Ronnie Neuhauser's Congregation Against Styrocultural Brain Damage is a concept album/rock opera that hails from the mind of composer/guitar virtuoso Ron Neuhauser. This disc is brilliant in every sense of the word. With C.A.S.B.D., Neuhauser manages to blend the best aspects of Rock, Funk, and Avant Garde with bits of Jazz and latin-flavored percussions to create quite the masterpiece. Oh yeah, and there's plenty of guitar as Neuhauser's leads resemble a blend of Allan Holdsworth, Frank Zappa, Gary Moore and Carlos Santana. Yes, he is that damn good! That being said, Ronnie has a very innovative guitar playing style and a very unique guitar sound. Neuhauser also wrote and produced the entire album.

This album is very theatrical; from the opening song "Congregation" and throughout, C.A.S.B.D. plays like a realistic, yet satyrical portrayal of the watered-down world we live in. Ron is a true artist, and C.A.S.B.D. is his lament of a lost society. Joining Ron in the creation of C.A.S.B.D. are a slew of artists and musicians that include four different lead vocalists, a horn section, spoken word, and straight acting — a testament to the versatility of this project. There's plenty of humor in C.A.S.B.D. as well — check out the reality-based "Lust in Oval Space" and "Commander N' Thief." But Neuhauser's brilliance takes over by the fourth act, which is an all-instrumental guitar-driven shredfest, pure bliss for fans of great guitar playing. "New Nomadic Man Suite (first movement)" is worth the price of the disc alone.

It's quite an experience to sit, listen and absorb Ronnie Neuhauser's Congregation Against Styrocultural Brain Damage in its entirety, and I recommend it to anybody who's reading this. Do yourselves a favor, head on over to Ronnie Neuhauser's website (an experience all in itself - it features Ronnie's own hilarious terminology glossary), order C.A.S.B.D. and get ready to be blown away!

Shred Pick - Commander N' Thief (4:37)

Reviewed by Henry Bocanegra