Yngwie Malmsteen is a shred guitar legend. Being originally from Sweden, he emigrated to the USA to begin his musical career when younger. After playing in various bands, he began a successful solo career with albums that prior to this album were released, namely Rising Force (1984) and Marching Out (1985). It should be noted that Yngwie Malmsteen also has a Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster model, which was one of the first artist-based releases ever to be made by Fender themselves that is still sold today. That says a lot. This album received mostly positive reviews upon release, although it is not seen as good as his debut. Despite all this, let’s take a listen to this album and we shall hear where it takes us.

You Don’t Remember, I’ll Never Forget begins with a mash-up of guitars and 1980s-styled keyboards, launching into a glorious-sounding tune throughout. So far, so good. Mark Boals sings in a legendary Ronnie James Dio styled way, and Yngwie Malmsteen plays like a real Guitar God. A fantastic listening experience from the go, these guys are on fire musically. Although this music may sound quite dated by today’s standards, it does sound very interesting and refreshing to listen to. The drumming throughout by Anders Johansson is really fantastic as well. All in all, a really great song and something quite interesting and timeless to listen to. The second half of this tune has some melancholy and powerful-sounding guitar solos by Yngwie Malmsteen, which are multitracked and sound fantastic. A really great piece of music with some notable shredding on guitar, this is one of Yngwie Malmsteen’s better songs. The song title is chanted towards the end with some awesome guitar leads to follow. A great listen that sounds very bitter emotionally. A solid gold tune, it fades out at the end. Cool.

Liar begins with dual-tracked guitars and some furious drumming. It sounds fantastic from the go. Vocals enter which sound really fantastic and match Yngwie Malmsteen’s awesome guitar playing. All in all, this is another excellent listening experience. There is no doubt or question that early work by Yngwie Malmsteen was guitar virtuoso heaven. Indeed, Yngwie himself gives the likes of both Eddie Van Halen and Kirk Hammett a run for their money. Serious competition is present in this respect. In the midsection is some awesome dual-tracked guitar leads that sound mind-blowingly fantastic, followed by a blistering guitar solo to listen to. Yngwie Malmsteen points out his shredding and chops as a world-class player of guitar. Another very good listening experience that is musically magical. The section towards the end is very catchy vocally, as the singing sounds very Deep Purple-ish. The outro sounds insane, with a crashing set of drums, guitars and vocals. Cool.

Queen In Love begins with some excellent guitar and synth work, launching into a song with some medieval overtones musically. Again, this is a very good and fresh listening experience that sounds magical and wonderful musically. Yngwie Malmsteen and friends play a wonderful tune and the whole thing is a blazing piece of glory. No doubt that many fans of Metal at the time were paying close attention to what Yngwie Malmsteen was doing. Near the midsection is a tremendously amazing guitar solo that sounds perfect for this song, wailing away in a good sense. The shredding on this piece is insanely good. Nonetheless, a really great and inspired tune to hear and enjoy. The music throughout is very wonderful, powerful and glorious to listen to. Yngwie Malmsteen and friends do Metal shred great justice. It fades out with some thunderous drumming at the end. Mint.

Crying begins with some weird mixture of chiming instrumentation and Spanish acoustic guitar, which sounds very odd, to be frank. This is a five-minute-long instrumental by Yngwie Malmsteen and his band. It sounds very clean, pristine and unorthodox for such a tune on this album. In any case, this is a case of a good tune but not a great tune. The music isn’t as amazing as one could hope for compared to earlier releases by Yngwie Malmsteen. Still, it is listenable and proves that Yngwie Malmsteen himself had a few tricks up his sleeve to change the way music is listened to. All in all, a really cool and interesting listen. The second half has guitar soloing that is much more prominent than you’d expect, and Yngwie Malmsteen proves to be a worthy Guitar God. A great and magical listening experience that sounds cool. This instrumental likely could have been edited down for length’s sake, but it is still a very nice listening experience from start to finish. Towards the end, this piece gradually fades out the different elements, before finishing. Decent.

Fury begins with a fade-in with some chaotic drumming and guitars to follow. This tune quickly launches into a powerful and magical piece of songcraft with some insane playing and performances from Yngwie Malmsteen and the crew. This song is designed for those who dig Metal, medieval themes and precise playing. Yngwie in particular shreds away wonderfully on this piece of music, and he sounds very energetic and lively with his shredding, particularly in the solo sections. The use of tapping, shredding and whammy bar work certainly is very impressive to listen to. All in all, a really great and anthemic piece of music that sounds magical and powerful. A really great piece of music that is quite underrated to listen to. A sensationally sweet tune to hear, it ends with some awesome sustained vocals and shred guitar to match over crashing drums. Very awesome.

