A l c h e m y

1. BLITZKRIEG [4.13]
The album opens with this instrumental. Its give a fair warning as to what is contained on this album. It is full blast from the opening note and mainly neo-classical in structure, although it has some points that are a bit avant-garde to what is expected in a Malmsteen instrumental. If you think of the album ‘Rising Force’ and the instrumentals contained their, you get a fair representation of what this is like, only updated with a more modern structures and more aggressive guitar timbres. The title sums the track up perfectly.
2. LEONARDO [7.36]
A Gregorian style monk chant in Latin heralds the arrival of one of the gems of the album. This is a complete gear change to the last tracks uptempo attack. Yngwie’s Strat kicks in with a simple powerchord riff that brings to mind tracks like ‘16th Century Greensleeves’, yet is still extremely powerful. The lyrics centre around the life of Leonardo Da Vinci and the times in which he lived, this might sound a bit weird, but at the same time it describes his questioning and problems he faced with the closed minds of the day [similar to Yngwie and 90% of the worlds press] giving it a clever twist - ‘When will you ever learn the true depths of my work, Future is my concern You know art is my church’. Mark Boals’ voice sounds phenomenal here and the note he hits at the end of each chorus is out of this world!!!! - bettering his work on the excellent ‘Trilogy’ album. I was expecting something good from the solo, but never this!! Yngwie has managed to repackage his established technique with new ideas and fills creating one of the best solos I have heard from him in years [quite a feat] - breathtaking. The tracks ends with more Gregorian chanting ‘Ab antiquo, Ab integro, Audi vide, Tace si vis vivere in pace..’ and the result is stunning.
3. PLAYING WITH FIRE [6.16]
Starting with a fast guitar motif which is then backed by huge chords and drum fills give an almost Symphony X-ish feel, this is resolved into a fast riff doubled up by great double bass work from John Macaluso. Things break down for the chorus which is a simple repetition of ‘Playing with fire’. The riff remind me of ‘Seventh Sign’ more by feel and tone than actual music. The solo is again great, quite short and concise, the intro is repeated and then into a chorus which sees some nice counterpoint structure from Yngwie. The song is not really about what the title implies but has a more opening meaning that suggests the art of living or doing something on the edge and then having to face the consequences ‘As the authors of time, Smoke is clearing in the aftermath, Finally know the truth the crime, We’re the authors of our epitaph’.
4. STAND [THE] [5.04]
This track is probably closest in style to what we expect from the Maestro. The main riff is like the cousin ‘Facing The Animal’ which is then added with a theme reminiscent of ‘Sacrifice’ off ‘Facing The Animal. The lyrics are a condensed version of the book of the same name by Stephen King, however you if you haven’t read the book the lyrics still ‘stand’ on a more universal level. The solo’s break down nicely into some melodic play over simple chord stabs. A great track.
5. WIELD MY SWORD [6.13]
This track is in the style of early Rising Force material [but again updated] and focuses on Crusades and knight-errantry. The pulsating rhythm evokes images of warriors on their charges riding at break neck speed. The high tempo is backed up well by Mats Olausson who’s keyboards sit more prominently in the mix than ever before [about time]. This really is furious stuff ‘I would die for my king and land, But I must die with my sword in my hand’. This recalls former tracks like ‘Heathens From The North’ and ‘I Am A Viking’. The solo is furious containing all Yngwie’s trademark neo-classicalisms and fits the track to a tee.
6. BLUE [4.10] Instrumental #2. Not a typical blues track, but more of a neo-classical instrumental mixed with a blues based shuffle drum track. There is great use of modulation through various keys, crying wah wah work mixed with those liquid sweep arpeggios and screaming bends. The track resolves to a sweet ending.
