Shawn Gould on Yngwie Malmsteens latest release

[KiwiCoromandel]

I have to say that I jumped off the Yngwie bandwagon quite a few years ago. As the metal scene has continued to evolve and multiply in both style and substance Mr. Malmsteen has seemingly stood on the sidelines and waved at the passersby, all the while dreaming up his next shredfest that was going to sound exactly like every album he has made since 1990. I haven't found a single one of them even remotely interesting since 1988's Odyssey. Sit back and listen to cures for insomnia like Fire and Ice, Never Die or Alchemy and you see why so many critics say Yngwie couldn't write a good song to save his life. Don't let that criticism lead you to believe that people are knocking his playing abilities, because without a doubt the man still has his chops. I was happy to see him finally loosen up enough to join the G3 tour last year, can you imagine him doing that a decade ago, he would have been insulted by the invitation.

I have been seeing statements for a couple of months saying that this album was going to surprise people, was going to go in a different direction than recent albums, was going to lighten up and rock more. Declarations like these naturally make me really skeptical; they usually signal more of the same. It is like when a fighter says the champ has never seen an opponent like him, and then spends 8 rounds running around screaming like a girl, which of course only prolongs the inevitable. Unleash the Fury does go in a different direction, the direction is backwards though. Instead of stepping to the plate and meeting the challenge of young bands like DREAM EVIL, FIREWIND, SYMPHORCE, and BRAINSTORM Malmsteen has decided to revisit his glory days. This album could squeeze right in between Marching Out and Trilogy, his two greatest efforts. In fact since it is 18 tracks long it probably obliterates those two albums time wise. The songs here don't necessarily lighten up per se, unless you count the almost bouncy (for Yngwie that is) "Bogeyman". Instead you will hear a lot of his trademark neo-classical riffs on solid tunes like "Locked and Loaded" "Revolution" "Crown of Thorns" and "Let the Good Times Roll". There is also a very good ballad called "Cherokee", which might be his best since "Dreaming (Tell Me)" from Odyssey. Doogie White sounds good, and like every other singer Malmsteen has ever employed. Is there some kind of assembly line that churns these guys out? Then again it has never been about the singers has it, they are just necessary evils, if he could program a machine to do it like he does with his drum tracks he probably would.

As for Malmsteen himself, I give him higher than normal marks for song writing this time around. In an age where I am always bitching about bands that make album less than 40 minutes, it almost seems like hypocrisy to complain about an album being too long. What the hell, I am going to do it anyways though. (You knew I would huh?) Unleash the Fury just drags along in the same Dungeons and Dragons mode from song to song for too damn long. Cut out some of the filler tunes and get this sucker down to a solid 12 to 13 tracks with the 3 instrumentals included and you are talking about an album that might be considered one of the mans two or three best efforts. His playing is still awe inspiring, but more so because the songs are better and make you pay attention. In the past I was always a bigger fan of guitarists like Adrian Vandenberg and Vito Bratta because their talents were part and parcel with the songs they played. Malmsteen albums always struck me as a showcase for his playing first, songs coming second, and not a close second at that.

RATING - 7/10 - This really is the best album Yngwie has given us in a very long time, but it still has some flaws. Even with that it still skirts very close to getting an 8 out of me. It saddens me to hear another album that shows that this guy just refuses to embrace the future and continues to rely on the same old parlor tricks. Maybe next time he won't promise us big changes and just deliver them. Until then a return to his best days will have to suffice.

Yngwie Malmsteen

UNLEASH THE FURY

Universal

Source:pitriff.com