I would like to say that you have posted an unfair and biased review of Marty Friedman's.

Why is it, that so many Western reviewers say that the 'melodies' (as in the one in Elixir) make no sense next to the thrash? This is exploration just as much as any other artist. What? were you expecting a "Dragon's Kiss 2"? With the same exact sound, THEN he would be predictable.

You say Loudspeaker is predictable. Dragon's Kiss WAS predictable too…as is any other _CATCHY_ album. Heck, I could predict the next chorus in Iron Man or Satisfaction or Born In The USA, but does that make it bad? NO!

If you want something TOTALLY unpredictable, then go review some experimental noise albums or any sort of avant-garde.

YOU were the one who praised the exploration in Dragon's Kiss, "which bursts with idiosyncrasies" and "dizzying tangents". By rejecting the equally dizzying, and idiosyncratic exploring in Loudspeaker's sound, you are being unfair, biased AND HYPOCRITICAL.

And this is the exact reason why he left Megadeth. To quote him from Ultimate-guitar.com

"I didn’t think Megadeth were aggressive enough! When I left Megadeth, I wanted some contrast, I wanted some stuff that was totally non-aggressive and some stuff that was really friggin’ aggressive. It was getting to the point where everything was kind of mid-tempo, old school metal. And there was so much cooler nu metal happening at the time, that I really felt we needed to get modern because this shit that we were doing was not aggressive enough. And our pop stuff was not pop enough. If we’re going to do a pop, I’d say ‘let’s do a proper pop song’ and if we’re going to do a metal song, I’d say ‘let’s do a full-on metal song and make it really metal’. And that idea didn’t really go over too well with the band for whatever reason. They weren’t really aware too much of what was going on in the modern rock scene and weren’t really adventurous enough for my tastes. "

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/interviews/interviews/marty_friedman_i_didnt_think_megadeth_were_aggressive_enough.html

That's him basically saying that HE WILL NEVER DO A "RUST IN PEACE 2"…or if you think a little more deeper, HE WILL NEVER DO A "DRAGON'S KISS 2". Unlike so many of his neoclassical peers, Friedman has moved on from the 80's into the 00's. And while still keeping his shred roots intact, he has adopted a new sound that people won't get from an 80's metal neoclassic album.

Loudspeaker IS NOT Marty selling out to the Japanese J-Pop audiences. The sound apparent in the album was bound to happen whether he got popularity in Japan or not. Ever since the beginning, it was quite apparent that he wasn't going to take the typical 80's metal sound. Even YOU said that a lot of his future work was hinted in the "tonalities" of Dragon's Kiss. From the start, it was apparent he wasn't going to follow the crowd.

And is that necessarily bad? NO! NOT AT ALL! It's what makes him unique…AND unique in a good way. Guys like Malmsteen, Batio or Becker have had the SAME EXACT sound for every album they've released. That same neoclassic sound. Have their sound developed? NO! They are all still living in the past.

Heck, why should people buy a new Malmsteen album if they know the sound is going to be EXACTLY THE SAME! The previous Malmsteen album they bought was like that, why waste money on another one?

That is also why guys like Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Jeff Beck or King Crimson are always praised; because their sound ALWAYS EVOLVES! "Real Illusions" sounds different from "Passion and Warfare". "Super Colossal" sounds different from "Surfing With The Alien". "You Had It Coming" sounds TOTALLY different from "Blow By Blow". These guys are willing to evolve and move on from their eras.

Jeff Beck in particular has evolved so much that he doesn't sound like an old 70's artist. Anyone would be surprised that "You Had It Coming" comes from a man in his late 60's.

King Crimson also in particular almost always sound new. "The Power To Believe" is WAY different from "Discipline" or "In The Wake Of Poseidon". This is why they have ousted their contemporaries, like Yes or ELP. I can go for hours on how constantly innovative Crimson are.

And that is also why Nu-Metal got popular in the late 90's. Because it sounded fresh (at least back then) and was totally different from what metal sounded like before. However, like the 80's metal sound, it got overused, and now we have useless nu-metal bands out there.

And Coloreas Mi Vida sounding like credits music? ANY SONG can be credits music. Johann Pachelbel's "Canon" or Mozart's "Turkish March" has often been used as credits music…BUT DOES THAT MAKE IT BAD!?!?!? NO!

From a drumming perspective, no album since "Dragon's Kiss" has been as bombastic and virtuosic. But does that make it bad? NO! You might as well say that "Led Zeppelin II" or "Quadrophenia" were both bad drum albums because it isn't as technical as "Dragon's Kiss". Loudspeaker has more groove than his other albums. It is also technical to a point…though nowhere as fill-crazy as Deen Castronovo's drumming.

It makes me wonder sometimes; why do a lot of Americans like the high pitched squeals of Mariah Carey, Janis Joplin or any other singer, but not like the equally high pitched squeals of Asian singers.

What do American's have against J-Pop in general? From an instrumentation perspective, it is much more elaborate and lush then todays American pop music. There are more virtuosic guitarists/drummers/bassists/etc. Heck, if you like shred so much, why not like J-Pop? A LOT of Asian/Japanese guitarists can give Malmsteen a run for his money?

Basically, it is obvious to me that you are being unfair and biased. You have got the "anti-jpop" syndrome apparent in many American/Western reviewers. The moment you hear _that_ Asian sound either in the vocals or the music, you instantly go cynical and sarcastic. I'm sure if you were to review a J-rock album, it would be unreliable because of your prejudices.

I give this album a 10/10. For me, this is a contender for best instrumental rock album of 2006. Heck, it could even be a contender for best instrumental rock album of the 00's.

Despite all this, there is one thing I agree with you; "This album is too perfect". It is indeed too perfect. I can't imagine how anyone could make an album so perfect. I am usually VERY HARD on artists, but this album caught me off guard and I have been listening to it over and over again for months.

I just hope that Marty will still come to the U.S. where I live, despite unfair and prejudiced reviews like yours.

Simply put, this is one of the best instrumental rock albums I've heard in nearly two decades.