a thing. I don't do well with telling people who they sound like but maybe, Steve Vai. You do sound alot like a friend of mine. This definately gets on my playlist.

Awesome
Great guitar work, really rockin'. Kinda sounds like some Joe Satriani at points, or possibly some Steve Vai. Great arranging, the radio announcer voice is pretty cool, then BAM into the song with some kickass solos

cool
This is a fun song to listen to. Especially if you appreciate good rock guitar licks. I like the straight forward Marshall sound. The arrangement is unpredicable, which is good. Reminds me a lot of Steve Vai from the David Lee era.

Desperate for an audience.
Wow, this sure does remind me of Ministry. The vocals have a melodromatic jim carey quality to it.(listen to his version of Cuban pete from the mask), and the guitars have a bit of Satriani flavor to them.. Don't need to comment much more on the guitars becuase they're quite well done. sounds like there was a lot of work and fun put into this song. good job.

great work Steve!!
some nice chops and the little voice over is really very entertaining. Great production since everything sounds really nice and crisp. A true mix of just about every hair band with stud guitarist around - VH, Satch, Vai, etc... even the outside guitar sounds really very well played. Some of the guitar tones I think to my tastes sound a bit too compressed and synthetic to me, but hey - that's just my humble opinion. I really like the song for being a nice showcase and having some very good impressions of Nixon, Carson and others...

Boogie Woogie Guitar Man!
Love the intro. Reminds me of a set I played with an instrumental guitarist. It's a tough road to hoe!

But this dude rips. Boogie Man is a fine, furious track. It borders industrial, but in a harley davidson fashion.

Like the dude who talks in it. Reminds me of Zappa! That makes a difference amongst the fracas finger tapping and what not.

This song stands out in the genre at GB, but holds true to the patriarchs like Vai, Johnson, Satriani, etc. It's fresh, yet traditionl.

Love the arrangement, kept me involved, I never moved the slider as I have on a few of these. Hope to see you live in Chicago!

Good Stuff
The guitars sound fine the arrangement is good.You sound like
Joe satrani.The talking is the only
thing I did not like in the song.
But everythingelse was fine.I rank
this song a 8

Interesting intro
Intro sets me up for something speacial. A cross between Satch Boogie & Vai's Juice.
The groove is okay but the guitar isn;t saying antyhing new or really anything remotely musical, tone is very thin too and a bit characterless. Lose the phaser too.

metal!!
this great it sounds like old school metalica ya know around 1985
cool. nothing wrong with your guitars.sounds alright.

Modernized Hairband
Killer hardcore guitar riffs at the very start. Sweet guitar squeals at :30 and 1:20. Solid catchy rhythm throughout. Vocals totally 80s hairband style like Guns 'N Roses. The guitars are strong and modernized, making for an interesting combination with the vocals. Great drum work, with a nice touch on the outro. This might be what Velvet Revolver would sound like if Axel Rose was lead singer instead of Scott Weiland.

Good groove
Cool pull of licks in the intro. Guitar tone sounds a bit too trebley could use some more bass and less mid.

Nice vocal melodies and catchy beat.

Guitar!!!!
The guitars are definately the theme of this song. Nice rythm and structure. I like the tapping for an interlude. Good performance all around, you guys play tight together. The vocal style is so familiar but I can't place it. You sound like extra plugged in Judas Priest. Keep it up you guys rock!!

Sweet guitar!
I love the guitars in it...The tabs are great with the bends added to it and the distortion added to it makes it sound very hard rock. The rythm and lead guitars are very good and make the song very good. As i said before the rythm is well done which makes it a good song to listen to. The guitar reminds me of a mettalica but i'm not to sure about the vocals although the vocals are pretty good maybe just to add a little more strenght in it to sound as good as the guitars. Well done.

Dokken
great guitarist. I would suggest cutting the intro by 2 bars. Good production. Interesting vocalist. A lot of hair rock influence, axl rose sounding (a little)good song. Maybe cut the solo a little.

