Review by Richard Henry for MPM
I saw this tour in Belfast and Yngwie was on fire that night so let’s see if this live album can live up to what I witnessed in front of me!
Rising Force
Synth kicks in for the start of this one, straight away we are getting a condensed version, only playing one verse and chorus and then straight into the solo section, the guitars are all over the mix, solo is changed a bit, I think I can hear some tapping in that first part, but Yngwie generally changes it up anyway with things live, so you know the solos won’t be exactly what you hear on record, some nice back and forth with the keys on this and then straight after the solo section we are out and into the next song.
Top-Down Foot Down
Hello Tokyo, and straight into the arpeggio fest of this one, some nice bass work in there to be fair, and you can hear the keys filling in slightly round the outside of the sound to bolster things up, especially in the call and response section of this one, super short songs, and your one straight into another, it is to quote an album title “Relentless”
No Rest for the Wicked
Again, we launch straight into this with fast alternate picked lines, its fast and furious, then straight into the arpeggio section before back to the intro line, then another call and response section with the keys, then a tapped solo before it’s into the arpeggios again, it’s a furious pace to kick this off!
Soldier
A more delicate piano part rolls in at the start of this and there is some refrain from Yngwie on this, using the delay to create a counterpoint, Yngwie then steps up to the mic on this one, its somewhat of a welcome break from the onslaught of the last couple of tracks that have flown by, then it kicks up into the solo halfway through, and then into a typical arpeggio section!
Into Valhalla
I really like the choir part on this one, that adds to the start of it, then the slow groove sort of kicks in over it, then a more bluesy solo from Yngwie before he descends back into the scale run arpeggio parts.
Baroque & Roll
Now this one is a classic, and still it is as impressive as the first time I heard it, after the initial barrage of arpeggios, you get that lovely slow melody, the breaks sound like Far Beyond in some of the diminished lines, again that counter point section between him and the keys and then into a slower diminished section, it shows more restraint than the newer songs earlier on, absolute powerhouse of a track!
Like an Angel
I always liked this track, the thing is the feel, and that rolling delayed arpeggio part he has at the start creating the melody, before Yngwie steps up to the mic again, I have a feeling this is the same set we got in Belfast if I am not mistaken, some nice BV’s on this one as well, then that really nice slow melody as he takes the solo, I think the thing that’s easy to miss is the way he switches back and forth pickups to get a certain feel in the note, neck for the smooth tone and then bridge to really stab at a note, something that really doesn’t get talked about enough and this solo is a perfect example of how he does that!
Relentless Fury
Nice groove to this one and again after the initial pace of the first few songs it’s nice to have had that break from the last song and this one ramps it up a little bit, it’s a cool little rhythm part that intersperses with a melody section, the walk up to the chorus is really nice the way the chords climb up into it, then into the solo break, notice though halfway through the solo the way the keys kick into fill up the sound where the start of the solo was bass and drums, nice use of dynamics there to change it up!
Now Your Ships are Burned
Well, I mean, what can you say about this song, its iconic for me, as is everything off the first album, nice change in the drums to be fair, with the kicks following the riff, Yngwie taking on this one on the vocals, surprised at that given the riff is a pig to play never mind sing over the top of, that break in the solo, ah, so good, then the second half of the solo, no tapping in this version, then into that baroque sounding part before the track breaks down and the keys kick in, goes to a near hush in volume, then slams back into the main riff again, classic!
Wolves at the Door
So, after going to see him in Belfast I went home and learnt this one, and yes, it’s as hard as you think it is to play, love that arpeggio part at the start of it, then into that nasty pedal point riff and all of a sudden you’re at full speed tempo and you realized it, nice pacing of the set again, it’s built up without you realizing it, yeah that’s 100% the Paganini/South Bank show (for you who can remember that) classical part hitting next, before back into the harmonic minor shred fest and then a counter point lick its right back into the opening refrain again
Hiroshima Mon Amor
Back to the Alcatrazz days for this one, you know it as soon as that keys intro kicks in and that melodic guitar phrase comes in as well, it’s a great riff, not Yngwie singing this one and I have to say that’s a bit too screamy for me that vocal, nearly slightly too high, lovely solo though, some really nice phrasing in there!
Parabellum
The tempo is really kicked up for these songs, the one thing on this one is there is some fantastic bass lines going on right underneath Yngwie’s playing, the stop start sections that follow the guitar are excellent, my favorite part of this song though is the middle where it nearly halftimes in tempo and gives Yngwie a chance to really open up and he certainly does, again listen to the keys come in and fill up the sound on this before the tempo kicks back in again.
Badinerie
BMV 1067 is what this is, well that is if you want to look up the JS Bach version of it, if you’re looking for the Yngwie version then go to the Fire and Ice album, and this was a solo section of a song called “No Mercy”!
Paganini’s 4th
So, if you remember the Live in Leningrad album and VHS, you will 100% remember this being in there as well, complete with the leg kicks and I can confirm he is still doing them along to this track!
Adagio
Now as much as this is titled Adagio, for me it is from Icarus Dream Suite from the very first album, I don’t know why it has had a change of name, but if you are looking for a studio version its track 5 from the first album, some nice changes to the end of it!
