Shahyd Legacy is a guitar player from the Maldives who plays in the bands Sacred Legacy and SYN. He has a solo album out as well, called ‘Gateways’. It’s an eight-song record which explores all there is to rock and metal guitar. Lead playing is more of Shahyd’s specialty, as the riffs are kind of basic and pretty much serve as a launch pad for his tasteful melodic and harmonic licks. The mood is definitely epic here, the tempo is fast, and the playing is quite inspired and proficient.

Those looking for hyper-blasting shred might want to seek their notes-per-second fix elsewhere, for Shahyd plays with a fair amount of restraint — throwing fast lines here and there when the occasion is appropriate. We like this style better than balls-out shred, for it makes for compelling and memorable songs. Fully instrumental, ‘Gateways’ sounds very good and real — you are literally hearing the guitar the way Shahyd himself did while recording.

Overall, we are impressed by this guitar player and his gift for old-school, raw’n’real rock playing. Horns up to this six-stringer and let’s see what he comes up with next!