At the beginning of 2022, John Scarlata – aka ScarlataMusic – released his ‘Skatepunk’ EP. By dispensing with all vocals, his work immediately improved, and even though the release’s three tracks were presented with a demo-like quality, his lead guitar work was stellar throughout. In the main, his thrash-based melodies called back to albums like Jason Becker’s ‘Perpetual Burn’ and Marty Friedman’s self-titled disc, creating something very nostalgic.
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SCARLATAMUSIC – Skatepunk EP
John Scarlata began his journey as a guitarist in the 90s as a young man who wanted to “jam along with his favourite metal songs”. His talents grew, and eventually he’d mastered the art of fretboard manipulation, but any musical success was slow in presenting itself. Eventually, he self-released a debut track, ‘Metal-Baby’, via Bandcamp, which showed him to be someone capable of wielding a really big musical tone. The track’s multi-layered guitar sound and influences from old thrash tracks were a classic metal fan’s dream. Unfortunately, Scarlata’s vocal did the recording no favours. At odds with some great riffs and shredding elements, he sounded like a man shouting on a mobile phone’s answering machine.