Review By Mário Del Nunzio - Renegade2k (Brazil)

This is the debut solo album from Danish guitarist Torben Enevoldsen, who seems to be very influenced by 80's hard rock and metal shred masters, as Yngwie Malmsteen, Tony MacAlpine and George Lynch, as well as by prog metal players and bands in the songwriting aspect. This album is, in reality, a compilation of demo tapes and some new things, but the recording and production, done by Torben Lysholm (from Pangea) - who also programmed drums - is overall very satisfatory. The other musicians on the album are bassists Carsten Neumann (Pangea, Narita) and Christian Rajkai (Narita, Prime Time) and vocalist Kenny Lubcke (Narita), who sings in two songs, "Time Ran Out", a very good progressive shred hard rock piece, with a great vocal performance and interesting rhythm changes and soloing by T. Enevoldsen, and "Reach For Perfection", an interesting prog power metal piece with Kenny Lubcke again showing great vocal capacity and T. Enevoldsen making above average solos, showing good technic, with fast alternate picking, precise sweep arpeggio patterns and cool two hands tapping sections with interesting phrasing ideas, not falling oftenly on neoclassical shred metal cliches. The album starts with 'Just In Case', a song that mixes some Satriani-style melodies with fast and heavy shred metal sections, being one of the highlights of the album. Other good points are the emotive "For A Friend", with very beautiful melodies and clean guitar passages, "Calm Waters", again a for the most part slow and calm song, with beautiful melodies and a good performance of bassist Christian Rajkai, the heavy and progressive "Dream Come True", with interesting semi-complex rhythms, heavy riffs and good soloing. After eleven tracks of progressive / shred metal / hard rock, the ending track of the album, "What If...?" sounds pretty much surprising, as it has very much funky guitars and danceable rhythms - but, of course, there are the technical solos and typical things of the style Torben Enevoldsen plays. A very good debut album and indicated for shred and prog metal fans. 8 out of 10

Review By Henry Bocanegra - House Of Shred (U.S.A.)

As an avid music fan and collector, I spend countless hours at record stores or online looking for that one cool thing I never heard before. Know the feeling? If you're like me, you usually return home empty handed. Then, out of nowhere a CD falls into my lap that impresses me and temporarily fills that void. Such is the case with Guitarisma. My latest guitar hero hails from Denmark and his name is Torben Enevoldsen. My first comment upon listening to his CD, Guitarisma, is that if you're a guitar fan and have never heard of this guy, it's about time you looked him up. His guitar skills rank right up there with the likes of Joe Satriani, Vinnie Moore, Paul Gilbert and Tony MacAlpine, as he's a fast, yet melodic shredder, which makes sense as his main influences are Ritchie Blackmore and Yngwie Malmsteen.

A collection of 12 mostly instrumental tracks, Guitarisma is a Shred fan's wet dream as it gives Torben Enevoldsen a mighty big avenue to show off his skills as a master shredder. All the influences and styles are there for your listening pleasure. Standous are the Vai-ish "Take Your Pick", the beautiful "For A Friend" which is reminiscent of early Carlos Santana, the Rockin' "Just in Case", and the funky "What If...?". It's hard to pick a standout song because guitar and Rock fans will definitely enjoy every single song. As for the vocal tunes they're reminiscent of Yngwie Malmsteen's Eclipse era as vocalist Kenny Lubcke sounds a lot like former Yngwie vocalist Goran Edman maybe with a bit more power. And trust me, that's a good thing.

With Guitarisma, Torben Enevoldsen gives us an excellent Shred Album filled with inventive axe mastery. And he also gives us a reason to anxiously await his next release. If you're reading this, then click that link down below, get acquainted with Torben, pick up some of his music and tell 'em The House of Shred sent you. You won't be sorry you did, I promise. 8 out of 10

Review By Ive Michiels - Rokk Faqtory (Belgium)

Torben Enevoldsen is a Danish guitarist and as you might have guesed with a cd-titled like ´Guitarisma´ this cd is mostly instrumental . There are two tracks with vocals and these songs are nice melodic rocksongs with great singing by Kenny Lubcke (Narita) . The instrumental songs are also very melodic and when you would put vocals on them than they would be great melodic rocksongs . You can clearly hear that Torben is influenced by Joe Satriani and so you can put this cd in the same category as Tommy Denander , Angi Schiliro and Olaf Jung . I think not only fans of instrumental hardrock will like this album but most melodic rockfans will definetly love this album to. 80/100

Review By Mike Thaxton - E.E.R. (U.S.A.)

