French guitarist Richard Pinhas is no stranger to groundbreaking musicianship. In the 1970s, he played guitar for the influential band Heldon before breaking away from the traditional format. The result has been thirty years of collaborations and solo efforts that push the envelope of what a guitar album can sound like. His most recent release, Metal/Crystal contains dizzying, swirling guitar melodies, but also hissing, hypnotic drone that threatens to overwhelm the listener with its weight. It’s alternately very dark and very freeing; the result of two years of tragedy for Pinhas.