Fire begins with some unusual sounding whammy style guitar work and harmonics on guitar before this tune gets going fairly quickly. This is not as good as one would have hoped for musically. The keyboards kind of sound unnatural on this tune, and the music sounds a little forced. Still, the world of music has done worse than this, but it is not the best song from this album, either. The singing and guitar work save the day here, and the music other than the keyboards sounds ridiculously good in its own way. A really timeless and enjoyable piece of sound apart from that. There is a shred guitar solo in the second half of the tune that saves it from mediocrity and makes Yngwie Malmsteen come alive. Yngwie himself earns every note on this tune, and he does sound like a brilliant guitarist throughout. Although this may be filler, it is decent listening and quite enjoyable, in fact. It fades out sweetly at the end. Good but not great.

Magic Mirror begins with some awesome drumming and enters into a rather 1980s and dated piece of music. Although the music is very dated sounding, does not mean that it is outright bad or unlistenable. It just sounds a bit dated sonically. The vocals, guitars and drumming make for an impressive listen nonetheless, and this music is great for inspiring one to pick up the guitar and play for many hours on end. Yngwie Malmsteen and his friends prove to be amazing and gifted musicians. The guitar solos in the second half of this tune are absolutely gorgeous and insane sounding, showcasing a brilliant effort by Yngwie Malmsteen himself. This is a glorious listen, even if the music is somewhat dated by today’s standards. Nonetheless, this does sound really great and amazing throughout. The guitar work in the outro is insanely cool. A good listening experience overall with some amazing guitar work at the end.

Dark Ages sounds very heavy from the start with dual-tracked guitars and some interesting keyboards in the background. This quickly launches into another medieval-based tune that sounds different. In any case, this music is for a specific audience who dig that sort of mentality musically, as opposed to being for a broader musical listening audience. In any case, this is a really good listen despite some of the musical flaws throughout. The music is dark and interesting sounding. In the middle, Yngwie Malmsteen shreds away beautifully on his Fender Stratocaster, proving that he was on fire at this point with his chops. A great and magical listening experience to hear, this is very much monumental music. A really great and top-notch tune to hear in its own way. Towards the end, this gets a little quieter overall, before searing guitar licks resume to finish off this track with a fade out. Sweet.

Trilogy Suite Op: 5 is the final track and is the longest track, a seven-minute-long instrumental. It begins with some super insane shredding and a rhythm section to match before this tune launches into action with double kick drums that sound really good. This goes on nicely for some time, and it sure sounds majestic and glorious simultaneously. A really, really cool listening experience all the same. Yngwie Malmsteen in particular sounds like a real Guitar God on this tune, and he amazes the listening audience with precision and ease. The variety of shredding and soloing on this tune is simply undeniably awesome. A great tune, period. Yngwie plays like an absolute maniac throughout and he sounds in fine form on this tune. Towards the midsection, this fades out to be replaced with some Classical guitar playing, which is different. The music continues on for some time, and the playing of the Classical guitar is absolutely wonderful. A great listening experience that sounds really pretty and anthemic. In the second half of this piece, the band launches back into musical action and sounds really awesome throughout. This is no doubt one of the highlights of this album, and it does sound uplifting, energetic and great throughout. There are palm-muted riffs that sound delicious throughout and are really pretty in their own way. Shredding throughout, Yngwie Malmsteen proves that he is an untouchable monster on guitar. A really cool and interesting piece of music, Yngwie plays with speed and precision to make one feel amazed. Eventually, this tune begins to wrap up towards the end and finishes with some great instrumentation and speedy playing. If Bach were reincarnated in the 20th century, he may have been Yngwie Malmsteen himself. A great finish to a decent album.

Although this album is by no means perfect, it is still an awesome listen from start to finish. Possibly a good second listen after Yngwie Malmsteen’s debut album Rising Force (1984), this is still packed with decent music to hear that sounds amazing to this day. The only real flaw with this album release is that some of the material is a little patchy compared to earlier releases. Should you listen to this album? Do give it a shot, warts and all.

A very good effort overall.

7/10