Album Review: MSG - Universal

With each passing year, I grow more annoyed at Michael Schenker. Despite being a legend among guitar players, anytime he opens his mouth, it's to run down how everyone who's ever picked up a guitar was copying him, especially his brother Rudolph. I get the impression he's never gotten over the fact that Scorpions have achieved far more fame and success, despite having the 'less' talented Schenker in their band. Michael does himself no favors when he keeps churning these albums out, with a new cast of characters helping him out, trying to make it look like something more interesting than yet another collection of his songs written just so he can solo.

This time around, Ronnie Romero gets to handle majority of the vocals, with Ralph Scheepers and Michael Kiske chiming in. Before even addressing the quality of the album, this combination leads to the single most head-scratching element of it all. "A King Has Gone" is a song dedicated to the memory of Ronnie James Dio. Leaving aside why he's chosen now to do that, when he has put out so much music between Dio's death and the present day, the song is not voiced by Romero, who even Ritchie Blackmore thought sounded enough like Dio to be the new frontman of Rainbow. How was the obvious not done here? I would say he shot himself in the foot, but he's so short-sighted in his decision making I'm not sure he could even hit that target.

Missing from the music this Schenker makes are riffs. You know riffs, right? Those are the things guitar players play that are heavy and memorable. Michael plays none of those of note. The riffs are mild chugging that mostly bide time until he gets to play his solo. Listen to "Under Attack" and tell me anyone involved cares. The whole thing is both played and sung with such little passion it's as if you can see them falling asleep as they record it. They then follow that up, after only two f'n songs, with forty seconds of bleepy, bloopy noise. What the hell?

The whole thing comes across to me as the sort of record made by someone who can't see past their own ego. I've heard Michael say before he doesn't listen to anyone else's music, so as not to taint his art, and it shows. Only someone who hasn't heard music in the last forty years would think this is impressive stuff. The aforementioned "A King Has Gone" has lyrics stitched together from old Dio songs. It's the sort of thing that was cool, the first time anyone thought to do it. It's been done to death so much it sounds lazy and out-of-touch. That's becoming a mantra here.

I haven't been fond of any of these records Schenker has been making recently, and this one doesn't break the mold. Whether it's the stale songwriting, the bad decisions, or the piss-poor vocals Scheepers delivers on "Wrecking Ball", the album tries my patience at every turn. With every one of these records, it makes Michael's ego harder and harder to put up with. He sounds more concerned with settling scores, and making sure people know the black-and-white Flying V is his look, than he does with making great music. His priorities aren't aligning with making records worth listening to.

There isn't much about this one to care about.