If Steve Vai joined the Foo Fighters to form an instrumental band, this is what it would sound like. An instrumental record with high energy and great songs.

7 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Instrumental Rock, ROCK: Hard Rock



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Andrew Roudny Biography

"Most instrumental bands just make a groove but they don't write songs," relates guitar
champion (the term virtuoso just doesn't cut it here) Andrew Roudny. "There are very few instrumental musicians who use the verse/chorus structure of songs and it shows. You may walk away impressed with their ability, but you don't really remember the music."

But you will remember Roudny's debut instrumental effort ZERO WORDS OR LESS. It's atypical because unlike its predecessors, ZERO WORDS OR LESS unites the worlds of straight-forward rock with the technical prowess found in the world of instrumental music.

How? One simple albeit often overlooked element: melody.

"The only guitar record I can get through from beginning to end is Steve Vai's Passion and Warfare. It has themes; it harkens back to the listener's familiarity with strong melodies. Melody is the whole purpose of a good song. Look at the Indiana Jones or Star Wars themes: they have no words but they're instantly recognizable and unforgettable. They are compelling pieces of music. With instrumental rock, the wankery has been done to death. It's fine if you can jam out, but why would someone want to hear a whole album of that? I play guitar and I can't even listen to that."

Spanning many genres from rock to classical; country to industrial and amalgamating them into one cohesive and truly unique style-often in the same song-Roudny has assembled some of Toronto's equally stunning talent to help him realize one particular goal. It has to sing without a singer, hence the title ZERO WORDS OR LESS. Andrew Roudny lets his guitar do the talking.

If this doesn't seem like such a weighty goal, think again. Few musicians have successfully maintained classic rock song structure and created a sense that their instrument is THE voice. Treating his custom-made guitars (Roudny is an accomplished luthier) as a separate entity, the majority of lead breaks and, well, melodies on ZERO WORDS OR LESS...sing!

"I look at it through the eyes of the audience; they want to walk away and be able to hum something they heard," relates Roudny. "You can't do that with most instrumental albums."

Considering the audience? What a strange concept. But it's the pinnacle of ZERO WORDS OR LESS, an album where Roudny applies the finest elements of diverse genres to create a truly hard rockin' brew. He encapsulates the infectious hooks of The Beach Boys, the gutsy drive of Andrew W.K., ABBA's inherent pop sensibilities and the flash and ability of guitar gods such as Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Yngwie Malmsteen. The result is ZERO WORDS OR LESS, an unforgettable union of musicality and songmanship.
"I hope people sense those themes; that familiarity with ZERO WORDS OR LESS," he adds humbly. "They'll be so engaged they won't realize there isn't a singer."


Busting onto the rock scene in the mid-'90s with stunning musicianship and classic songwriting, Andrew Roudny has carved a unique path thanks to his relentless drive and vigorous ability. His accomplishments include scoring the soundtrack for independent film Held Secular, placing Top Five in the internationally-televised North American Rock Guitar Competition as a featured performer and rocking Canada with original quintet Black Hour. He delivers his debut instrumental effort ZERO WORDS OR LESS, seven songs of musical mastery, mischief and mayhem.