Guitarisma lies firmly within the realm of the guitar-hero album. Think Vai and Satriani. More to the point, think Greg Howe, Tony MacAlpine, Vinnie Moore, Paul Gilbert, and other purveyors of the fine art of shredding. If these names mean nothing to you (or cause you to dry heave), odds are Guitarisma wasn't recorded with you in mind. The rest of you may read on.
The album is, of course, Torben Enevoldsen's show, and models itself after the artists mentioned above. Ten of the twelve tracks are instrumental, most hovering around the five minute mark. The result is surprisingly listenable, even for a non-guitarist like your humble reviewer. Notable thoroughout the album is Enevoldsen's willingness to slow things down and rely on the emotional impact of melodic leads rather than shred at the speed of light. This is particularly effective as the Danish guitarist shows us his more melancholy side on the ballads "Calm Waters" and "Indian Summer."
The two vocal tracks are a departure of sorts, with Enevoldsen giving up some of the spotlight to guest vocalist Kenny Lübcke. The first, "Time Ran Out," isn't too far removed Fifth Angel or some similar melodic hard rock/metal act. "Reach For Perfection" is a bit fiercer, showing a faster tempo I wish would be used throughout more of the album. As much as I appreciate Enevoldsen's sense of melody, I find that guitar-hero albums are more palatable when everything's blazing away at full speed and the guitarist is shredding his little six-string heart out. Even the faster tracks on the album plod along compared to those on many other instrumental guitar-driven albums.
Carsten Neumann and Christian Rajkai on bass, along with Torben Lysholm programming a drum machine, comprise a competent rhythm section. The drum patterns are tastefully programmed, and it's easy to ignore their presence as long as they remain in the background. When the programmed drums come to the forefront, as on the intro to "Reach For Perfection," the effect is just jarring and irritating. I can't imagine what caused Enevoldsen to decide that hiring a drum machine programmer would be preferable to hiring a human drummer. Still, Lysholm gets bonus points for classy programming and a drummer's sense of rhythm.
Guitarisma is sure to appeal to fans of the guitar pyrotechnic school and to fans of melodic hard rock in general. Enevoldsen has crafted a melodic slice of guitar-hero metal that will sit proudly next to your Racer X albums. Those who read EER for fusion and prog recommendations need not apply.

Review By Robert Powers - G21 Powerssound (U.S.A)

While I`m doing a mostly non-jazz column this week, let me tell you about guitarist Torben Enevoldsen, whose recent album shows that you don`t have to be famous to play the living daylights out of a guitar.
"Guitarisma" (Roxon Records) shows the popular Danish strummer working at full blast. The dozen tracks include two vocals (by Kenny Lübcke) and are played with affecting enthusiasm and verve. The album has Enevoldsen playing all guitars on all tracks. He`s efficient and stirring, playing a style of hard rock mixed with fusion that contains touches of brilliance on nearly every track.
It`s a fine album, and I apologize to Enevoldsen for having buried his CD in a stack of "already dones" rather the proper "must review". For the next one, I promise a prompt review.

Review By R. Scott Bolton - Rough Edge (U.S.A.)

It`s very hard to review an instrumental album. The song structure is different, you have to pay more attention to the musicianship and the artist's intent becomes harder to define.
"Guitarisma" by Torben Enevoldsen, however, isn't difficult to review at all. First, it's not entirely an instrumental album. Second, Torben's fretwork makes it very clear where each song is coming from and, perhaps more importantly, where it's going.
Take the CD's opening track, for instance. "Just In Case" is a smooth little boogie number that boasts wicked lead riffs and chunky choruses. No vocals on this one; just pure rock'n'roll.
"Indian Summer", up next, sounds just like it's name. It's a gentler, breezy number with soaring guitars instead of chunky ones and a lazier beat. It's got some chunk a little further in but still rolls smoothly.
Track #3, "Time Ran Out", sounds like a radio hit out of the 80s, and is the first track featuring vocals by Kenny Lübcke. What's great about this song is that it sounds like a Slaughter or Warrant tune with more creative guitars.
The balance of the CD plays out with more of the same. "For A Friend", sounds like it could have come off a modern romance film soundtrack; "Take Your Pick" features guitars that sing like those of Steve Cropper and then morph into Megadeth territory. "Reach For Perfection" is another hit-bound vocal number; "Maybe Some Day" features some virtuoso fretwork and a fugue-like feel that blends exceptionally well; "What If…?" the final track, is a up-tempo, almost experimental number that explores exactly what its title asks.
Despite the fact that Torben Enevoldsen's name is on the CD (and rightfully so; Enevoldsen plays all guitars, wrote all the music and lyrics, arranged the music and co-produced the CD), his able band deserves special recognition as well: All are excellent and their talents merge well with Enevoldsen's.
Fans of instrumental guitar wizards (i.e., Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Gary Hoey, etc.) will thrill to "Guitarisma". Others who prefer vocals with their rock'n'roll will enjoy this CD as well and may come to appreciate the "rock-as-instrumental" art form as well.
Performing on "Guitarisma" are Torben Enevoldsen, all guitars; Carsten Neumann, bass; Christian Rajkai, bass on "Just In Case", "Calm Waters" and "What If…?"; Kenny Lübcke, lead vocals; Torben Lysholm, drum programming and vocals.

Review By Torben Askholm - Metal and Hard Rock Area (Germany)

Denmark`s Pretty Maids are basically the main hard rock export and since Skagarack left the scene not much has seen the light since. The musicianship has improved over the years, so the basic core of the scene is now stronger than ever. One of the newcomers is Torben Enevoldsen with his first full length album "Guitarisma" that consists of three tracks from his demo CD and nine tracks, two including the ex-Narita vocalist Kenny Lübcke.
Strongly influenced by Satriani, Torben`s musical universe circles around instrumentals with the focus on the guitar, doing both rhythms and melody lines. Personally this is not really my thing, though admitted the playin´ is damn hot. Anyhow when it comes to the vocal tracks it`s top notch, world class material - now more in the Vai vein than Satriani with extensive riffing and weird structures. 
"Time Ran Out" is one of the best hard rock tunes I`ve ever heard; very American in its feel, filled with great hooks and a furious yet beautiful solo. Both Torben`s playing and Kenny`s vocals give me the chills. "Reach For Perfection" is definitely a close second with more speed (Torben`s dexterity is awesome) and the melody lines are perfect. I will without doubt recommend "Guitarisma" to all Satriani fans ("Calm Waters" is a true gem) and with songs as good as "Time Ran Out" and "Reach For Perfection" Torben Enevoldsen`s future looks very bright indeed.