“More Than Meets The Eye” is the debut solo album released on Nightmare Records from Horizon guitarist/vocalist Patrick Hemer. The album primarily showcases Hemer’s neo-classical heavy metal guitar stylings while never crossing over to mindless wanking. Hemer has a pleasant tone to his vocal work as well.

“Up from the Ashes” is a straight up metal attack and brings to mind Deep Purple/Ritchie Blackmore to these ears. “Thorn in my Flesh” is a fast tune with a very tasty solo section. Hemer’s playing focuses on the song structures while still getting to show off his technical skill on the fretboard. This is apparent on the albums two instrumentals “Firelight” and “Terra Incognita”, the latter highlights Hemer’s blazing emotional playing. Other favorite tracks include “The Godfather” and a nifty cover of Queen’s ‘Death On Two Legs”. From a production standpoint, I was not a fan of the drum sound, it almost sounds like a drum machine on some songs. I was not familiar with Hemer’s prior work with Horizon, but after listening to “More Than Meets The Eye” I will have to give them a listen. Recommended for guitar enthusiasts and metal fans alike.

Rating: 7.5