Great
Guitar work on both parts is very creative and works well together. You have a megadeth, metallica, dream theatre kind of feel to this tune.

Judas Priest/Iron Maiden beginning. I hear a lot of 80's influence here... Great job on the style...

Wrong Genre???
This sounds more like prog. rock to me. Guitar and rythm is a little dated. Almost a "Fates Warning" sound. But, if all this is what your going for then, you on the right track:)

Swedish
The solo break at the intro sounded like an attempt at neo classical Swedish shred, which I used to like. The main riff at :15 had some timing issues that continued throughout. If a click track was not used maybe use it next time(all the pros do). The vocals had merit although sounding a little too like Queensryche.
Drums had a decent sound with nice compression on the kick, the timing definitely needs some practise and a again a click track is an aid NOT an insult.
If this was a tune with the Queensryche(early stuff) vein in, mind then you've achieved that, it sounded a little dated to me, but God I play dated stuff too, so not a slam at you guys without slamming myself. You might try a little more modern edge to things. Good luck and don't despair. I always feel bad about giving a harsh review.

I am so jealous of the guitar in this, it's really amazing! This had a very old school sound to it, and I enjoyed it very much. The lyrics intrigued me as well, quite original. The sound is reminiscent of a lot of older groups like AC/DC, the older Metallica, and such.

- Nikki

totally stryper, dude

Ok, well, the guitar tone is really great. Sounds huge, really fat. I dug most of the riffage, except for that part at the start with the weird timing. I don't know, it just didn't feel right. Maybe it was what the drummer was playing behind it, but it felt odd, like something was off.

But ah, other than that it was cool. The verse riff reminded me of something Dave Mustaine would play. And the little lead fills were nifty, so totally 80's, they kind of reminded me of Zakk Wylde.

You asked who you sound like, I think the music sounds like late 80's Ozzy, and the singer sounds like, well, pick any random hair band and he sounds pretty much like that guy.

The production and mix sound good, the drums sound really big too. The only nitpick is that I couldn't hear the bass guitar, but that's a common thing with rock bands.

Overall I'd say it's well done. Not my cup of tea but you guys sound good for what you're doing.

Power Metal!
The intro to this song is excellent. It sounds like something directly out of a black metal track, except with good production quality. Add to it the cheesy 80's style fingertapping solo and you've got yourself a superb power metal track. This track is very catchy, heavy, and well-executed. The singer sounds similar to Geddy Lee of Rush at times, and also like a power metal vocalist. Guitar work is impressive, and drumming is standard. The solo did not fit all that well into the song, but it is a minor drawback. Lots of pinch harmonics add to the effect, making this a very good power metal band. 9/10.

This has the feel of Megadeth meets Iron Maiden. Not bad at all,has maybe a little to much of an 80's feel to it. Guitars are killer I have to add,obviously a seasoned lead guitarist.

Drums are great as well,nothing spectacular done but does a good job keeping the band together.

Vocals are good also,Im not a big fan of the 80's hair Metal but Im sure lots of people will like it.

Good job.

Megadeath.....
Thats was who i thought this was right off the bat. Some old school Megadeath. guitars are down right bad ass. Love the soloish playing in between chorus and bridge. you have much talent. Sound wise i guess for the band and song it was right but for my taste could use more botton end. a heavier guage string will help but then you wont be as fast. But either way if your band goals are this then you have met it but if not just a little refinement in the guitars and vocals.
Drummer was good. holding down the fort w/ the bass and just jammin away.
good luck guys, good effort here.......

I get high on Dr. Pepper
A little Black Sabbath goes a long way.

You're an insane guitarist. There's not too much I can say. I'm pretty stoked on the whole thing. Guitar wanking at it's best. I'm not too into the overdone double kick.

The review raters want me to say something insightful or something along those lines. All I can say is nothing's wrong with this at all and everything (minus too much double kick) is right about this.

Your guitars rock. Your arrangement is perfect and yes, as I said, I'm hearing Sabbath influence.