7. LEGION OF THE DAMNED [5.50]
Another breakneck rocker, John Macaluso drumming is excellent with precision double bass drum work, the main riff is very heavy in sound, there are high speed fills and runs scattered throughout and a solo that is as intense as ‘Never Die’. The lyrics centre around a topic similar to ‘Soldier Without Faith’ off ‘Marching Out’. This is about a someone being in the middle of a war and not wanting to be their. The lyrics also tell of someone’s despair and disgust at the notion of war in general ‘Deprived of our lives, pushed into war, Our fearless leader lies, he’s rotten to the core’, ‘There’s no honour to defend, we obey insane rules’.
8. DEAMON DANCE [7,405,926] [5.25]
This song is influenced greatly by the occult. The 7,405,926 in the title refers to the number of demons loose in the world according to legend. Opening with a snare drum fill things progress quickly into quite a bluesy riff. This is backed with bass and drums locked tightly in unison, creating a bed for Mark and Yngwie to do their stuff. The chorus is very catchy and sounds as commercial as things get on this album. The pre-chorus is very aggressive and here Mark excels ‘Unholy rites, leave nothing to chance. In the dead of night, do the deamons dance’ are spat out with vicious tendencies. The solo again is of the warp speed variety, with some great arpeggio sections. John Macaluso drums fills are great throughout and reminds me of the great drumming on the Megadeth album ‘Rust In Peace’. A great track.
9. Hangar 18, Area 51 [4.43]
Opening with a keyboard intro similar to that found on the track ‘Rising Force’, this then gets hit head on by another colossal riff which reminds me of early Testament material verging on speed metal. However, this is probably the most commercial track on the album with a vibe similar to that on ‘Fire In The Sky’ [off ‘Magnum Opus’]. The lyrics centre around [quite obviously] the Roswell incident - ‘They know something that we don’t know. What cannot be seen they’ll never show, Hangar 18 Area 51’. The solo is great with excellent runs.
10. VOODOO NIGHTS [7.30]
I see this track as an extension of ‘Disciples Of Hell’ from ‘Marching Out’. The rhythm is slow and very ominous, the lyrics are extremely dark. Yngwie does his best ‘dead corpse’ impression throughout the track and he sounds positively demonic. Mark sounds amazing here, ‘Oh, you know too much, just a little touch, of the forbidden knowledge’, his vibrato is so pure that he has in my opinion overtaken previous highs set by Dream Theater’s James LaBrie!!!! Yngwie soloing builds the track well and his soloing sounds very raw here. Another highlight.
11. ASYLUM SUITE.
I] ASYLUM [4.07]
II] SKY EUPHORIA [3.17]
III] QUANTUM LEAP [3.13]
This the ‘major’ instrumental on the album is simply breathtaking. The first movement ‘Asylum’ is very neo-classical, with an arpeggio movement similar to ‘Demon Driver’., this is balanced nicely by some pretty weird playing [reminiscent of Michael Romeo’s work]. If this was recorded for the ‘Rising Force’ album it would have been called the most extreme track ever at the time!! The second movement ‘Sky Euphoria’ is a classical nylon guitar piece that is an acoustic intermezzo. This wouldn’t have sounded out of place on Yngwie’s fantastic ‘Concerto’ album, very Bach influenced. The melody line is absolutely beautiful. The guitar is backed by great orchestra voicings from Mats [whose playing throughout the album is prefect]. The final movement ‘Quantum Leap’ is just astounding. If you picture ‘Trilogy Suite Op.5’ intensified ten fold you get this track!!! The lightning-fingered soloing at the start may sound like pretentious overindulgence to prejudiced ears, but strip it away and what is left is a collection of anthemic mood swings!! The track breaks down to a more rhythmic progression halfway through for some great interplay from the whole band. A stunning instrumental.
14. GOD IS GOD [3.13]
This is the bonus track for the Japanese release and it sounds quite unlike anything Yngwie has recorded ever - period. The track is almost industrial in sound and would work perfectly for a dark film ala ‘The Crow’ or ‘Dracula’. There is some great guitar mixed back in the mix. The lyrics are pretty indecipherable, and contain more of Yngwie’s ‘corpse’ voice. This track doesn’t really justify the price of the Japanese import however.