We may well be fondly looking back on this album in the future as the one that introduced a great talent.

Long Island native Chris Fury comes from a long line of guitar talents from that area, following in the footsteps of Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and John Petrucci, amongst others. Self-taught but with extra tuition from the amazing solo artist and sideman to the stars Greg Howe, Fury delivers thirteen varied instrumental numbers with skill and dexterity. He exhibits an acute understanding of the accessible composition skills that make the likes of Satriani and Eric Johnson so appealing.

Joined by bassist Ian Underwood, drummer Sebastian Persini and occasional keyboard player Jason Roddin, 'The Nexus' kicks things off with frantic shredding but thankfully settles into a gritty Blues Rock riff with some decidedly off-kilter soloing. Satriani-esque melodies and sounds abound can be found on 'Over Andover' and 'All Funked Up' does exactly what it says on the tin; like a track from Extreme's 'Pornograffitti' but without the vocals.

At the other end of the spectrum, the acoustic 'Byte The Bullet' features Jon Gomm-like syncopation and shades of Rik Emmett in the gentle mid-section. Other highlights include the beautiful ballad 'In Your Eyes', the riffy 'Autopilot Disengage', the acoustic-based 'Last Breath' and the Progressive light and shade epic 'Mystical Journey', where the only fault is the overdose of whammy bar à la Vai. In addition to his fledgling solo career, Fury writes for movies and TV which is where the atmospheric title track sounds like it comes from.

The off-the-wall 'Mogera', drum-heavy 'Lost Transmission' and 'A Fire Within' with its numerous riffs and time changes are all a little less palatable (nice bass showcase notwithstanding). There are also a few rough spots in the mix and a raw guitar sound mars 'Running Away' and brief sections of others, but the ideas are solid and 'From Darkness' ends up being an excellent achievement for a debut, self-financed album.

Available from certain online stores, www.chrisfury.com and iTunes, we may well be fondly looking back on this album in the future as the one that introduced a great talent.

Phil Ashcroft