Review Summary: Time is relative…
…and yet some tend to forget it. However, you don’t need to go back to your high school/college books to look for proof, because Yngwie Malmsteen is here. With a new exercise in self-indulgence, he proves how an album that clocks in at under 45 minutes can make
The Wall feel like it lasts as long as a cool wind on the hottest day of the year, in the Sahara.
World on Fire – the maestro’s 19th release – is unfortunately devoid of any emotion as its only purpose is to prove once more Malmsteen’s virtuoso abilities by completely ignoring the most important element in music; songwriting. Therefore, the listener is once again exposed to endless neo-classical shredding in Yngwie’s attempt to compose a highly proficient but eventually lifeless set of “songs”. Sadly, the impression that will probably be left to the listener of the LP is that it comprises of repeated sweeps and runs, without any memorable moments. The only instrument that is being given space and time to shine is of course the guitar, which limits the drums and bass to a fairly basic and unspectacular role. As a result, it almost feels that the Swedish axeman is playing with the company of a backing CD.
Most of the album consists of instrumental music with the exception of “World on Fire”, “Soldier” and the mid-tempo “Lost in the Machine” which features the most traditional “song” structure. However, to make things even worse, the lyrics on the aforementioned songs are delivered by Malmsteen himself and are often buried under the instrumentation. The remaining tracks are mostly wankery, besides very few moments where the rain of notes stops and we are treated with a couple of soulful phrases.
Yngwie Malmsteen seems to have fallen into the trap of doing everything by himself with very limited or no input from outside. Therefore, he might be having a good time recording the material but the outcome is once again a snoozefest. The Asian market will possibly love his album once again, which will lead to the continuation of this situation. At this point of his career, chances are that the prolific guitarist perceives himself as a modern Paganini. However, the quality of his music doesn’t provide enough proof and if you’re not a huge fan of his, there’s no point checking this album.
