KIKO LOUREIRO – “Theory of mind” (2024)

Kiko may be recognized more widely by his recent eight-year position as the guitarist of MEGADETH, but for me his name is and always will be connected to ANGRA. Anyone familiar with his playing knows what his capabilities are, such as a very technical approach without sacrificing feeling at the slightest! Him releasing an all instrumental record is nothing new, as “Theory of mind” is his sixth solo album.

The case with instrumental only albums is always a little complicated, as vocals play a huge role in a song and their role is pivotal on whether you will like or not something. If you remove them, the music must do the heavy lifting and when we are talking about a whole album, the burden it must carry is very heavy. If I would bet on one guitarist to accomplish this feat though that would be Kiko, with “Theory of mind” validating this decision.

To set the stage a bit, Felipe Andreoli will cover bass duties once again. On something new, this time Bruno Valverde will sit behind the drumkit making this occasion feel almost like an ANGRA reunion. The two musicians mentioned are amazingly skilled transforming this record to a masterclass of instrument performance, it is not only the guitars that will shine.

As for the main course, let’s just say that Kiko manages to find the perfect balance. You want to hear something technical, because otherwise the result would be boring. Imagine if you just take your average song, strip it of vocals and just listen to the band playing. You could like it probably but more often than not your attention would wander elsewhere. Technical playing can lead to the trap of sounding rambling, so here comes the skill of generating emotions with your notes and knowing when to opt for a melodic lick instead of a speedy passage. That’s the balance I am talking about.

The songs justify their existence as instrumentals simply because vocals are unneeded and I can think of many examples like ‘Blindfonded’ to give one. Or what about ‘The barefoot queen’ with the very emotional leads? That’s what makes the album great, the guitars speak and they tell stories full of feelings. It is not something isolated in a track or two, but the whole record is like that, when you mark ‘Out of nothing’ as a favorite then comes ‘Raveled’ to take the scepter.

“Theory of mind” manages to sound refreshing in 2024 just by having a guitar as its protagonist, proving that when you mix unparalleled skill with emotional playing and self control, the result can be a ticket to lands mind cannot conceive! At this point Kiko Loureiro weaves feelings with each note and if you belong in the category of fans that can enjoy an instrumental album from time to time, look no further. If not, this proposition may not be for you, yet I also do not usually listen to such albums and this one won me from the start, so I would suggest a try anyway! When it comes to music in this category Kiko is at the top of his game, making hard if not impossible to find better alternatives.

94/100

Pavlos Pavlakis