Cool stuff.

you like buckethead, huh?
hard, nice and hard! the organ hits are a nice touch near the beginning, very genesis. the vocal insertions are very zappa and in places so is the guiatr playing (the spacey part after the second vocal thing)

great guitar effects great sound
the intro was really cool, those guitar effects were amazing, and the song kicked up and sounded way cool. some far out riffs there too. i liked the arrangement, it didnt drag and the drums helped it sound cool and it had a great beat and groove. the vocals were pretty cool, and that riff behind made my face melt. seriously you guys can play some guitar. great job

the boogieman song was good
the sound seemed a little too comercial, but it has potential. the coice that poped in was a little distracting. guitars were awsome!!!

LOL
Nice intro! Very creative indeed. Guitar player desperate for an audience eh? Well, I'll put you on my playlist, and share your tune with my homies then. LOL, homies! Anyway, the guitar playing is nice, I like the change-ups in tone. Very creative playing overall, it's like a good cross between Eddie Van Halen and Vai, but with some unique moves. I love those vocal samples. Nice finger-tapping run there in the middle. And I have to ask, the track being 4:20 in length, is that a message? :) lol, anyway, great track. Excellent playing. Yeah, you get high on Dr. Pepper. Or whatever.

nixon and van valen
guitars are not bad at all, you sound alot like the band green jello or maybe a hair band from the eighties, the lyrics are slighty funny, very eddie van valen, you can play all of those licks, nice impressions of nixon, if this was 1984 and you were in a hair band youd have been big. as far as the arrangment goes it sounds fine, maybe bring up the vocal slighty as i gets lost in the mix alittle

I did have a chance to listen to your music 'Boggieman" and all I can say is WOW! Now you are one talented guitarist! I have to admit, I also liked the 'Announcer' especially the Nixon and Carson impressions! Great work!

Cheers! The Mark

Hey Steve!

All the damn good guitar players are named Steve, so you're destined for greatness. I wish my name was Steve. Anyway, that track was really cool and inventive. I can say I'm tired of people who try to copy EVH and Vai to a T, but you kinda paid tribute to their style with your own unique flare.

Make sure and check out my stuff, I have a new track up here called "incursion" under my band exertion that you might dig.

Keep it up, I'll make sure and do what I can, I'll put your track on my playlist on my website. I've been analyzing my traffic and everyone seems to read most of my threads and probably go to the links I put up.

Oh, and if you have your music on soundclick.com, make sure and point me to your URL, I could really help you promote your stuff on there. One of my tracks is #9 (out of 6700) right now.

Later!

-bart hodges

Eddie VH is back!
Well, well... here's a nice little ditty in the Instrumental Rock category. Actually, there's no 'little ditty' at all, it's all good and big and loud.

Not since Eddie VanHalen first wailed his way into mainstream America have I heard guitar lines like this. There is some excellent all-out riffing along a 1-4-5 blues progression, which is what this is all about.

But don't think there aren't dynamics in this awesome offering. There are spots where the energy winds down to a minimal frendzy before cranking back up to it's 'The Matrix - Reloaded' car chase scene speed and exhilaration.

There are some relief spots where voice impersonations are interspersed (e.g.: Richard Nixon, Johnny Carson), that gives the tune the perfect level of levity (yeah, sorry about that) and really puts everything in perspective.

Lets not overlook the drums and bass that provide the clean, solid foundation for the guitars to pound on. Good work people!

Very energetic and upbeat

Guitars were impressive with many difficult sounds being performed very well.

The arrangement is great as well as the melody, rythm and overall mood.

The sound seems similar to Van Halen with a hint of Ozzy Osborne and Rush.
Excellent work on this piece.....Boogieman! LOVE THE CD

Wow!
This is one helluva song. Straight over the top. We need more guitarists like you out there who aren't afraid to play. The song itself reminded me of "Jibboom" or maybe "Satch Boogie". You are definately headed in the right direction in my opinion!