Band:	Chris Caffery
Album:	Faces
Style:	Progressive power metal
Release date:	September 2004

01. Alas
02. Faces
03. Fade Into The X
04. Passes Me Off
05. Remember
06. The Fall
07. Music Man
08. Life, Crazy Life!!!
09. The Mold
10. Bag O'Bones
11. Evil Is As Evil Does
12. Never
13. So Far Today
14. Jealousy
15. Preludio
16. Abandoned

Mister Chris Caffery - guitarist mostly known as a member of US-based Heavy Progressive combo Savatage, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and more recently Metallium and Circle II Circle - finally released his first solo album with "Faces" through Greek label Black Lotus Records. With the help of fellow Savatage-member, Jeff Plate, on drums, Dave Z on bass guitar and Paul Morris on keys, Chris took the matter seriously by performing all guitars and vocals.

This album showcases the different faces of the author/musician, hence the title, ranging from passion to anger. With diverse type of songs and lots of them, Chris really expressed himself in depth through multiple topics. The album ranges from Hard Rock to Heavy/Thrash Metal and there is something for everyone.

As a first effort to be lead singer, Caffery proved to be a hell of a singer, he's really performing with force. But his most important contribution is of course as a guitar player, with aggressive riffs and psychotic solos. A perfect example of this is the title track with top-notch guitar work and powerful vocals. The pattern is recurrent with 'Fade Into The X', 'The Fall' and 'The Mold', which are also my favorite tracks. Another musician comes to mind at that point, the insane guitar guru/artist from Canada, Devin Townsend. Even though Chris' songs definitely sound more like real songs than psychotic acts.

Other great pluses of "Faces" are the ballad called 'Never', with its terrific intro, the somewhat groovy 'Bag o'Bones' with one of the coolest rhythm ever and 'Evil As Evil Does', which sounds more old-school Thrash a la Megadeth and features the catchiest chorus on the whole album.

On the other hand, some tracks didn't resonate as much such as 'Pisses Me Off', which is genuinely aggressive but despite the good idea, it's in the end too binary. 'Music Man' and 'Remember' aren't my cup of tea either, and while they are probably great compositions, they doesn't have the rage that proves to be the main force behind "Faces". The closing track, 'Abandoned', would be one of the best tracks if it wasn't for that annoying bridge with entangled voices towards the end of the song.

From the obvious power songs, 'Faces', 'Fade Into The X', 'The Fall' and 'The Mold', to more quiet pieces such as 'Music Man' and 'Never', this album offers tons of cool material. Also, be sure to get the limited edition as it includes a bonus CD, "God Damn War", which is worth another full-length album and whose topic is obviously the so-called war, truly the US invasion of Iraq.

"Faces" is an observation of today's world by a talented musician and while the future of Savatage is still unclear, Chris Caffery stands out as a more than reliable songwriter. Let's hope that Savatage will count more on his skills in the near future because he surely proved himself with this album. But for now, enjoy this diversified record and praise the musician.