YNGWIE MALMSTEEN - Relentless
December 14, 2010, 14 years ago
(Rising Force)
15-track (including bonus), half-instrumental, half vocal outing from the Swedish guitar wizard. While Tim “Ripper” Owens reprises his role as lead singer on a half dozen songs, they alternate with the voiceless classically tinged cuts. Some are old standards, others, Malmsteen creations and not just blazing finger exercises (strings buoyed ‘Cross To Bear’). After the short, orchestral strings accompanied ‘Overture’ kicks things off, Owens blasts out ‘Critical Mass’, with its lyric “Can you see the future, you and me? California will fall into the sea!” The production is noticeably electronic cut & paste, piecing together old Owens takes from the Perpetual Flames sessions with new Malmsteen input. The guitarist takes a nasally turn at vocals on ‘Look At You Now’, but ‘Shot Across The Bow’ and ‘Into Valhalla’ are old school, fleet fingered Yngwie neo-classical workouts, the latter’s only vocals being chants of ‘ah, ah”. Speaking of such, a choir of monks bookends the Ripper sung, Middle Eastern flavored ‘Enemy Within’. Harpsichord and a big pipe organ sound join the vocalist on the Baroque rocker ‘Tide Of Desire’. ‘Axe To Grind’ is a heavier number, the Swede nimbly running beneath legitimate metal melodies. All out speedster, try ‘Blinded’, similar to ‘Red Devil’ Owens’ contribution on Perpetual Flame. The disc never drags and overall, there’s less emotive, whiny wanking, just up tempo fun.
