James Murphy, why no love?

[buzzsaww]

Because he's made his living as sort of a hired gun? Because he plays Ibanez?
Disincarnate is pretty cool even though dated. Plus he's been on some great discs

[NextInLine]

I've been listening to Testament's The Gathering a lot lately. James Murphy is a great guitar player imo but not one of my favorites...

[buzzsaww]

Not my favorite either. He plays weird and doesn't seem to mind trying new stuff. That's what I like about him. He nevah gits any lovin' 'round heya so I brought him up,

[NunoSoWylde]

He gets no love because he's not Alex Skolnick!

[Norton]

He gets no love because he's not Alex Skolnick!

So,anyone who's not Alex Skolnick,won't get any love?

[Fragle]

he's awesome. not my nr1 player of all time (that would be jeff loomis ) but still, his playing is like yngwie, satch, vai, and all the other greats; instantly recognizable. his intense use of harmonies and jazz like phrases really make him stand out.

[Newc]

I thought he was that other guitarist from Styx? The one that looks like James Hetfield :ROTF:

[Kisonen]

James should do something new already. It seems that his main occupation is hanging out at Andy Sneap's studio.

[toejam]

James should do something new already. It seems that his main occupation is hanging out at Andy Sneap's studio.

He's working on new stuff. He was recovering from cancer, so that's why he's been out of commission for awhile.

[toejam]

Disincarnate is pretty cool even though dated.

Did he ever do a reunion/second Disincarnate disc? I loved the first one. I've also got his Feeding The Machine and Converge solo discs. Great stuff!

[Mario8672]

I've heard him on a Death album and I own Dreams of the Carrion Kind by Disincarnate. His harmonizing and playing style is amazing. One of my favourite guitarists!

[Guitardude86]

He is phenomenal. One of the few guys who manage to play both Death metal AND melodic!

[Top Jimmy B]

Murphy is one badass mutha. I love his style, tone and technique.

[Sanctuary]

I've heard him on a Death album

Spiritual Healing!

[ken]

I think James is one of the good guys, so after rereading this post, I think it deserves "rant" status!


James is one of my favorite guitarists. He has a totally distinctive sound and is real natural talent, IMO.

Not to mention he's a really decent dude. Shortly before the effects of his illness really kicked in, I sent him e-mail about getting the Disincarnate album (which is seriously underated) and he was good enough to exchange some e-mail about it, even though he didn't have a copy to sell at the time.

Anyone seen the DVD that came with the Japanese version of the Roadrunner AllStars? You've probably seen the Trivium clip on youtube. James improvised the lead for Joey Jordinson's "Annihiliation by the hands of god". Awesome stuff. It's clear he's listening to the music and his hands can keep up, playing what he hears.

He was recovering from cancer, so that's why he's been out of commission for awhile.

He's been pretty well recovered since late '05. He had a growth on his brain, but not a malignant one. The difficulty was that it grew to a huge size (wrapping around his optic nerve) and putting pressure on his brain. It caused his personality to change, he lost most of his sight, ended up with loads of driving convictions, caused him to fall out with Testament (which has since been patched up, once it was clear it was the illness's fault), lost the ownership of his studio, guitars etc.

When they found the growth, they had to go in and cut it out. They couldn't remove it all, due to its proximity to, well, bits of the brain we all need. They didn't think his sight would return properly, but it has. He's said that it's good enough for him to drive again. Well, it will be once he pays off all his fines!

Incidentally, he played at the RR United bash in NY in December '05. What a lineup.

After so many old metallers getting cancer/growths of one sort or another (Carcass, DRI, Testament, Death,...), I was hugely relieved James recovered. I can't wait for the next Disincarnate album. I think his backing is as good as his leads, which will make it cooler than, say, the work he did on Konkhra's "Weed out the week" (which also features Chris Kontos's sick drumming).



BTW I think the RR United DVD is almost better than the album. Watching Jeff Waters trying to nail a solo ten times (if he can't, we can't) is deadly. Or seeing Christian Olde Wolbers get off a plane, listen to Robb Flynn's songs, record the bass there and then, only to get straight back on a plane and go home. What pros! I'd offer copies, but (1) that'd be illegal and (2) I'd either go broke posting stuff to the states or my boss would notice the 4 gig ISO downloads!