Keith Miller

Keith Miller – Over The Abyss

Proving his talent further, this ten track album came out in early 2008.
Once again Keith Miller is handling all the musical parts personally.
The melodic ‘Over The Abyss’ kicks everything off and has a strong Joe
Satriani feels, a’la ‘Flying In a Blue Dream’. The playing is spot on and
the production is clear and crisp. ‘Crimson River’ is next and is another
good track, a driving ditty with neo-classical playing, again going for that
Satch feel, it is good number with strong dreamy playing that swirls around
your head. Keith is not a flash player, he has a sense of style that makes
him stand out from a lot of the guitar guys who just shred it out. ‘The Key’
is a stunning number, very neo-classical in style and makes me think of
early Tony MaCalpine and Joey Taffola, there is a lot of feeling and it
grows into a very catchy instrumental. ‘Hook The Flesh’ has a heavier,
grittier vibe and again shows a lot of Satriani influences, this track could
have been on ‘Crystal Planet’, good vibe and playing. ‘Crusher’ is catchy
and vibrant and one of my fave tracks. I love the way this song builds, the
guitar work is fantastic and well thought out and very catchy, the amps must
have been on fire. ‘Playing With Fire’ is darker and heavier, again
neo-classical in style but with a heavy crunch, this one makes me think of
David Chastain. ‘Crunch King’ is another melodic masterpiece, I love it,
superb playing, again it’s got a Satch vibe to it and is superb, the whole
track lulls you in and you end up playing it a few times, really dig this
track. ‘Dragging The Dear’ is up next, a moshier heavier track with solid
chunky heavy melodic riffs, this is another track that really gets going and
has a good buzz. ‘Tears Of Pain’ is soother melodic ballad in style,
gorgeous playing with tons of feelings. ‘Assent’ ends the CD in a glitz of
Satch styles proving that Keith Miller has the chops.

The one thing I’ll say, is whilst the Satriani influences are clearly
evident, the one thing Keith does not do is direct copies, he has his own
style and it comes across throughout the album which is hugely enjoyable.
Keith is an artist to keep your eye on, with Rebellious Child and this solo
album he clearly knows what he is about and we get the best of both worlds,
both CD’s have crisp slick production sounds so you’re not gonna get just
any old rubbish. I’m amazed that he has not been picked up by any of the
labels, it’s a lot better than some of the stuff some of these labels are
spewing out. I’m excited to hear what Mr. Miller comes up with next.
for more info visit… www.KM-GuitarSlinger.com

Nicky Baldrian – Fireworks Magazine 2012

- Nicky Baldrian – Fireworks Magazine 2012

Wednesday, March 18, 2009 CD Review: Keith Miller - Over The Abyss Artist: Keith Miller Title: Over The Abyss Release Year: 2008 If you like Guitar shredders then you'll no doubt want to check out Keith Miller who plays with the fire and intensity of Steve Vai and Marty Friedman....and yet at the same time this guy plays with a passion and style all his own....After listening to Keith Miller's 2007 release Over The Abyss I was very impressed with what a gifted Guiatrist Keith Miller really is...While Over The Abyss is a great Shred album what I really enjoyed about this 10 track CD is that no two songs sound just a like.....Each song sounds different than the one that proceeded it and each song was played with a different feeling and emotion in mind.......Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Over The Abyss and not only will you remember the hey day of all the great Guitar Heros of the 80's but you'll discover for yourself should be crowned one of today's great Guitar Shred King Gods but that he plays with 100% of his heart and soul......and with song titles as unique and original as "Crimson River" and "Crunch King" you know you're in for a real treat.

Jason Houston - Rock Zone (Mar 18, 2009)
- Jason Houston - Rock Zone (Mar 18, 2009)

Hot on the heels of his last releases, Groove Train and CHALK, the 10-track 2008 Over the Abyss pins you to the wall with another dazzling display of hard rock guitar instrumentals. Miller continues to burn. -20th Century Guitar
Robert Silverstein - 20th Century Guitar
- Robert Silverstein - 20th Century Guitar

