Freak Guitar – The Road Less Traveled cover

Freak Guitar – The Road Less Traveled

Mattias Eklundh · 2004

58 min · 23 tracks · progressive metal

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Elevation

Our rating, out of 100 — and why.

AI-generated from five scored dimensions. An opinion, not a measurement.

Instrumental
78 /100
Alpine
Higher than 87% of albums we've rated

Eklundh’s nimble, characterful guitar writing carries the record, while its parade of short pieces limits the sense of an album-wide arc.

What we noticed

  • The 23-track sequence moves through compact guitar pieces and sketches, with titles such as “Chopstick Boogie,” “Smoke on the Water,” and “Minor Swing” marking abrupt stylistic turns.
  • The guitar stays in the foreground as the lead voice; there is no vocal-led song structure to anchor the record.
  • The playful titles and brief pieces keep the pacing nimble, but the sequence favors successive demonstrations over a strongly developing arc.
Composition 25% of the score
7/10

the writing — melody, harmony, structure, lyrics

Craft 20% of the score
8/10

production, performance, arrangement

Durability 25% of the score
7/10

whether it rewards returning to it

Distinctiveness 18% of the score
8/10

whether it sounds like itself

Sequencing 12% of the score
6/10

running order, pacing, length

Influence 3/10

Known within its scene. Reported but not counted — how far a record travelled describes its reception rather than the record, and a newer release has had less time to travel than an older one.

Tracklist

Best experienced from track one — press play and let it unfold.

  • 1 The Road Less Traveled 2:48
  • 2 There's No Money in Jazz 2:00
  • 3 Print This! 2:09
  • 4 Father 3:34
  • 5 No Strings Attached 1:28
  • 6 Caffeine 2:11
  • 7 Fletch Theme 3:47
  • 8 The Battle of Bob 1:34
  • 9 Chopstick Boogie 2:45
  • 10 Toxic Donald 0:43
  • 11 Happy Hour 4:16
  • 12 Smoke on the Water 3:44
  • 13 Insert Coin 1:31
  • 14 The Woman in Seat 27A 9:25
  • 15 Ketchup Is a Vegetable 1:29
  • 16 Samba Caramba 2:25
  • 17 White Trash Hyper Blues 3:13
  • 18 Toxic Mickey 0:42
  • 19 Minor Swing 3:05
  • 20 One-String Improvisation 0:15
  • 21 Asteroid 3834 2:13
  • 22 Little Bastard 2:39
  • 23 Difficult Person Music 0:38

What to play next

Freak Guitar
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Freak Guitar

1999
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progressive metal

Reference: MusicBrainz · Wikidata