Portnoy Sheehan MacAlpine Sherinian: Live in Tokyo

Throughout this November 2012 engagement at Zepp Tokyo, four seasoned musicians play the kind of super-charged instrumental rock more likely to appeal to aspiring players than casual fans, not least because their tour grew out of a series of music clinics. In terms of genres, the hyper-democratic quartet bridges the gap between progressive rock and heavy metal by drawing on influences ranging from Deep Purple (Derek Sherinian's dramatic keyboard playing) to Metallica (Tony MacAlpine's rapid-fire guitar leads). As drummer Mike Portnoy, who played with Sherinian in the prog-metal band Dream Theater, explains to an enthusiastic audience, their 12-song (plus solos) set combines work that the members recorded separately and together, such as "The Stranger" from MacAlpine's 1986 Edge of Insanity album, which also featured bass player Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big, David Lee Roth). Since the others prefer playing to speaking (and Sheehan's "Shy Boy" from his former band Talas is the only vocal selection), the outgoing Portnoy doubles as master of ceremonies. Aside from the originals, the players cover Jeff Beck's regal track "The Pump." From start to finish, the band moves quickly and works well together, but they eschew memorable motifs in favor of head-banging beats (and air guitar-worthy moves). The editing and camerawork acknowledges the members' secondary roles as music instructors with frequent close-ups on their fingers. Presented in DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo on DVD, and DTS-HD 5.1 and LPCM stereo on Blu-ray, extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette. A strong optional purchase. (K. Fennessy)