A lot of things have been said about Yngwie
Malmsteen over the years, such as – egotistical, difficult to
work with, and the ever popular “The guy is an asshole”. But,
one thing is for sure, no one is calling him a slouch when it comes to guitar
playing. The guy is an absolute master of his craft. His lightning symphonic
guitar leads have earned him the respect of 99.9% of guitarist worldwide.
When I heard that the great Tim “Ripper” Owens (Judas Priest,
Iced Earth, Beyond Fear) was doing lead vocals on this record, I thought
this gonna be interesting. Yngwie’s past vocalists have given him
a kind of pop metal feel to his records, but with Malmsteen’s soaring
guitar leads it gave it credibility. This time however, “Ripper”
has given this record a much needed power metal crunch. This is Malmsteen’s
heaviest record to date and I can’t help but wonder how much impact
Ripper’s presence had on the musical direction Yngwie has taken. This
is a “Power Metal” record with instrumental tracks, if you’re
a fan of “Symphony X” you’ll have some idea of what I’m
talking about. “Perpetual Flame” kicks off with a monstrous
track called “Death Dealer” and straight away you know that
this record is gonna kick some serious ass. Starting off with Malmsteen’s
lightning fast riff ‘a’ rolla guitar leads, “Rippers”
soaring vocals and Patrick Johansson’s double kick blur drumming and
now I’m in power metal heaven. Following tracks such as “Damnation
Game”, “Live to Fight”, “Four Horsemen”, “Be
Careful of What You Wish For” and “Eleventh Hour” all
have a similar feel.
Stand out tracks on this soon to be classic are “Red Devil”
with its phenomenal guitar groove and awesome vocal hook should make this
a great live standard. “Priest of the Unholy” starts off with
a trance like keyboard lick courtesy of Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater,
Planet X) and ends with Malmsteen’s Olympic gold guitar playing. “Magic
City” – Jesus Christ!!! This is my favorite track. Move over
Gary Moore, there’s a new blues-rock guitarist in town. I personally
think “Malmsteen” should be doing’ more of this style.
Tim “Ripper” Owens” - Dude…YOU ARE THE MAN!! Killer
vocals – I’m sure Judas Priest and Iced Earth are kicking themselves
to let a talent like you go.
For guitar the nerds, “Caprici di Diablo”, “Lament”
and “Heavy Heart” are the instrumental tracks that shine Yngwie’s
guitar talent through and through. The only down side to this record is
that I felt “Ripper Owens” vocal talent could have been used
more. The man is, in my opinion, the best metal/ hard rock vocalist of genre.
I know this is an “Yngwie Malmsteen” record, but I think it’s
a crime to let a vocal talent like “Ripper Owens” go to waste.
Death Dealer
Damnation Game
Live to Fight (Another Day)
Red Devil
Four Horsemen (Of The Apocalypse)
Priest of the Unholy
Be Careful What You Wish For
Caprici di Diablo
Lament
Magic City
Eleventh Hour
Heavy Heart
Rating: 80
Reviewed By: Cameron Edney
- http://www.myspace.com/insideout666ints |
