Label: Atomic Fire Records
Release date: May 27, 2022
Production: Michael Voss & Michael Schenker
Album length: 52:25 min
Genre: Hard Rock
Rating: 9.0/10
Michael Schenker needs no special introduction. In a single sentence: he’s a guitarist in the league of the chosen few matadors of the instrument, one who has inspired, and still inspires, legions of young guitar players all over the world. The man isn’t just a rock guitar legend, he’s a rock guitar icon. He belongs among the handful of true greats when it comes to wielding the six-string bible.
In recent years Michael Schenker has found a fresh surge of energy and inspiration. After the more than likable, catchy Michael Schenker Fest albums “Resurrection” (2018) and “Revelation” (2019, RockLine review), and the equally strong MSG predecessor “Immortal” (2020, RockLine review), the legendary guitarist is back after a relatively short interval with a new studio effort, “Universal”, which amply confirms just how inspired he is right now.
The opening stretch of the album alone — the opener Emergency, followed by the slightly more melodic Under Attack and A King Has Gone (the latter with Michael Kiske of Helloween on vocals, a special Schenker tribute to Richie Blackmore) — announces without any ifs or buts that another superb MSG album is on the way. An album that can proudly stand next to the brightest moments of the MSG career, which of course reach deep into the eighties.
On “Universal,” Schenker has once again assembled an incredibly diverse musical crew. He’s spread the lead vocals among several singers, as is his habit. Besides the aforementioned Kiske, there’s Gary Barden (MSG, on the album’s title track) and Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear, on the heaviest track on the album, Wrecking Ball), and once again the driving force is the Chilean vocal phenomenon Ronnie Romero (Rainbow, Vandenberg, Lords Of Black, Sunstorm, The Ferrymen, ex-Coreleoni), who has also been picked for the current MSG live lineup. These are names Schenker particularly trusts, and he openly admires their talents. Let’s start with the bassists: Bob Daisley (Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Uriah Heep), Barry Sparks (Yngwie Malmsteen, Dokken) and Barend Courbois (Blind Guardian, Zakk Wilde). Then there are the drumming ‘giants’, led by the iconic Simon Phillips (Toto, The Who,…), along with Brian Tichy (Whitesnake, Foreigner, Billy Idol, The Dead Daisies), Bobby Rondinelli (Rainbow, Blue Öyster Cult) and Bodo Schopf (Eloy). The special guest on keyboards this time is none other than Tony Carey (Rainbow). Beyond that, in recent years Schenker has been able to lean more than comfortably on the services of multi-instrumentalist Steve Mann (Lionheart), and they haven’t gone unnoticed this time either. Probably the most important link in the chain, especially when it comes to the corrections that are unavoidable given Schenker’s inexhaustible drive for perfection in melody, is the talent and experience of seasoned producer Michael Voss, and once again the chemistry between these two legends of the German rock scene works brilliantly.
Across the eleven ‘core’ tracks plus two bonus ones, Michael Schenker once again delivers the virtues that are expected and demanded of him. The blend of neo-classical and blues elements, together with the unique genius of this highly distinctive guitarist in the rock universe, stays unblemished and fully radiant. In that sense, Schenker in his mature years keeps going through a series of creative blooms. A renaissance. The guitar solos in those mid-eighties-style passages remain a chapter of their own. The magic is in them, the magic of a touch that only the one and only Schenker can create. And with it comes a strong character that leaves its mark on every one of the new compositions. The man, the myth, the legend. Part of the generation of rock pioneers.
The album sounds even sharper and more pointed than its predecessor “Immortal,” yet also more focused and tightly aimed. All in all, more compact and even more polished. The sound is lavish, vivid and skillfully filled out in the production. It speaks in an ‘old-school’, lively and organic way, and to a degree it brings back the seventies. The mix of Hammond and classically shaped guitar phrases in particular grabs you with nostalgia. Very MSG, with levers Schenker once ‘picked up’, way back when, from Rainbow. Of course, all of it comes with the unique guitar playing of Schenker’s genius, which stays sparkling and inspired on the new album, radiating wildness and charging in boldly as it hunts for perfect musicality in the shaping of each track. The dynamic, inspired “Universal” grabs the listener and holds on from start to finish. Bonus tracks included. Schenker sounds youthful on it, glows with an untamed fire, and makes it clear that the story of one of the greatest rock guitarists is nowhere near over.
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Tracklist:
1. Emergency
2. Under Attack
3. Calling Baal
4. A King Has Gone
5. The Universe
6. Long Long Road
7. Wrecking Ball
8. Yesterday Is Dead
9. London Calling
10. Sad Is The Song
11. Au Revoir
12. Turn Off The World*
13. Fighter*
*… bonus tracks
Lineup (2022 MSG live lineup):
Michael Schenker – lead guitar
Ronnie Romero – vocals
Bodo Schopf – drums
Steve Mann – keyboards, guitar
Barend Courbois – bass guitar
