I must admit, after Yngwie's last album, the piece of shit War to End All Wars, I wasn't going to run out and buy anything else from this guy. As far as I was concerned, his career and his music could take a hike. There's plenty of newer bands playing his style of music and most do a much better job of it. The War To End All Wars album is one of the most boring, poorly produced, and worse sounding albums I've ever heard (unless of course you count demo material, but this was a full finished product!!). I tried listening to it twice and both times I never got through the entire disc before yanking it out and putting something decent on. I've always been a huge Yngwie fan and have followed his career very closely throughout the years. Starting with the Alchemy album, I sensed he was loosing his touch for clever songwriting and arrangements. Quite simply, he was starting to bore me.

Earlier this year, it was announced that Dougie White (Rainbow, Cornerstone) was going to do the vocals and Derek Sherinian (ex-Dream Theater) was to provide keyboards for this album. This was welcomed news......perhaps things are looking up! Dougie White is slowly becoming one of may favorite vocalists and Derek Sherinian is an amazing keyboard wizard who's in high demand these days. So, the question is, can these two help Yngwie relive the glory days of the Rising Force era of the 80's? This anwer is both yes and no. The whole album has a very uptempo almost Power Metal approach with very speedy riffs and a flurry of double bass drumming in almost every track.

My main problem with Yngwie now is his rhythmic style (or lack of) and his approach to producing his albums. For most of the tracks, Yngwie plays very little rhythm guitar with the exception of a few tracks whereby he incorporates wild speed riffs into the rhythm structure of the song. He prefers to simply play single notes in the background, letting the drums, bass and keyboards carry the song. It seems like he's a cat just waiting for the right opportunity to pounce and whip off a series of endless 64th notes and ascending/descending speed scale runs. His songs are nothing more than venues to showcase his amazing ability. I don't know why he doesn't just make instrumental albums. No-one's going to argue that this man can play, the problem is, every song, especially the faster ones, have all the same style of leads. They really add nothing to the songs and are simply Yngwie showing off. What little rhythm guitar he plays simply sounds awful. He plays everything now using the front pick-up on his guitar. This is O.K. for leads but it gives a very thin and muddy Jimi Hendrix type of sound when it really needs a more muscular, heavier sound. There are a few good songs on this album and a few clever hooks that give a nod to the old school of the 80's glory days. Dougie White sings his heart out on this album and really saves the day so to speak with a few of the songs. Some of the better moments are the instrumental tracks (3 in total). This is where Yngwie shows that he is capable of playing very expressive leads with some emotion and feeling.

One major complaint is the length of this album. Fifteen songs and a total time of just under 70 minutes. There's a few filler tracks on this release which spoil it a bit and this album would flow better if they were left off. Fan's appreciate the extra long CDs these days, but sometimes more is not always better in the long run.

Overall, this album is a decent attempt to recapture the sound and feel of the classic Rising Force era. It's light years better than War To End All Wars. Yngwie fans should find some cool stuff on this album and it does signify a return to the Yngwie style that he does best. What he needs is for someone to come in to help him arrange and produce his albums. He needs a better overall sound to really make a great album again. Almost all the songs on this album have great potential and could be killer. Given the fact that this guy has an ego the size of the state of Florida (his home now), that is likely not going to happen. As long as he keeps insisting on writing and arranging all of the songs for his albums as well as producing them himself, all we can expect is the same old Yngwie album after album.