“Inspiration” is definitely one of my favourite Yngwie Malmsteen albums featuring wonderful cover versions of classic rock and some incredible vocals and special guests. It begins with Kansas’ classic ‘Carry on Wayward Son’ with a heavy treatment of the killer riffs and terrific vocals by Jeff Scott Soto, an old fave singer of Malmsteen’s from the early years. ‘Pictures of Home’ is a metal verision of Deep Purple’s seminal rocker, with vocals by Joe Lynn Turner who also sings lead on ‘Demon’s Eye’, both excellent covers with inventive reimaginings of the lead breaks. Malmsteen is a shredding genius.

The amazing ‘Gates of Babylon’ is an outstanding cover here, with the majestic style captured and fret melting lead work. Hendrix is a major influence on Malmsteen who according to his website was born the day Jimi died. ‘Manic Depression’ is one of my favourite Hendrix tracks and it is a joy to hear Malmsteen launch into that riff and scorching fiery lead break. Mark Boals is the vocalist on this and sounds terrific.

In the Dead of Night’ is a slower song but memorable for its catchy chorus and keyboards of Johansson. Whitesnake’s power blues of ‘Mistreated’ follows and is absolutely brilliant, the riff, the lead break, and the vocals of Soto are outstanding making this a highlight. It is nice to hear Malmsteen’s Rush influences here too with a cover of their ‘Anthem’ sounding bright and heavy.

The piece de resistance of this album though is the astonishing cover of ‘Child in Time’ featuring Malmsteen smoking on the lead break. In fact this lead break is utterly ingenious, with super fast arpeggios, hammer ons, speed sweeps, piercing string bends, adagio and even the odd speeded up scale up and down the frets. I have heard this track the most of all on the album, and it is the best cover of the song without a shadow of a doubt. This is one to get hold of to check out Malmsteen at his most ferocious, he simply takes off into the stratosphere on the Fender strat. When the lead break finishes shredding fiercely there is a stunned silence for a few seconds, before the quiet organ returns, and I always draw out a breath of amazement here every time. It is simply breath taking guitar. The song has some wonderful keyboards too from Johansson and Turner’s vocals are top notch.

“Inspiration” is a sensational cover album and showcases Malmsteen at his absolute best. It is great too as an introduction to the many bands being covered, many of which I had not heard a lot from when I first got hold of this album. I think Malmsteen has paid generous respect to songs and artists that have inspired him over the years, and he poured out all his energy and adoration towards these artists onto this album to create something very special.

Yngwie J. Malmsteen is of course a legendary guitarist along with Joe satriani and Steve vai that were all the rage in the 90s. I remember this album well back in the 90s as everyone was getting hold of it and I had it on cassette back then. It is a pleasure to finally get the CD but it is not hard to find in bargain bins so it appears many decided to ditch it. Understandably this is very dated and sounds like the 90s neo-classical period.

There are very poppy moments such as 'Teaser' and overall the Whitesnake style power metal, merged with melodic soft rock. I was into it at the time but have since grown completely out of the style. It is not complex music, apart from the lead breaks by maestro Malmsteen. The prog on this is rather hard to find, though occasionally there are interesting orcestrations such as the intro to 'How Many Miles to Babylon'. This is a definitive highlight of the album. The flute and violin with acoustics is quite enchanting. The problem I always had with Malmsteen's albums is the choice of vocalist. On this occasion Goran Edman is actually quite good, adequate at the least but he is always staying on that typical metal note. He can reach a high falsetto and sounds great on the heavier songs.

The best moments for me are the instrumentals such as 'Perpetual', a standout fast lead solo, 'Leviathan', an atmospheric piece with fret melting lead work, and 'Golden Dawn', an acoustically driven piece. Of all these I prefer 'Leviathan' especially the screaming lead break with the odd time sig and constantly shifting tempo. I remember seeing this on video and being amazed at Malmsteen's ferocity on the Fender. It kind of annoys me how the songs fade as Malmsteen continue to shred, it would be better to finish on a huge power chord.

Malmsteen is a genius guitarist and he shreds brilliantly. The lead breaks are incredible, creative and virtuoso as one might expect having a band named after you. He looks great on stage too, and I always enjoyed when tracks from "Fire and Ice" appeared on concert performances. The liner notes of the CD includes that the album was "dedicated in loving memory to Bjorn Malmsteen" which is a nice touch. A clue to his influences are in the personal thanks as Malmsteen mentions the likes of Erika Malmsteen, J.S.Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Jimi Hendrix, H.P.Lovecraft, Enzo Ferrari, Leo Fender, Dinsdale, and Monty Python's Flying Circus. An interesting line up there showing where the music stems from. Indeed the classical influences are prevalent among others. Listen to the intro of 'C'est La Vie' with Malmsteen on sitar for an example of Indian Raga.

There are fast metal moments such as 'No Mercy' with a traditional shredding rhythm, and then an orchestra plays Vivaldi or Bach-ian music for a while till Malmsteen performs a blistering lead break. He loves those high string bends and speed picking sweeps as well as massive hammer ons and arpeggios. The album songs are forgettable, indeed I had to listen to the whole thing to remember a single melody, but at the time of listening it is enjoyable. 'Fire and Ice' is a rather pedestrian hard rock song sounding more like glam. At 2 ½ minutes in though we are treated to a brilliant lead break with ferocious arpeggios and classical inlfuences. It leads to a wah-wah sound for a change and it fades out again.