Far Beyond the Sun
The word classic is well used but this is a quintessential Yngwie track for a reason, now again there are changes, you know as soon as the first breaks come up that they are different, now to be fair some of the rest are still the same, the melody part etc., is pretty much the same, again some people will not like the fact it’s not exactly the same, for me it’s pretty cool, some nice keys work in there and then a bit of interplay between guitars and keys, there’s a really nice part after this and before the big solo break with some really nice arpeggios in there, again it’s a classic!
Arpeggios from Hell
Now I think I first saw this on YouTube before I heard it on an album, it was on the Relentless album, I think Young Guitar magazine showed it on YouTube if you are looking for it, not easy to play, that’s for sure!
Seventh Sign
There was something about this album for me, after Fire and Ice, it was a lot harder and heavier than all the previous efforts, nearly more into a power metal vibe, the intro is piped through the PA, then the band kicks in, it’s a proper kicking song, I always liked the section before the chorus where the vocals are back and forward, Yngwie taking on the second role, then we have the middle section, the way the section follows the drums, even before the faster arpeggio section, then into that slower feel for the solo, audience participation is the order of the day for the end of this one getting the crowd going!
Toccata
Back to the latest album for this one, and it’s a furious tempo, lots of Arpeggios and counter point, I love the little melody part that then goes to a pull off lick, in fact this whole song is a lesson in counter point!
Evil Eye
What can you say, its off that first album, you just can’t go wrong with anything on that, from the lumbering start groove to that fast riff straight after it, it’s that classical break riff that then flows into the next part that again is so classically inspired, before the breaks and then that fast picked riff that ends in the high e, lot of tapping in this version of the solo, then into the slower part and the keys come in again, before it hits that really nice riff and then the duals commence between the keys and guitar, what a track!
Smoke on the Water
Now I know Yngwie is a massive Blackmore fan, but I wasn’t really expecting this one live, but sure why not, in fairness it’s a good version of it, and Yngwie’s playing certainly matches this song, really laying into the more bluesy phrasing and feel and let’s face it, that vibrato is bullet proof, lovely version of this iconic track!
Trilogy/Vengeance
Starting off with a G string pull off part before the synth bed comes in, then you get a heavily delayed guitar coming in, almost clean sounding, then bang we come in with the song proper, and then at the end you get the classical picked section from the song vengeance from the “Magnum Opus” album.
Cadenza 1
Yngwie on his own out there improvising over a synth bed part, now i imagine the length of the keynote and the time is either nodded between them or worked out before hand as the whole thing is a barrage of notes and then the quick break brings in another synth note, or Yngwie is using taurus bass pedals to do it like he did years ago?
Brothers
This really is a gut-wrenching track that really shows the melodic side of Yngwie, this one came from the Seventh Sign album, the intro with the lush key chords just gives a bed to really milk the notes at the start, I utterly love this track, it’s just so yearning or something in feel, again some really nice bass work in there that could be easy to go unnoticed as well, beautiful!
Fugue
This one from the album with the Japanese Philharmonic, this was a nice touch live, with what must be a track from the original album that Yngwie is then playing along to, it without you knowing has yet again brought the tempo of the whole set down between this and Brothers before it, I loved hearing this one live, it’s as close as you could get than being at the orchestra gig, it worked so well live!
Cadenza 2
The band are getting a long break, again its Yngwie with a synth note backing playing over the top of it, and again it could be the taurus pedals, I’m not sure on that, but i think it could be, then the harmonizer pedal gets stood on and it is ear piercing, finishing off with the old delay time trick that you see in Live in Leningrad!
You Don’t Remember I’ll Never Forget
Another classic from the Trilogy album, good vocals on this one, always good to hear this song live, it’s got such a big chorus and the way the guitar is following the vocal melody really adds to it, one verse and chorus and we are into the guitar section, bit shorted than the actual album, classic solo and again its changed, bit of melody, some of the same licks, some blues phrasing and lots of picking, again I love the changing the solos, keeps it interesting cause you don’t know what you’re going to get, some audience participation after the solo break!
Acoustic Cadenza
Now one thing, you know when the acoustic comes out that the next song is going to a be a certain Yngwie classic, but before that you get an onslaught of arpeggiation and fast picking a piece from Icarus Dream suite comes at you next
Black Star
Then that acoustic intro hits and that drum fill and you’re into a classic of Neo-Classical guitar, this is as legendary a piece of guitar music as any, from the melody to the fast picking parts, the diminished arpeggios, the way the solo changes to A minor and that sweep right up to the climax of that held note (for ages) to the held tapped notes, the way the band brings it right down to the end of the song is lovely as well, full use of the dynamics of this one to the boom of it ending!
I’ll See the Light Tonight
Then bang into the last track and it’s another belter from the Marching Out album, might as well go out with a bang, this one needs the tempo brought down a bit, its fast, nice use of the harmony vocals in the breaks but again the main vocal is screechy in parts, love that guitar break at the start of the solo, again its verse, chorus solo so a truncated version of the song, then back into the chorus again, fast brutal and unrelenting!
7 out of 10
I think Yngwie’s vocals are great, the other vocal can get a bit grating, and the drums are a bit clicky, the playing is great as expected, its heavy on the newer songs but some absolute belter tracks in there from older albums and great to hear him still tear them up, he is still a force to be reckoned with live, an absolute master!
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