It's still an old timer coming out with a new album, I named 'Michael Schenker' who made his 'Gibson Flying V' a legend starting in the 70s with 'Scorpions'. After relaunching the 'Michael Schenker Group' in 2021 for its 50-year career with studio recording 'Immortal' which saw all the cream of hard rock parade, here is its little brother, 'Universal' with, also, a lot of guests and a 'Ronnie Romero' who is now in the main line up. No surprise, we are immersed, from the first bars of Emergency' (see video above), in good hard rock with sharp guitar riffs and the duo 'Schenker'/'Romero', respectively, offer us a masterful guitar solo and a remarkable vocal performance, then make way for the addictive melodies of 'Under Attack' (see video here) et de 'A King Has Gone' (see video here),, and if your head doesn't start beating in time, it's because you can move on, but for the others, you should also be conquered by the series of hits constituted by 'Long Long Road' in which we find 'Ronnie Romero' and which smells good of the 70s/80s (I hear 'Rainbow' here and there), 'Wrecking Ball' and its frantic rhythm, sung by 'Ralf Sheepers' which is followed by a 'Yesterday Is Gone' in the same spirit or 'Au Revoir' with its dantesque guitar accompaniment. And when the tempo is slower, we put ourselves between the ears of real melodic jewels with a catchy 'London Calling' and its chorus which bring us back to the 80s, just like the mid-tempo 'Sad Is The Song' which follows which shows an almost psychedelic face in the verses or the two final titles 'Turn Off The World' and 'Fighter', the last of which offers us a last memorable chorus, without forgetting the ballads 'The Universe' transcended by the vocal duo 'Ronnie Romero'/'Gary Barden'.
In summary, the saying that I used for 'Def Leppard' only a few days ago ("the best soups are made in old pots"), applies perfectly to 'Michael Schenker' which shows us that at 67, surrounded by talented artists, he is still in great shape to offer us good melodic hard rock like a few decades ago... | |
