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Daddo: The Other Side
Instrumental Guitar
Rating: 5.0/5.0

www.ddomusic.com
guitar9.com (Purchase)
www.myspace.com/daddo

Daddo (full name Damir Daddo Oreskovich) was born in the town of Bihac in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As a child he studied classical guitar and piano. In his youth he matured as a guitarist by listening to the likes of Gary Moore, Richie Blackmore, Yngwie Malmsteen, Paul Gilbert among others. When the war broke out in Bosnia, Daddo was determined to continue his musical aspirations. He practiced by candlelight in his basement learning even more. After high school, he entered the Music Academy at Sarajevo as a Music Theory major playing piano because they did not have a guitar department. In his second year, friends from Boston encouraged him to apply to the world-renowned Berklee College of Music and study electric guitar. Daddo was accepted receiving a scholarship in 1999.

While attending Berklee he studied under Joe Stump (Reign Of Terror, and solo work). Stump lauds Daddo, 'He's been my top student for quite awhile now and also one of the strongest rock/metal players I've worked with ...' Daddo graduated in 2004 with a degree in Guitar Performance. Daddo now lives in Chicago where he is also composer, recording engineer and producer. 'The Other Side' is Daddo's debut album.

To say that Daddo's 'The Other Side' nothing short of astonishing, may be supreme understatement. I liked everything I heard on this work. The album is rich with fine fret work, imaginative composition, and perfectly appointed references to Daddo's Balkan musical heritage. Daddo himself describes the music as 'metal meets progressive rock, symphonic, shred, and ... Balkan music.' And you get all this. The whole work is simply well-crafted and beautiful. And Daddo did all this in his living room using his personal computer.

You really need to hear this album to believe it. If there is one song on the album that accomplishes his purpose in style it's 'Emina.' This is an amazing and wondrous work based upon a traditional Bosnian tune and where traditional eastern European instruments are found. If you want shred, look no further than the title track 'The Other Side,' 'Red Line Express,' or 'The Temple.' Then there's the extraordinary 'Flash Art' where prog rock is definitely blended with some serious shredding. And do I hear a subtle jazz influence early on? Could be. Another phenomenal track is 'Parody Of Sound' which is light and breezy like good AOR. Daddo expert performance makes it soar.

Daddo's 'The Other Side' a magnificent accomplishment for this young and extremely talented guitarist. It was a pure joy to listen to. Daddo should be recognized for his creativity and passion as the music is dazzling. I would encourage you to visit his site where you can listen to the complete songs. Better, I encourage you to purchase the album at guitar9.com; click here to go there now. Strongly recommended!

In Short

'The Other Side' is the debut album from Daddo (his middle name), another supremely talented eastern European born guitarist (remember Emir Hot). Daddo's music blends shredding metal with progressive rock, all within symphonic and traditional ethnic music. From beginning to end the music amazes and pleases the ears. Great stuff!

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