To be honest, I didn’t go into this review with any high hopes or expectations at all. Fact is, I don’t think Yngwie has released a killer album since 1999 when Alchemy was released. Sure, there has been some decent ones, like Attack (2002) but the last five albums or so has been downright bad – and the last couple of albums are more or less unlistenable. But just like when it comes to a band like Bon Jovi who haven’t released anything worthwhile in 20 something years, I am (was) a huge fan and I still think almost every album between 1984 – 1999 is bloody fantastic, which in turn makes Yngwie’s downfall hurt even more.
The guy has been on repeat for years and years, the albums suffers from poor production and the fact that he has decided to ditch the idea of having a lead singer and sing himself doesn’t help either. But being the stubborn fanboy that I am, I refuse to give up on my heroes and I will give every new effort at least a couple of shots, naively hoping that things will turn around. To say that I dived in to this record with an open mind would be to lie but I did jump into the fire here hoping so much it hurts that yes, this time Yngwie’s back with a vengeance.
Unfortunately the fast and heavy opener and leading single “Wolves At The Door” didn’t do much to make my wishes come true. It’s hard, ferocious and driving with a riff borrowed from his own “I’ll See the Light Tonight” with every trademark Yngwie guitar trick and melody in the book. On the positive side, the song doesn’t suck and Yngwie’s voice sounds better than on the last records. It also holds a decent hook and the song turns out pretty ok. It has potential and with better production and arrangements it could have been really good.
“Presto Vivace In C# Minor” is, as the title suggests, an instrumental. It’s a classical-music inspired, mid-paced number, typical Yngwie-style where both structure and arrangements reminds me of his debut solo album. The tune holds some gorgeous guitar-lines even though it’s arpeggio overkill at times. The song is actually not bad at all but that said I have heard this tune from Yngwie a million times (well…) before and the truth is it gets a bit dull after a while. With a title like “Relentless Fury”, I though I’d be in for an express-train ride a million miles an hour but the song comes in mid pace, it’s very melodic yet dark and the chorus is quite hooky yet heavy. It actually reminds me of his Trilogy (1986) days. I quite like this one.
“(Si Vis Pacem) Parabellum” is a real belter, blasting fast and loud with Yngwie going instrumental Metal at full speed. The (programmed) drums goes berserk and so does the guitars. The song goes by in a flash and it’s over before anything sticks. He plays well but there’s no real structure to the piece and no memorability at all. “Eternal Bliss” is a big power-ballad with both feet in Yngwie’s 90’s and I’m thinking The Seventh Sign (1997) here. It’s soulful, emotional and deep but with a melodic slickness and a majestic refrain that holds some hit-potential. Again, with a big and really good production this could have been really damn good. A brilliant singer would have lifted the song even further even though Yngwie’s not half-bad singing it himself.
With “Toccata” Yngwie once again takes an instrumental into fast, raging and furious Heavy Metal with high-speed guitar-playing, flashy scales and manic drumming going bananas on us. It’s a typical latter-day Yngwie sounding tune without any catchy melodies or memorable moments at all. It’s just fast. Forgettable and a skipper. Another instrumental, “God Particle” starts with a gorgeous acoustic guitar intro, stripped with a nice melody to it. It takes a slow pace, it’s darker and heavier with a prominent melody. His playing is more nuanced and shines with some glistening melody arrangements where he looks back to his 80’s. It’s a good enough tune but I’d have liked it more with vocals.
Another instrumental come in the shape of “Magic Bullet” which is more Yngwie on repeat going off the rails in break-neck speed with notes flying around. It’s a thirteen-a-dozen Yngwie-metal frenzy that really goes nowhere whereas “(Fight) The Good Fight” is more or less “Anguish And Fear” recycled with a new chorus. Completely pointless. The album closes with “Sea Of Tranquility”, a slow and slightly symphonic tune with a rhythm we’ve heard from Yngwie on every record he’s done. It’s a seven minute instrumental with Yngwie soloing over everything. His playing might be stellar but the song becomes way too samey with too little variation. There’s a hint of going out with a bang but it really ends going nowhere. I don’t hate it but he’s done so many better instrumentals than this.
This is not a good album. For many reasons. Even on the tracks I do like, Yngwie is on repeat but that being said, tracks doesn’t hold up. Then there’s the production – it’s horrendous. With programmed drums looped over and over song by song and an overall sound that makes the album sound more like a rushed demo than a finished product, the album is hard to listen to only for that reason. On the positive side, the album isn’t as bad as his last few releases and his singing voice has improved. Too bad his voice is drenched in reverb and other effects, then. But what makes me most irritated is that there are stuff in here that shows that Yngwie still has good music in him but chooses to throw everything away like this. I mean I’m all for people who stand up for themselves and doesn’t give a rat what people think but that’s no excuse for releasing poor sounding records. Maybe next time…
3/10
More Yngwie Malmsteen reviews:
Spellbound
World On Fire
Blue Lightning
Tracklist.
1. Wolves At The Door
2. Presto Vivace In C# Minor
3. Relentless Fury
4. (Si Vis Pacem) Parabellum
5. Eternal Bliss
6. Toccata
7. God Particle
8. Magic Bullet
9. (Fight) The Good Fight
10. Sea Of Tranquility
CD & Festival reviews 