Toyz are an instrumental rock band from The Netherlands formed in the spring of 1996 by guitarist Peter van Heijningen. During the following sixteen years they were on and off, with changes in both band members and musical direction. Nowadays Toyz consist of Van Heijningen, Arjan van Gog (keyboards), Robert van Kooij (drums, percussion) and Jeroen van Boldrik (bass). The Infinite Road is a private release containing twelve instrumental (neo)-prog rock tracks strongly dominated by Van Heijningen's excellent guitar play. He's clearly influenced by the likes of Joe Satriani and I think he belongs to the finest guitar players in The Netherlands. Thus hats off! Unfortunately the mix of the album is rather unbalanced with too much focus on the guitar and the keyboards. The bass and the drums are working together beautifully laying down a good base, but they never get into the groove because they're mixed underneath. It's risky to release one hour of instrumental music. The question is: do they hold the listener's attention all the way? Well, not in my case. After half an hour or so, I wished for more adventure and more space between the many notes, solos and breaks. The Infinite Road is just like a high-speed train going on and on. If you like that, give this album a try, but personally I prefer more alternation in both moods and intensity. I rather wait for the night they play live in my hometown, since Toyz are a live band in the first place and I hope that The Infinite Road leads to more stage shows. That's where this kind of music belongs! *** Gert Bruins (edited by Peter Willemsen) Where to buy? |
