Ah… the Master has risen in 2005 with “Unleash the Fury” on Spitfire Records. There has not been a guitar master that has matched the success of Yngwie Malmsteen since Jimmy Hendrix. There are many who undoubtedly kick some major ass but everyone is always compared to the true master Yngwie from Randy Rhoads to Buckethead.

You know that once a Malmsteen release hits the stores, it has a huge impact on the music world. Not only to fans but also to other guitarists who buy it just to see what The Master has come up with in his path to ecstasy. I would never say Yngwie’s music is a great commercial release because his style is not for everyone. But this time around there is some earth shattering songs.

“Winds of War” is not your typical Malmsteen song; it has melodic vocals with heavy overtones that change his traditional rippling guitar work of the master. This is not to say he does not have his moments on this track because he does - but the song is balanced in a more appealing way. We are talking eighteen tracks of mind boggling shredding classical guitar. The Master truly is a unique individual that and will go down as one of the best guitarist in music history.

The accompaniment of Joakim Svalberg on keyboard adds dimension to all the tracks on “Unleash the Fury”. “Cherokee Warrior” has to be one of the best commercial tracks that has a slight flare of David Lee Roth. Imagine having those two in the same band (forget it) - you are talking about two pit bulls clashing. It’s hard to believe, but one of the songs that really got to me was an instrumental called “Guardian Angel” which has a vibe that will put you in a dream state. It starts off with Spanish style guitar playing and stays melodic through the entire song which is not your usual Malmsteen instrumental. Great Tune!!!

Doogie White just employs tremendous vocals to the new release and has some great accomplishment to his credits. He started back in Scotland singing for the Clason Memorial Church and has not looked back. He also tried out for Iron Maiden when Dickinson left and was asked back to audition again but fell short. I guess (for the better) White ended up fronting Richie Blackmore’s Rainbow and then moving onto Rising Force. His vocals are in comparison to Joe Lynn Turner’s voice with good range.

So once again we have a masterpiece by The Master that will be gobbled up by fans and guitar maniacs which will go down as a classic Malmsteen release. Ending in true Malmsteen fashion is “Paraphrase” an instrumental more in the vein of Viking metal.