When a virtuoso -  a god of their respective instrument - releases a solo album, there is bound to be someone involved who is overshadowed by the limelightee. As it relates to George Kollias' first solo effort, entitled Invictus, this happens to be good ol' George himself. Now, one should not feel sorry for Mr. Kollias, as this is a man of many extreme talents; a fact verified with this literal one-man band. George, armed with his usual wands of percussive destruction, also dual wields axes whilst summoning forth his most vile of vocal demons. Now, how can one overshadow one's self, you ask? In the case of Invictus, George has gathered his accumulated knowledge and skills from his years spent in Nightfall, Cerebrum, and Nile, and throws the whole lot of it into a giant metal cauldron. With the flames of eternal hell set to boil, George reaches for that final, crucial ingredient hiding in the back corner of his cobweb-infested cupboard - a pinch of Behemoth. George, in his overarching efforts to amalgamate his vast pool of knowledge, left out one key constituent - ingenuity. That looming, shadowy, oppressive figure of predictability can be found stalking every darkened corner of Invictus. We certainly can't argue the fact that George is an incredibly talented and versatile musician; but, beyond paying respect to the aforementioned bands, I'd kinda like to know what makes George tick. Surely, deep down, there is an innovator - a creative leviathan - just waiting to reinvent the worn and crooked wheel of extreme metal. To be fair, George, with his impressively brutal resume, has earned the right to do whatever the hell he wants.

When further examining Invictus, I actually have pangs of guilt when speaking any ill will of the album , as it is chock-fucking-full of catchy and brutalizing riffs that can go mano a mano with the wonders of both Nile and Behemoth - two of the genres most treasured and beloved bands. There are even some brief moments of boldness and individuality, such as can be found on the instrumental track "Apocalypse" - a progressive, keyboard-laden romp through uncharted territories. So, with this in mind, who the fuck am I to complain? Even so, sadly, the majority of Invictus feels, well, for lack of better word, formulaic. Remember that aforementioned shadow of predictability? Like an irate poltergeist, its overwhelming presence can be felt all throughout the track "Shall Rise, Shall Be Dead", a complete and utter homage to Apostasy era Behemoth (I can almost hear Nergal berating himself for not first coming up with the song's brutally catchy main riff!).

Again, there is nothing technically wrong with George's performance, as it all contributes to the music just as you might expect from an album of this ilk. My issue lies solely with the construct. With such a formidable pedigree, George, as expected, shreds and bludgeons from start to finish. But, when you consider his contemporaries, such as Dallas Toller-Wade and Karl Sanders (who both lend solos to the album), and their signature rumbling cadences, anything in comparison is, well, just a comparison. Had George taken what he had learned from sharing the stage with both Dallas and Karl through all those years and twisted and contorted--sliced and diced, we might be staring at a true reinvention of tired formulas. In the end, what we are left with is a slightly disappointing stop-gap between albums from Nile and Behemoth.