YNGWIE MALMSTEEN: Attack !! (HEAVY METAL): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

After the poor "War To End All Wars", Yngwie Malmsteen had to react. It's done with this "Attack!" which pushes even further the limits in terms of filthy and ridiculous record covers. The flying Swede will never change! And he proves it once again by hiring a new singer. It's indeed Doogie White who replaces Mark Boals. After Graham Bonnet and Joe Lynn Turner, Doogie White is no less than the third former Rainbow singer that Yngwie Malmsteen has worked with.

The singer does his job very well and adds depth to the compositions. He also knows how to vary the styles, which is an undeniable asset on this very dense album, more than 15 tracks for almost 70 minutes of music (excluding bonuses). And if, because of this length, we have to deplore a few slumps, the whole thing holds up quite well with tracks like 'Razor Eater' (inspired by a Clive Barker book), 'Iron Clad', 'Touch The Sky' and especially 'Ship Of Fools', which describes the problems Yngwie encountered during the 2000 tour, notably with Jorn Lande.

In general, the melodies are well crafted and the choruses, much less obvious than on 'War To End All Wars', are very effective. The three instrumentals are also very pleasant, especially 'Air'. The production is once again up to scratch, and gives the record some punch. In addition to the guitar, Yngwie Malmsteen recorded all the bass parts, wrote all the lyrics and music (although he drew inspiration from J.S. Bach for the instrumental 'Air') and even sang on 'Freedom Isn't Free', which he should not have done.

If it is certain that a reduction in the number of tracks could have turned this good album into a masterpiece of the Swede's discography, we can nevertheless note with relief that Yngwie Malmsteen has managed to straighten out the situation with this excellent "Attack! - Official website

YNGWIE MALMSTEEN

ATTACK !!

EPIC

HEAVY METAL