Minnesota-based guitarist Keith Miller is receiving lots of well earned praise for his two recently released self-produced CDs. Comparisons to Joe Satriani, Metallica and the Galactic Cowboys aside, with the release of Groove Train (2003) and Chalk (2004) Miller is staking out some rare musical territory all his own. A virtual steamroller of hard-rock guitar instrumental guitar sounds, Miller wrote, recorded and mixed all the sounds on both CDs, while demonstrating impressive guitar skills as well as his expertise in the studio. Among the guitars Miller features on the CDs are a variety of Carvin and Switch models and a Cordoba classical. Both CDs fall right into the hard rock instrumental realm and Miller comes through with some dazzling guitar tones and techniques to further assure his rising guitar stature.
- Robert Silverstein

From the cold plains of Minnesota, the possibility of an immediate thaw is
imminent once any of these discs are played. The molten strings that lay on the
glacial frontier are owned by this axesmith, Keith Miller. One of those
unheard ofs, Keith Miller, like many guitarists, started at an early age and was
self-taught before placing themself in a school for more advanced knowledge of
the craft. Keith did that before entering Musictech College in Minneapolis to
hone his skills even more. He also has the similairity of playing in
childhood/teenage year bands and had some success with a band called Plex'd which he
still is part of today.

"Groove Train", the 2003 debut has a nice heavy flavor to it with licks from
the blackest depths of hell without relying on the monotonous finger-diarrhea
that many of these guitarists do on their very first album like they have to
prove something. Fans of "Satch", Gary Hoey, SRV and Torben Enevoldsen will
definately understand the wizardry of Keith Miller. He may not be a huge name but
he's not a clone either;just has influences like everyone else. Recommended
songs off this CD (despite I would say all of them!!) woud be: "Groove Train",
"Thump-N-Groove", "King", "Grab It" and "Engine #9". 9 tracks and a bit over
38 minutes.

"Chalk" is the brand-new release and it's pretty much the same thing here if
you like your instrumenal stuff a bit more progressive and edgier. There's one
vocal song on here called "Crazy" and it's pretty good and is somewhat along
the lines of what Kotzen does nowadays. The heaviest song off either album is
on this one by the name of "Inner Turbulance" which is very uptempo and then
you get tracks like "Chalk", "Saphire Pools" (sapphire dude! and turbulence;
sorry I'm anal about spelling!!), "Grid Lock" and "Clock Talk" with the heavy
progressive delivery; plus it helps with tonality to have a 7-stringer!!! "Flip
The Switch" was interesting as the main riff took me back to the 80's when
riffing was studied and was a thing of one-upmanship by many bands. "Rubber Room"
has some neat effects in it while "Noodlin'" is just what it is and is a
one-take track of just messin' around in rehearsal. Two albums and not a bad song
off either one of them...now that's impressive!! So do yourself a favor and
check this guy out, you won't be disappointed.


- Wayne Klinger

Chalk is the melodically shredded metal and rock CD from Keith Miller, which
follows on the path laid out by his previous CD, "Groove Train". The nimble
fingered guitarist seldom indulges to excess, but manages to offer plenty of
thrills and chills on the ten instrumental cuts (plus one vocal track). Miller is
a graduate from Musictech College of Music in Minneapolis, and is a member of
PLEX’D a band that has received rave reviews in national magazines, as well
as some label interest. If you enjoy chops-happy excursions, turn-n-burn
fretting, fast electric guitar lines and slamming rhythms and smoldering riffs, look
no further than Chalk - a gem of raw power. Instrumental Guitar (Electric
(Heavy)/Heavy Metal/Hard Rock), total running time, 40:31


- Dan McAvinchey

Underground guitar-great Keith Miller recently released his second instrumental solo record Chalk. Much like it's predecessor Groove Train (2003), and his previous band Plex'd, Keith Miller continues with his trademark style intricate guitar-blazing groove-metal with Chalk. Combining several classic metal guitar influences from Michael Schenker to Marty Friedman (with a sound somewhat similar to Marty's early solo work on Dragon's Kiss) Keith Miller jams very tasteful guitar licks atop intricate King's X meets Metallica-type grooves. Keith has a great sense for timing and rhythm and knows not to over-indulge giving the music a chance to breathe before laying down his next soulful guitar lick. Songs such as the title track, "Grid Lock," "Inner Turbulence," and "Rubber Room" prove that Keith Miller has what it takes to contend with today's guitar greats.
© Bob Nalbandian / Shock Waves Magazine


- Bob Nalbandian