Review by Mike Blackburn - Sea Of Tranquillity

Flying Solo is Danish guitarist Enevoldsen's third solo release and second on Lion since Heavy Persuasion was released in October 2000. Torben is clearly one of the most accomplished and mature artists on the label. His dizzying digital dexterity continues on this latest offering. Ten slices of excellent no filler instrumental guitar, several parts Satriani, some parts DiMeola / Malmsteen with several hints of Torben thrown in grace this disk. This may in fact be the disk that some die-hard Satriani fans wish he would make! Torben tears through tracks like “1:49 A.M.” and “First Attempt” with flash, flourish and alarming confidence. “Lobotomized” recalls the best and heaviest offerings of Steve Lukather, a tribute to Luke's “Los Lobotomy's” I am sure. There are a few softer moments particularly “A Minor Detour” a short sweet acoustic number but the pedal is firmly down on most of these barnburners. We can certainly look forward to his future projects including a second “Section A” band project Parallel Lives here in 2005 following in the footprints of 2004's excellent debut The Seventh Sign , all on Lion Music . This release easily earns 4 stars remembering that for totally instrumental releases, 4 1/2 or 5 stars equals other worldly.

Score: 4/5

Review by Dave Palmer - Heavy Metal Resource

It's probably no small secret by now that I am a big fan of Torben Enevoldsen. I find the instrumental work he does on the guitar fun to listen to and pretty humble. Enevoldsen in my opinion is a very disciplined guitar player who only shreds when shredding is required. He has some great rhythm work and writes his music as some of the more accessible instrumental music you will hear. If you are a fan who absolutely has to have a vocalist, you can also check out his Section A project. That band is absolutely cool as well. You'll see what I mean with Torben's talents. As far as this album is concerned, it's really good once again. The album opens up very upbeat with the tune '1:49 A.M.'. Good chunky rhythms mixed with a memorable melody. I would point out that that is one of the reasons why I like Enevoldsen so much is the overflowing melody, but he never gets too far away from the attitude as well. Same goes for the next track 'Departure'. Very accessible for instrumental music. When you get to 'Lobotomized' it gets more of a groove to it which is also fun to listen to. It really flows consistent throughout the album. 'Odd Measures' has a familiar rhythm that had me reminiscing back to my 80's rock days. There are some more laid back tempos on the album as well. 'Finally Home' or 'First Attempt' come to mind. Both songs have a laid back feel, but do pick it up in areas. It's all about the guitar on this album obviously. If you like guitar based music and don't mind there not being a vocalist, this is really good stuff.

Overall It's instrumental, it rocks, and it's consistent. Enevoldsen is a disciplined guitarist that plays with finesse, but can also get down 'n dirty when he feels the urge. The music on this album is once again very good. If you just can't do it without a singer, check out his progressive group Section A as well. You'll get a feel for what he is. Very good instrumental release.

Review by Rob - Adrenalin ‘Zine

Torben Enevoldsen is another in a long line of virtuoso guitarists out there pumping out an album once in a while full of instrumental guitar wizardry. To some people they might all sound the same but there are certain qualities that make them stand out. The main one being some good melody. A whole album of pure shredding gets old real fast so it has to have those breaks in the songs that make you feel like your driving with the top down along the pacific coast on a hot summer day without a care in the world. Gary Hoey is the master of this kind of mood in his songs but Torben Enevoldsen is not that far behind. Great hooks and melody coupled with some chunky, almost overly distorted, rhythms make this a surprisingly good listen. And I even made it through the whole CD without any "incidents". Good stuff from a guitar dude whose been around the block a few times to know what's good. You can check out more of his material plus find out who else he's teamed up with in the past (there's many) on his website: http://www.torbenenevoldsen.com/

Originality : 7/10 Production: 7/10 Performance: 9/10

OVERALL: 8.5/10

Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem

Danish guitarist TORBEN ENEVOLDSEN returns with a fantastic new CD, which definitely marks the fact that he is one of the better guitarists around in the scene. This is a lovely new instrumental guitar based melodic rockalbum from Torben, which will easily find it’s way to the fans of melodic guitarwork (a la NEAL SCHON). Finally, not an album that has that MALMSTEEN virtuoso fast guitarplaying without melodies, because Torben really creates beautiful melodies out of his guitar, especially on the lovely songs “Departure”, “Beyond compare”, “Daybreak”, “First attempt” and “Finally home”. Must-have for the guitarfreaks!

