Michael Schenker Group ~ Assault Attack (album review) ... Your ears will never be the same!

Style: hard rock, power metal
Label: Chrysalis
Year: 1982
Home: England

Members: Michael Schenker ~ guitars
Graham Bonnet ~ vocals
Chris Glen ~ bass
Ted McKenna ~ drums
Additional: Tommy Eyre ~ keyboards

It had only been a few years since vocalist Graham Bonnet had been unceremoniously dismissed from Rainbow, where he made a name for himself as the replacement of Ronnie James Dio, when he briefly joined MSG. It was the perfect next step for both Bonnet & guitarist Schenker, who'd also not been long out of his own legacy making UFO & the Scorpions. In many ways it continues the nearly over-the-top & highly technical Richie Blackmore-esque wild guitar sound that Bonnet found in Rainbow & perfectly suits his vocal approach. The key with tenor Bonnet is he invests each song with its own personality letting the music possess him like a demon, much in the vein of other distinctive vocalists Alice Cooper & Jizzy Pearl of L.A. Guns, ranging from crooning to shouting with his familiar enunciation, unlike many musicians who seem to treat all songs the same & try to be the dominating instrument singing over the music not with it. Regretfully, Bonnet's legacy has been largely under-appreciated by anyone outside of the metal world ... the same for Schenker. Schenker is a wonderful musical foil for Bonnet, though Bonnet has repeatedly shown great taste in who he's worked as his later albums with Alcatrazz featuring the still largely unknown Steve Vai & Yngwie Malmsteen demonstrated. One of the problems with working with such an array of super talented & highly technical guitarists is that they often take the air itself for a ride ... basically, where ever there is empty air there's a tendency to want to fill it with unneeded flights of fancy. Schenker understands that sometimes it's good just to lay back, relax & take a breath once in a while, which also affects the other musicians in the band who respond accordingly. The result is that Assault Attack has some incredibly hard rock moments ("Assault Attack") while also some of the most relaxed moments in both men's careers, such as "Rock You To The Ground" that sounds so relaxed it's almost orgasmic while the slow groove of "Broken Promises" shows that rock doesn't have to be fast to be rocking. There is some more commercial sounding songs (i.e. "Dancer", "Samurai") that belay the era in which the album was made & now sound a bit dated, "Desert Song" would have been helped if given a more exotic/ethnic sound while the album ends with the unnecessary coda in the instrumental "Ulcer" considering Schenker has already showed off plenty & with more creativity previously. But, if you've only heard their names but not their music Assault Attack is a great starting place for two incredibly diverse but interesting careers & talents that for a moment in the early 80's lit off fireworks.

Graham Bonnet ~ The Day I Went Mad (album review) ... The day I became a Graham Bonnet fan!

Style: hard rock, heavy metal, power metal
Label: Escape Music
Year: 2001
Home: Los Angeles

Members: Graham Bonnet ~ vocals
Kevin Valentine ~ drums

Additional: Mark Eric ~ guitar
Michael Alemania, Teddy Andreass ~ keyboards
Jamie Carter, Tim Bogert, Matt Boyd ~ bass

Guests: Slash, Vivian Campbell, Danny Johnson, Bruce Kulick, Mario Parga ~ guitars
John Thomas ~ guitars/keyboards
Tony Franklin ~ bass

Maybe I listen to too much music that sounds alike cause I swear a lot of it I forget as soon as the headphones come off. Or, maybe a lot of it is just not that memorable regardless of how good the musicians are. Then, occasionally, I hear something & I can't get it out of my head & I realize how really bland everything I've been listening to is in comparison. I originally started this review months ago but the album has been going around in my head so much I didn't want to let it out of my thoughts by finishing the review. I've felt like a parent having a kid leave home. Will I ever listen to the album again once it leaves me? Will I listen to the next album by this artist sooner than later? It's an album like The Day I Went Mad where I realize my problem is an overdose of bland music & I'm frightened to return to it ... I might go mad. This is a wake up album. I even wrote an e-mail to someone about how good this album was & I was only on the 3rd song. Brit Graham Bonnet is one of the lesser names of 80's singers, though it's not because he hasn't been prolific nor because he has an incredibly recognizable & it's not because he doesn't talented set of vocal cords somewhat in the style of Rob Halford. While his trademark James Dean-esque greaser look in an era of hair metal, though recently he's also been known to show up in a suit, has given him lots of coverage. Further, he fronted Rainbow after Dio left along with the Michael Schenker group & was in Alcatrazz with Satriani & Vai respectively. But, like many musicians the chart-topping hit has eluded him & thus his legacy/name recognition isn't reflective of what it should be. This album is cornucopia of alt-rock, Queen-esque operatic choir, 80's rock & power metal & maybe even a little grunge by way of Alice In Chains. The band is great but it's Bonnet's voice that is the key moving it all to a new level. As good as Halford, Dio, Ozzy or any other famed singer with a voice that can scream or get down to a grinding snarl. The Day I Went Mad is full of incredibly memorable riffs spanning a musical spectrum where each song is like a mini-musical world of its own with none of them sounding alike & not a bit of filler & every song, more importantly, rocks out. You actually begin to wonder what the band sounds like if they just let loose & rock out in a jam session. Some bands you know need the studio, but these guys sound like they could make magic anywhere. But, while this cornucopia approach can make for a difficult listen, & has been the weak spot of many albums, Bonnet's voice is the rope that keeps it all together. I didn't know Bonnet before I came across this & picked it up because I like the name of the album, it reminded me of the Queen song "I'm Going Slightly Mad", but this is one of the most spectacular releases I've accidentally took a chance on. If you can't tell - I've been made a fan. Highly recommended for everyone who likes to rock! Further, this is an album that actually sounds original in a world where nothing is original anymore. Featured in guest spots are Slash, Def Leppard's Vivian Campbell, KISS's Bruce Kulick, The Firm's Tony Franklin & members of Firefly.