This one is for the electric guitar snobs, the air guitar virtuosos and the discriminate head-banger.

You probably thought that with the holidays upon us, I would offer an inspiring and calming selection. But I’ve got to get my house clean, and there’s nothing like a little metal to go with my steel wool.

The Steve Morse Band’s latest album, released this month, is “Out Standing In Their Field.” Clever title, don’t you think? If you’re not a metal/ hard rock fan, you probably don’t realize just how cerebral these musicians can be. Any Metallica fan can tell you what desultory means, along with pages of multisyllabic vocabulary. And it takes a band like Iron Maiden to put “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” to music.

Although Morse doesn’t clutter his music with lyrics, you get the idea that he’s not you’re ordinary bitter and dark head-banger by his track titles. He actually has a sense of ironic humor. When you put the titles and music together, Morse clearly expresses his thoughts on a topic.

“Brink of the Edge” starts with delicate, complicated riffs in the style of Joe Satriani before it plunges into a relentless force in the style of Kirk Hammett. For a complete change of pace and showcase of thoughtful musical composition, Morse throws in “Baroque ’N Dreams,” which makes you wonder what Bach would have sounded like with electricity. And just for fun, there’s “John Deere Letter,” which begs for a duet with Jerry Reed.

Every track on this CD offers something different, which sets itself apart from most metal albums. While I’m a fan of the genre in small doses, it tends to get a little monotonous, especially with 10 to 12 seven-minute songs. But Morse, born in 1954, has been around for decades and knows what he’s doing. He has continued to play lead guitar for Deep Purple since Ritchie Blackmore took off in the late ’90s and has played stints with Kansas and Rush. But venturing solo into jazz, bluegrass, fusion and classical like no ordinary rocker is nothing new for Morse.

As a music fan, I liked his 2005 instrumental solo album “Prime Cuts,” which was along the lines of Jeff Beck. But I like “Out Standing In Their Field” even more because Morse reinserts the heavy metal into his jazz/rock fusion.

When I listen to every song on a CD and don’t want to skip tracks, I know I’ve got a keeper. My favorite track is the last one, “Rising Power,” a live recording that has everything, including a ripping funk base line; it literally had me banging my head while I scrubbed my bathroom.

When guitar snobs debate what exactly makes a great rocker, some rate the sheer force of hard-core heavy metal that requires iron biceps as top criteria. Others factor in the speed of chord as well as note changes that require inhumanly adroit and disjointed fingers.

Morse wins both sides of that debate, which is a no-brainer considering he won Best Overall Guitarist from Guitar Player magazine five years in a row and had to be retired from the honor.

So check out Morse’s latest work and argue with your friends about why he’s way better than Eddie Van Halen. And, dude, forget Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Times list, which includes Joni Mitchell and Joan Jett for crying out loud but leaves out Dave Mustaine and Morse.

How can I get a toilet clean with a song like “Clouds”? Give me “Relentless Encroachment” any day.

Emily Tuttle spent several years traveling and writing as a daily news reporter in California and Arizona. Music is one of her top five passions. She lives in Minot and works as a free-lance writer and ESL teacher.