Mattias Eklundh has few peers on the level he plays. But when you add his social conscious, bold mentality and sense of humor, there isn’t anyone remotely like him in the universe (as far as I can tell). He’s a true individual and pioneer of the guitar.

The Road Less Traveled is exactly that. This isn’t a shred album, though there is some shredding, it’s not a hard rock or metal album. It’s a creative exploration into the seemingly random musical sparkplug mind of Mattias Eklundh. One minute Eklundh is playing his funky version of Harold Faltermeyer’s FLETCH theme and then a few minutes later you are listening to a hyperactive imagining of Deep Purple’s "Smoke On The Water."

The album is made up of 23 tracks varying in length and musical style. All together it equals a musical adventure and a wacky good time.

Eklundh uses harmonics to take us down "The Road Less Traveled." The quick downward blur of notes in "There’s No Money in Jazz" reminded me of a bumblebee. Mattias plays along with his fiancée’s Epson Stylus printer in "Print This."

"Father" is a wonderful track where Mattias plays passionate acoustic-electric guitar in a way that is beautiful and something that I’d love to hear him do more of. It’s kind ambient soundtrack sounding tune that shines with love and devotion.

The fifth track is a wild little metal sounding experiment called "No Strings Attached." Only Mattias could come up with something as creatively bizarre and funny as "Caffeine." Mattias Eklundh loves the movie/book and soundtrack for FLETCH and uses his passion to make a funky rendition "Fletch Theme." Mattias fills the music space Harold Faltermeyer left open with his spastic guitar.

Mattias plays tug of war with insane frantic sounds and his guitar in "The Battle of Bob." Mattias puts his percussion skills to use by playing "Chopstick Boogie." Mattias bounces chopsticks off the strings of his guitar and then plays Frank Zappa/video game sounding middle of track. This approach melts into the next track "Toxic Donald."

Mattias sings a blissful little tune called "Happy Hour." You have never heard "Smoke on the Water" like Eklundh’s rendition.

""Insert Coin" reminded me of the tunes Buckethead has played representing the sounds of video games.

"The Woman in Seat 27A" is the most complete track on the album. Eklundh states that he wrote this nine and half minute song to the woman in Seat 27A on Flight MH16 from Kuala Lumpur to Amsterdam. This track displays Eklundh’s talent for capturing tender emotion and true atmosphere on guitar.

"Ketchup is a Vegetable" is spastic and silly. Eklundh says that he plays the riff for "Samba Caramba" on his lap while sitting down, which always seems to please the audience when his band Freak Kitchen performs live.

Eklundh throws metal riffing, screaming guitars into "White Trash Hyper Blues." Mattias plays more mouth drumming in "Toxic Mickey." Eklundh does his funky metallic jazz version of "Minor Swing," which includes horns and other instruments.