Yngwie J. Malmsteen
Relentless

Well...HELLO everyone, I'm new here and this is my first review, and for my first review I thought of reviewing one of my favorite artists, YNGWIE J. MALMSTEEN.

An artist you either "love or hate" (I personally love all his work). I can't stand people who insult him by saying he's just a fat guy who plays fast, etc. To these people, I say that if he is where he is now and they are sitting at a computer insulting such an important artist...the reason is they have no respect for real artists who still have the courage (considering today's music) to bring their music around. ENVY IS A TERRIBLE BEAST!!!

Anyway, let's talk about the long-awaited Relentless, which translated into Italian means relentless, just like our Swedish giant!!! There was much curiosity given the excellent result of Perpetual Flame (2008), Yngwie's last studio album with a new singer (Tim Ripper Owens). Well, in the new work we find Ripper Owens on vocals, Nick Marino on keyboards, and the same Johansson on drums...LET'S GET STARTED!!

Overture is an intro that starts with Marino's keyboard and then kicks off with a scintillating Malmsteen and his sparkling sweep picking. Good start! Track 2 begins with a brief intro and starts the climb to the throne!!! Critcal Mass is one of the best songs of the entire album, a classic Malmsteen song that as soon as you hear it you can't help but nod your head and a little headbanging ensues. Very well! Then comes the first instrumental track, Shot Across The Bow, very enjoyable, reminiscent of Pachelbel's Canon. Look At You Now is one of the best tracks, and we see Mr. Yngwie on vocals....a beautiful intro reminiscent of live to fight (perpetual flame); then comes the title track Relentless, a track that resembles at the start, trilogy suite op.5, it's a very technical piece that didn't quite convince me but is still nice. Enemy Within starts with Gregorian chant that bursts into a barrage of ferocity! Great piece. Knight Of The Vasa Order is another great piece with a sublime intro, making you feel on top of the world (another instrumental piece). Caged Animal is another nice track where Ripper takes command again...good. We return to the instrumentals (half of the tracks are instrumental) Into Valhalla is pure baroque and roll and is a very successful piece in my opinion. Then we move on to what I think is the best track on the album Tide Of Desire. Great Yngwie and great Owens!!! We then find a good instrumental, Adagio B Flat Minor Variation a variation on the famous and sublime Adagio by Albinoni. Axe To Grind is another great track, very enjoyable. Blinded is one of the best tracks on the album and for this, the same reasoning as Critical Mass applies. Cross To Bear (instrumental) beautifully closes the album, Pure Art. We then find as a bonus track Arpeggios From Hell, the historic song by Yngwie.

What can I say...I really love this Relentless, much more than Perpetual Flame. A personal recommendation, BUY IT!!!! YNGWIE IS BACK!