Album Review — Michael Schenker Group
Michael Schenker Group — Immortal
It’s hard to believe Michael Schenker is celebrating his 50th year in rock. From UFO to Scorpions to MSG, he has been a major part of hard rock history. He is celebrating his 50th Anniversary with the release of “Immortal”.
The first time I listened to this record was on a road trip with my 14 year old daughter. She has recently become very interested in rock music and in under a year has taken a deep dive. It’s fun to watch her discover new bands and MSG is one that she hadn’t heard yet. I took the time to give a brief history of Michael Schenker and we were off.
Schenker has taken to using many different singers over the years and this record is no different. Seven different vocalists make an appearance somewhere on the record. We didn’t know who was singing on the record, let alone each song, so we just just took each song as it came.
“Drilled to Kill” opens the record and it is heavy. Ralf Sheepers of Primal Scream handles lead vocals. Not being familiar with Primal Scream, I can safely say I won’t be spending much time checking out their library. The vocals are rough, which fits the song, but takes more away than adds to it.
“Don’t Die On Me Now” features Joe Lynn Turner. I’m a big Turner fan and now that I know it’s him singing, I can hear his inflections. But I wasn’t sure the first few times through. It’s a good track and Turner delivers one of the better vocals on the record.
“Knight of the Dead” is the first appearance by Ronnie Romero. Interestingly, Romero has replaced Turner in two different bands (Rainbow, Sunstorm) and has a similar sound. He kind of reminds me of a cross between Turner and former MSG singer Robin McCauley. It’s a heavy track that works well with Romero.
“After The Rain” features Michael Voss and sounds like an 80s power ballad. It’s actually well done and Voss delivers a nice performance.
Sheepers is back for “Devil’s Daughter” and it’s just as heavy as the opening track. But I’m just not a fan of the screechy voice.
Romero returns for “Sail The Darkness” and it’s one of the album highlights. I’d actually like to see Romero and Schenker do a full record together. The duo reminds me of the McAuley/Schenker years which were a favorite of mine.
Voss returns for “The Queen of Thorns and Roses” and it has a punk feel to it. It’s more LA Guns than MSG but it’s a decent track.
Romero’s “Come On Over” returns to that late 80s McAuley/Schenker sound and is another strong track that makes me hope for this partnership to continue.
“Sangria Morte” is supposedly Turner again, but it really doesn’t sound like him to me. I haven’t seen an official list, so maybe my information is wrong here. It’s an OK track that if it is JLT on vocals, it’s not a great choice for his voice.
The album ends with the Scorpions tracks “In Search Of Peace of Mind”. It features four different vocalists (Romero, Gary Barden, Doogie White and Robin McAuley) and clocks in at over six minutes. It’s a good example of what this album is and what it could be. Schenker’s playing is top notch but all the different vocalists leave the song and album feeling disjointed.
There are some decent songs here and some solid performances. I’d like to see Schenker pick a singer and run with him for a record or two. Maybe he feels like he doesn’t want to be contained by one singer’s style or ability, and I get that. But the album suffers as a result.
My daughter and I agree that the Romero tracks are the highlights along with one of the Turner tracks and the ballad. Overall, we like the record but it could have been better by cutting back on the number of singers.
85 out of 100
Track Listing
1 Drilled To Kill
2 Don’t Die On Me Now *
3 Knight Of The Dead *
4 After The Rain *
5 Devil’s Daughter
6 Sail The Darkness *
7 The Queen Of Thorns And Roses
8 Come On Over *
9 Sangria Morte
10 In Search Of Peace Of Mind
*Best Songs