Yngwie Malmsteen – Relentless

Do you know the meaning of the word Relentless? Unyieldingly, severe, strict, or harsh. Not surprising when we talk about the least modest of the guitar-heroes. Relentless is simply the least original in the Malmsteen discography. We should have expect it, when Tim Reaper Owens said a few days before the release that he barely knows if his voice is on the album. The “new” songs remind a lot the ones in the previous album especially the instrumentals.

The first thing to notice is the production. A very flat one surely with more work to be done. After “Critical Mass” a very heavy track sang by Owens, the first instrumental “Shot Across The Bow” a Malmsteen style song as we hear the past 25 years…nothing new.

It’s in “Look At You Now” where Yngwie make the vocal parts and surprise: the chorus melody is the same as “Live To Fight (Another Day)” from his previous album! As for the vocals maybe he is good in his Hendrix interpretations but for his own song the voice is very low and bad. After an also nothing-special instrumental “Relentless”, “Enemy Within” comes in with high Owens screams reminding his passage from Judas Priest! a pretty heavy song.

Hopefully the next tracks are a little uprising! Not of course the instrumental ones “Knight Of The Vasa Order” or “Into Valhalla” which are way far to be original, but “Caged Animal” and “Tides Of Desired” are pretty nice songs with catchy choruses and very good guitar sweepings.

And then the bad surprises come again! First the studio recording of “Albioni’s Adagio”! For Christ sake enough with this Yngwie! There is no live where he didn’t play it and this was clearly a move to fill the gap in the album! Secondly the long and tiring instrumental “Cross To Bear”. Clearly the perfect title for this song, 7 long and boring minutes of guitar with a lot of lack of inspiration. And for once more classical Malmsteen recipe songs “Axe To Grind” and “Blinded” with Owen making the slight difference.

Clearly a very bad Malmsteen album using the same old recipe and completelyout of inspiration and spirit. An album to avoid.