The Francesco Artusato Project – Our Dying Sun (2014)

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Artusato states: "I am very excited about this record! I have been working on this second album for a while now; it had to be done in between writing and touring with my two bands Devil You Know and All Shall Perish, but I wanted to make sure it was exactly the way I wanted it.
"This album is definitely an evolution from the first one that was released in 2011. I really focused on the song writing aspect more than the pure technical aspect of playing guitar this time. Some songs are more fun and what you would expect from a rock/metal guitar instrumental record, others are just more intense with a darker mood and some others are a little more abstract. The more technical guitar playing is accompanied by a more soulful playing and I love that. This album is pretty much the portrait of the guitar player I am today.

"I was also very fortunate this time to work with two great musicians like bassist Ray Riendeau (James LaBrie, Star Monarchy, Solo Artist) and drummer Danny Handler (Solo Artist). That definitely created more the trio band feel. They are like me, fans of heavy music as well as jazz and fusion and those influences can make the difference when playing a certain style of music. Even though I still love to layer a lot of guitar tracks and sometimes I go a little crazy with that. Writing instrumental music gives me the freedom to try whatever I feel would sound good. This project is my way to experiment and try different things. Every solo record is probably going to be very different from one to the other and that’s why I do it.

"It was also so great to have friends and incredible guitar players like Per Nilsson (Scar Symmetry), Ryan Knight (The Black Dahlia Murder) and Wes Hauch (ex- The Faceless) to do guest solos on one crazy track towards the end of the record. That song is pure madness!
"This first song, 'Gates of Reason,' is one of the more 'traditional' and simpler ones but I had so much fun working on it. It definitely has a progressive/rock vibe and I think it’s a good introduction to the music on the record even though there’s so much variety counting all 11 songs."

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