You’ve got to hand it to German guitarist extraordinaire Michael
Schenker. Despite the rises and falls in the tide of popularity
that hard rock/heavy metal has faced, he’s continually risen above
the waves to put out music that has appealed to the masses.
You also have to hand it to him that, in the face of a revival
in popularity of metal, Schenker didn’t just turn up the volume
knob on his Flying “V” and set out to shred the eardrums of
listeners as a “welcome back”. On his latest album with the Michael
Schenker Group,
The Unforgiven, Schenker seems to put more of a focus on the
rhythm guitar work and more subdued solos. In retrospect, this was
the smartest move he could have made.
Working again with a backup group of musicians you probably
haven’t heard of – vocalist Kelly Keeling, guitarist/keyboardist
Seth Bernstein, bassist John Onder and drummer Shane Gaalaas –
Schenker walks the line for all 12 songs between the sheer power of
hard rock and the more sensible nature of popular music. Some might
sneer and say that such a mixture could never work. However,
Schenker proves quickly that it indeed does work, and his band
makes it work well.
Ironically enough, it does take some time for Schenker and crew
to build up a good head of steam. The first few tracks, such as
“Rude Awakening,” “Hello Angel” and “The Mess I’ve Made,” are okay
efforts, but they don’t seem to hold the promise of something
special in the works. Musically, they are sound efforts – but more
often than not they seem to be fighting to work their way into the
background.
Fortunately, things start to click on songs like “Fat City N.O.”
and “Tower,” songs that show just how good this band is. Keeling’s
vocals are pure and powerful, while Schenker seems to put his
attention on creating more harmonious, controlled solos – certainly
a far cry from what some would have expected from him. But Schenker
is definitely onto something with this approach; by controlling his
output on the electric guitar and mixing it in with some brilliant
acoustic work, he actually displays his six-string skills better
than if he had attacked his axe in full-shred mode.
The bulk of
The Unforgiven continues in this powerful vein. “Pilot Of
Your Soul” and “The Storm” are wonderfully beautiful tracks that
highlight the best this incarnation of the Michael Schenker Band
has to offer, while others like “Live For Today” and “Forever And
More” are almost as powerful, but are equally worth your
attention.
Some fans of good guitar work might not see the different
approach that Schenker takes towards his playing as a step in the
right direction; in that case, they’re not looking at the whole
picture. It would have been easy to turn
The Unforgiven into a showcase piece for Schenker’s
pyrotechnics a la the glory days of heavy metal. Instead, Schenker
helps to show that hard rock, like all forms of music, must evolve
in order to continue to live. In the case of
The Unforgiven, despite a slow start, Schenker shows that
he’s adapted quite well, thank you.
