Point of No Return Review

Band	Hideaki Nakama
Album	Point of No Return
Type	Album (Studio full-length)
Released	March 31, 1989
Genres	Neoclassical Metal, Instrumental
Labels	BMG Japan
Length	42:09

Reviewer :  KnightInOctober         Rating :  80 / 100

Hideaki Nakama's initial inspiration to play the guitar came when he saw the Hard Rock group, KISS, perform live on television in 1977. Aside from them, he also had the opportunity to see Rainbow, UFO, Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy, Ted Nugent and Judas Priest. Hideaki then started copying "western albums". He managed to learn how to play the guitar all by himself, with his only teachers being the "excellent guitarists" he listened to at the time. His guitar idols were essentially the same as that of most guitarists who grew up during the 1970s. These included Michael Schenker (Scorpions, UFO, Michael Schenker Group), Uli-Jon Roth (also of Scorpions, as well as Electric Sun), Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple, Rainbow) and Gary Moore. Hideaki listened to these guitarists' music time and time again, in the process learning from their styles and techniques. He found it "impressive that each guitarist had beautiful melodies and aggressive guitar riffs", so that is what he set out to do himself. The Japanese guitarist first started his musical career sometime in the early-to-mid 1980s with a Hard Rock/Heavy Metal group by the name of Hurry Scuary. After he departed from that project, he went on to record his first solo album, Point Of No Return (released in 1989 through Air Records). This is a fabulous Neoclassical Metal album not too dissimilar to what American and European guitarists overseas were doing at the time.

Starting things off is "Inquisition", a dynamic Speed Metal instrumental with neoclassical touches. Simply an electrifying and a surefire way to get the momentum going for the album. Satoshi Miyawaki's piquant, galloping drums give it that extra punch. Hideaki Nakama's colorful guitar virtuosity sometimes also has a close resemblance to that of Yngwie J. Malmsteen's. It may very well be for this reason alone that some individuals will label him as just another "Yngwie clone". However, I don't think that is completely so. Hideaki does indeed sound as if he was influenced by the Swedish legend to some degree, but as previously mentioned, he was primarily influenced by much older guitarists such as Michael Schenker, Uli-Jon Roth and Ritchie Blackmore (who all also happen to be influences of Malmsteen, hence the similarities in both guitarists' style). While Point Of No Return is mostly an instrumental album, it does contain a few compositions which feature sung vocals. "In 2040, On The Beach" happens to be the first of two. The momentum accumulated by "Inquisition" becomes diminished here, as this track is much calmer. I also usually get a grey or blue feeling out of it (in other words, it's kind of a downer). Vocalist/bassist Norio Sakai reminds me of Don Dokken and then of Geoff Tate from Queensrÿche when he hits the higher-pitched notes. Not entirely sure what this song is about, but the lyrics seem to speak of futuristic, environmental degradation. Hideaki's intense yet melodic guitar shredding resumes once again on the mystical "Wings Of Destiny".

The most distinguishable song on this album is perhaps "El Giza". What specifically makes it different from the others are the Spanish and Arabic music influences present within. According to the Japanese shredder, "El Giza" was one of the styles that he really wanted to play on his solo effort. In his own words: "It's similar to the music played by Paco De Lucia, who is a master of Flamenco, and Al Di Meola, who is a fusion guitarist". Hideaki plays his guitar with much emotion and passion on the somber fifth track, "Requiem". One thing that I appreciate is when these types of guitarists remember to slow it down a bit every once in awhile and not just play in a rapid-fire manner all the time. We hear the voice of Norio once more on "Stranger To You", which is a throwback to the 1970s Hard Rock of Deep Purple and Rainbow. Here, Norio sounds like Bruce Dickinson at times, also singing with a slightly rougher vocal register. Indicative of its title, "Smiling Landscape" just has a sort of blissful essence to it. The mood captured on this instrumental is light and playful (a tranquil morning with the bright sun shining over a field of green pastures comes to mind). "A Short Piece For A Guitar And Strings" is a two-minute orchestral composition that is very serene and elegant. Basically, Hideaki plays Classical acoustic guitar as he is accompanied by twenty-two authentic string players. "Point Of No Return" finishes the album in a grandiose and progressive fashion, almost sounding as if it could be the theme to the final boss battle in some dark fantasy video game. By the way, I also really enjoy the atmospheric keyboards of Fumiaki Ogawa.

Hideaki Nakama's first (and unfortunately, also last) solo album, Point Of No Return is an obscure gem, one which deserves more acknowledgement and to be discovered by more music enthusiasts outside of Japan. There is a huge possibility that anyone who already enjoys the work of artists such as Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Tony MacAlpine, Marty Friedman, Jason Becker, Vinnie Moore and Joey Tafolla might also enjoy this recording from this talented, but overlooked Japanese guitarist.