Talent. This is what separates the great from the mediocre. If you can do something better than the others, then you have a good chance of being remembered. Rock guitarists should know this better than anyone. To separate yourself from the pack, you need to have your own style as well as being able to play many different types of music. This is one of the biggest things that give guitarist Dennis Williams an edge over many of his contemporaries.

Dennis Williams is a guitarist that makes his home in Canada. The Ontario-area musician just released a new CD by the name of Relentless under his moniker of GTRMAN, and with the various styles of playing that Williams showcases on his new release, the moniker seems to be a good fit. At various points on the album, Williams can be found picking, shredding, or just plain playing his fingers off.

Of course, it’s not just about the playing style of the musician that makes Dennis Williams the “GTRMAN”.  It is also the fact that he has the ability to play many different genres of music, as well. With jazz, metal, rock, even country showing up on Relentless, the listener gets to experience many different sides to Williams.

Relentless begins with the album’s title track. A blend of several elements makes the song unusual and unique. Strong rock/metal base, diverse playing styles including jazz, rock and flamenco, and a very energetic feel to the piece combine to create the perfect track to lead off the album. Needless to say, “Relentless” is a very apropos title to the song.

The energy continues with the song “Airstrike”. You can almost envision yourself in the audience at an air show waiting for the jet planes to fly overhead. To calm the nerves a little, Williams offers “Love Song” next, with an almost classical feel to it. The track shows the control Williams has when he wants to show some emotion in his playing.
A sign of a real musician is the drive to always want to add something more to your abilities. For the song “Get Off the dang Roof,” Williams picked up the banjo and learned to play a certain song from the movie “Deliverance” as part of the track. A great surprise, and it adds yet another reason why this album is so strong.  Then we go from one of the strongest tracks on the album to one of the most unusual: “The Temple of Set” combines a rock base with a few ambient overtones to create an engaging song to bend the ear of the listener.

On “Lost”, Williams sets aside the guitar for the piano.  This song was the one composition that Williams created with the piano in mind, and with no one to play it for him, Williams sat down and learned to play the song himself (with surprisingly good results).

For the final track, Williams returns to his home base, the guitar, on “North Shore Samurai”. This strong track is a fitting end to an album that gives the listener many different perspectives on a musician who is much more than just a guitarist. Along with playing many different guitars for the album, Dennis Williams played the bass, the drum parts and every other musical sound on the release. Williams is a true “talent” in every meaning of the word.

Running the gamut from rock to metal, from country to classical, Relentless from Dennis “GTRMAN” Williams shows many different sides to the musician. A pleasure to listen to, Williams’ album of Relentless makes one wish for more. 

Review by Matheson Kamin
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Talent. This is what separates the great from the mediocre. If you can do something better than the others, then you have a good chance of being remembered. Rock guitarists should know this better than anyone. To separate yourself from the pack, you need to have your own style as well as being able to play many different types of music. This is one of the biggest things that give guitarist Dennis Williams an edge over many of his contemporaries.

Dennis Williams is a guitarist that makes his home up in Canada. The Ontario-area musician just released a new CD by the name of Relentless under his moniker of GTRMAN. And with the various styles of playing that Williams showcases on his new release, the moniker seems to be a good fit. At various points on the album, Williams can be found picking, shredding, or just plain playing his fingers off. 

And of course, it’s not just about the playing style of the musician that makes Dennis Williams the “GTRMAN”; it is also the fact that he has the ability to play many different genres of music, as well. With jazz, metal, rock, even country showing up on his album of Relentless, the listener gets to experience many different sides to Williams. 

Relentless from Dennis “GTRMAN” Williams begins with the album’s title track. The many different elements to the song make it very unusual and unique: The strong rock/metal base; the different playing styles, including jazz, rock and flamenco; and the very energetic feel to the piece all combine to create the perfect track to lead off the album. Needless to say, “Relentless” is a very apropos title to the song. 

The energetic feel to the album continues with the song “Airstrike”. You can almost envision yourself in the audience at an air show waiting for the jet planes to fly overhead. 

To calm the nerves a little, Williams includes “Love Song” as the album’s next track. The song has an almost classical feel to it. The track shows the control Williams has when he wants to show some emotion in his playing. 

A sign of a real musician is the drive to always want to add something more to your abilities. For the song “Get Off the dang Roof,” Dennis Williams picked up the banjo and learned to play a certain song from the movie “Deliverance” as part of the track. A great surprise, and it adds yet another reason to why the relentless album is so strong.   

From one of the strongest tracks on the album to one of the most unusual: The Temple of Set combines a rock base with a few ambient overtones to create possibly the track that might make the listener stop to listen. 

A true composer will draw from many different sources to create his or her music. The only track on the album that wasn’t composed by Williams is the classical composition of “La Donna E Mobile” from Giuseppe Verdi. This modern take on the song was originally arranged for an independent motion picture starring model Jenny Poussin. The song was included on the soundtrack. 

The only song on the release that does not find Dennis Williams playing the guitar is the track “Lost”. The song was the one composition that Williams created with the piano in mind. And with no one to play it for him, Williams sat down and learned to play the song himself….with surprisingly good results. 

To finish the album, the song “North Shore Samurai” finds Dennis Williams once again playing the guitar. The strong track is a fitting end to an album that gives the listener many different perspectives on a musician who is much more than just a guitarist. Along with playing many different guitars for the album, Dennis Williams played the bass, the drum parts and every other musical sound on the release. Williams is a true “talent” in every meaning of the word. 

Running the gamut from rock to metal, from country to classical, Relentless from Dennis “GTRMAN” Williams shows many different sides to the musician. A pleasure to listen to, Williams’ album of “Relentless” makes one wish for more. Maybe one day. 

To find Dennis “GTRMAN” Williams online, go to his website at www.gtrman.com. He can also be found on MySpace at www.myspace.com/gtrman.
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It's refreshing to hear music that breaks the parameters of the mainstream...way to go!
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WICKED CD! This guy  is outstanding on the guitar. Five Stars!
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