Score: 8.6 out of 10

Review by Joe Florez

Generally, I am not a huge collector of solo artist CDs with the exception of Yngwie, Jason Becker, Marty Friedman and of course…Steve Vai. There are a couple of others as well, but I won’t tell you what my whole collection consists of. It’s apparent that this Dane has been in the scene for a while as he has released two solo records and been involved on countless tribute albums. What I didn’t know was that he put together a band that I am huge on. It’s called Section A and it features members of Vanden Plas and Derek Sherinian. Ok, enough of that and onto solo numero tres. I was pleasantly surprised and impressed at how he crafts his material. “1:49A.M.” is a melodic opener that’s paced just right. It’s not off the wall and over the top. There is a consistent beat that is soft, gentle and sophisticated and where need be Torben lets loose a little bit and shows off his fretwork skills. “Departure” has a little bit more bite, but seems to fall more in the rock category than metal and that suits me fine. With a track like “Lobotomized”, you would think of this as an aggressive tune, but this happens to be the catchiest number by far and will have you tapping your foot and playing air guitar. The one thing that makes Mr. Enevoldsen so distinctive from the other guitar virtuosos is that he is never at a loss here. He never repeats himself and is always coming up with something good for the ears. His flash and pizzazz only comes when he feels it. He doesn’t have to be all technical and fast just to impress the fans. His compositions are solid, simplistic to a degree and accessible to anyone. There is a certain charm to this CD and I am glad to have heard it. If you are/were a fan of Joe Satriani’s, then you will be pleased with the variety of styles that this youngster has to offer. One thing is for sure; I will be spinning this one many more times before I get sick of it. 

Review by Adam Harrold - Rock Something.com

With his record label apparently hoarding all the exceptional European shredders under one roof – it’s not called Toys ‘R’ Us – Enevoldsen is another fine six-stringer set out to dazzle with a fret board. And there are no complaints here. Of course Satriani comparisons are easy to make – largely as the Satch is amongst the better known of the virtuosos – but in fairness only someone with a scant disregard for the guitar-instrumental scene would fail to notice that Enevoldson is a vastly different musician. Preferring to soothe with melodies as much as dazzle with speed, there’s no doubting that “Flying Solo” does pretty much what it says on the tin. This is a fine release for all lovers of instrumental rock, and will hopefully not be over-shadowed by the bigger names in the genre.

Score: 4/5

Review by Kathy - Strike Up The Bands

Guitar based music has always been a favorite of both mine and many other listeners of Rock and Roll, Hard Rock, Metal, Shredding, Speed or Acoustic. It’s never really mattered what type … As long as it speaks to you, and tells you what you want to hear. Most guitarists will tell you that their playing/music is just an extension of what they are feeling or trying to say. The emotion and depth of an artist that has mastered playing the guitar can be felt through every note and chord struck hoping that he has passed on to the listener those same feelings; yet those we call “masters of their craft” are humble and will always strive to learn more, bettering themselves.

Torben Enevoldsen is just one of those musicians with the release of his third instrumental project appropriately titled “Flying Solo”. Making a name for himself, Torben is fast becoming well-known to many fans of hard rock guitar music. With influences like Malmsteen, Blackmore, Iommi, and Satriani in his playing, hard rocking and power metal shredding are typical of Torben’s style.

“Flying Solo” is filled with hard hitting, bone crushing and ear splitting guitar licks. Yet with so much mind-blowing shredding comes the elegant musings of a clean and classical sounding masterpiece. Starting out with tracks like “1:49 AM” and “Odd Measures” with great rhythm changes that just get fiercer as the tempo picks up or tunes like “Daybreak” and “First Attempt” with a breezy and simple feeling and soaring guitar riffs.

Both tracks “Departure” and “Beyond Compare” have a progressive feel to them, but never stray far from speedy shredding that’s nothing short of amazing. The final two tracks on the CD, the beautifully acoustic “A Minor Detour” leads right into “Finally Home”, an aggressive but clean rock piece that some might call a perfect guitar ballad. So much great music …So little time to listen. Make the time for Torben Enevoldsen … It will be time well spent!!

Review from Pilgrim (Japan)

I am really glad to see that Torben Enevoldsen's music has been exposed really well, since he released his band efforts of Section A's first album. He used to be known as one of impressive guitar players from Lion Music, but nowadays I believe he has been known as both successful band member and instrumental guitarist. One time, I have mentioned that he had better form a band, so that many people have a chance to draw them close to Torben's music more. It's quite nice and successful for him to get music fans' supports and respects from prog metal/melodic metal fans all over the world. Okay having said that, let's investigate his latest effort called Flying Solo. After having released a successful melodic prog metal album of Section A, he took a time to finish up his third solo album. Probably, he is one of early Lion Music artists faithfully working his music, since Lion Music got started. Gradually, he builds up his own reputations and styles. I am not sure how other listeners view this album, but I think he purposely put the ingredients of mellowness on this instrumental works, while he lets loose his incredible guitar works with great energy on other tracks. As always, his guitar works absolutely entertain guitar fans. Comositions are well-laied out, and great melodies and phrasings are all over. So far, I put my favorite works of his have been still his first solo Guitarisma and his band format Section A, but Flying Solo is again his another great achievement to add special dimentions and fresh ideas. Recommended works for guitar kids and instrumental fans. Nice works!