There was a time when guitar wasn't king. But that time is gone forever, thanks to Rock 'N' Roll and bands like Fourth Estate. Fourth Estate has created a progressive, guitar-based music that fuses red hot riffs, deep, rumbling rhythms and exploratory compositions that challenge the ear and boil the blood. On their last release, See What I See, the music goes beyond the usual flash guitar work of most of their contemporaries and takes rock into another world - literally. Listen to "Kara Kum," a three-part electric suite, and find out where Western guitar sounds meet Bulgarian folk melodies and rhythms. "Crazy Ivan" is a heady musical journey across a broad, brawny soundscape that may as well be the endless expanse of the Russian steppes. Not to ignore influences at home, of course, "The Hammer Song" turns blues-rock adrenaline into a rollicking blast of guitar assault pandemonium. But Fourth Estate not only creates innovative music, they are also masters of innovative instruments. On See What I See, witness Beegle's expert use of the Transperformance Automatic Tuning Guitar, employing the futuristic Digital Tuning System that creates a whole new universe of tunings with just the touch of a finger. Other guitarists like Jimmy Page, Joe Perry and Pat Metheny also play this groundbreaking instrument, but none of them have turned it into an album full of music like this.

Of course, Fourth Estate, based in Colorado, has been making their genre-expanding rock for years. Formed in 1987, the band released their debut album, Finesse and Fury, in 1992 and quickly established themselves as leaders in progressive music. From the clarity and beauty of tracks like "Joy" and "Routier" (the first-ever recording featuring the Automatic Tuning Guitar) to the energizing, raw drive of "Mason Street Shuffle" and the two-fisted punch of "Juggernaut," Finesse and Fury was a worthy predecessor to See What I See. A trip to perform in Bulgaria in 1994 for the International Festival of the Arts provided new musical inspiration and when the group returned to the studio, these influences helped them create an exotic and powerful world of sound. Originally released in 1995, See What I See remains a benchmark recording in contemporary instrumental music and Fourth Estate continues to stretch the boundaries of Rock 'N' Roll - where the guitar is most certainly king!

Word on the street
"The band's second album, See What I See, is a tour de force of slick licks mated with an expansively creative vision. The resultis progressive rock that actually lives up to its name--equal parts rocking and progressive."
...GUITAR WORLD ONLINE

"This band is destined for greatness. I promise ya!"
...RIP MAGAZINE

"The band has enough talent to play rings around a dozen rock bands"
...THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS

"Fourth Estate is made up of excellent players, but more important, Beegle and the boys bring genuine feeling to a genre given to pomp and soulless technique"
...WESTWORD

"(See What I See) An intense guitar disc that merits many repeat listens"
...GUITAR SHOP

"The album's absolute killer, however, is the epic, three-part 'Kara Kum,' a gyrating, mutating, Arabic-metal, prog-rock showstopper"
...GUITAR WORLD