There is huge diversity on the album such as the speed power metal of 'Forever Is A Long Time' which includes symphonic keyboards by Mats Olausson. Edman sounds great here and the violin section is appropriate to usher is another super fast killer lead solo. He trades of with some equally fast keys too and this is fantastic. Malmsteen loves his ballads and here is no exception with 'I'm My Own Enemy' giving Göran Edman a chance to shine though it lasts for 6 minutes and is hard to sit through. This is perhaps one of those lighters in the air concert moments and Malmsteen can relax on 12 string. The string section is a nice embellishment though. 'All I Want Is Everything' follows, and it is okay but the album is tending to drag a bit at this stage and needs a real kick in the guts to bring it up to standard. After the beauty of the acoustic section it ends with 'Final Curtain'. There is a cool riff to begin and thunder rolls across the heavenly striking violins. The pace is slow but the music is intriguing. The obligatory lead break hammers in once more and she is all over with a thunder clap.

This is a long slog to get through the whole album, especially as it sounds so commercial. It was the album that a lot of my friends had in the 90s and I ended up with it but I rarely played it due to the lack of interest in the neo classical feel, but it is a bit more enjoyable these days with the prog references. Though I admit I won't be returning to this often as there is so much better out there, that leaves this outdated music for dead.

Traditional metal with girls rocking hard is nothing new. The Runaways were doing this in the late 70s and then Girlschool were even heavier and showed girls could crank heavy metal among the best of them. Since then there have been a plethora of all girl metal bands coming on to the scene. Kittie or Asarte are perhaps the heaviest, but Crucified Barbara not only can rock hard they can look good doing it. They are Swedish and always are dressed to kill, looking seductive on album covers and photos. I believe that many fans are male simply because they are drawn to gorgeous metal chicks. But these gorgeous girls can really play and demand respect everytime they hit the stage.

The album material is killer rock throughout with only a few slower softer sections.

'Jennyfer' is the slowest and softest using acoustics, the verses are sung with a more commercial sound but it gets heavy again in the chorus.

The traditional metal is heard in songs such as 'Can't Handle Love'. Mia Coldheart sings up a storm as always and keep a constant chugging rhythm on guitar.

'Creatures' starts with a deathly scream, and then Mia's strong vocals. The lead break by shredder Klara Force is excellent, lots of hammer ons and speed sweeps and string bends. The bassline is always pulsating by Ida Evileye. Percussion is handled well by Nicki Wicked.

There is fast metal such as 'Pain and Pleasure' and the vocals sounding like Girlschool. It is loud and aggressive, lots of fist pumping choruses to yell to in the live arena. The chugging riffs are simple but effective. The lead breaks are always a key feature.

Overall this is a band well worth checking out. I believe they are one of the better all girl bands out there; besides looking attractive they actually know how to play solid heavy metal.

Megadeth’s albums are hit and miss affairs often but “Rust In Peace” hits the target on every song. The riffing is incredible, with sharp and technical brilliance throughout. The percussion is outstanding and everything is brought together with the inspired vocals of Mustaine.

Quintessential Megadeth is found here on such genius lightning speed lead solos as ‘Hangar 18’. I have the tablature of this in a metal mag and its almost impossible to follow along. The technical expertise of fret melting hammer ons and sweep picking is astonishing. On the live DVDs Mustaine is able to replicate this and it is unbelievable. It would have to be one of my favourite metal songs, the lead soling at the end is phenomenal.

‘Five Magics’ is another very complex shredder but the band have even performed this live. ‘Take No Prisoners’ is another melodic metal highlight but for me one of the most awesome displays of riffing is found on ‘Holy Wars…. The Punishment Due’. All Megadeth addicts know this well and they should as it is the band at their absolute best.

Overall “Rust In Peace” is essential listening with enough variation on thrash riffs to hold the interest.

Deep Purple's History Making Live Masterpiece.

Deep Purple's "Made in Japan" is one of the all time greatest immortal live albums in rock history. It features the band at their brilliant best and promoting their masterpiece albums "In Rock" and "Machine Head", both milestones in themselves. The lineup is the infamous Deep Purple lineup that has become rock legend; featuring on vocals the air raid sirens of high octave metal hero Ian Gillan, the pounding drums of Ian Paice, the guitar wizardry of Ritchie Blackmore, the keyboard magician Jon Lord and the wonderful Roger Glover, bass guitarist extraordinaire. The live performance features the best of the band to this point and these lengthy versions are even better than the studio renditions.

The album hits the mark with a rocking start with the hard driving 'Highway Star', the kid sister of 'Speed King'. The dynamic interplay of guitar and organ is wonderful and draws the listener in as it builds into the first verse. "Nobody Gonna Take My Car, I'm Gonna Race It To The Ground, Nobody Gonna Beat My Car, It's Gonna Break The Speed Of Sound" The lyrics embody the essence of the revhead and live Gillan is able to use his power vocals to full effect. But it's all about the riffs for this band and Blackmore delivers everytime; the true metal progenitor of lead guitar finesse, becoming a guitar hero with this album.

'Child In Time' is next running or a whopping 12 minutes. The song is a masterpiece, but live it surpasses even the album version. Gillan explodes on vocals reaching ear splitting notes after a gentle start. The song builds into a paroxysm of thunderous guitar riffs and Lord's keyboards are incredible. It builds into heavier sections with massive keyboard sweeps and fret melting lead guitar. An amazing wall of sound is generated with the rhythm machine of Paice and Glover. Eventually it settles into a serene passage until the finale where all members of the band blaze away and lift off into the stratosphere with crunching chord changes and a freak out of shattering noise as Gillan moans the pangs of child birth; perhaps it represents the birth of heavy metal, and the band deliver.

'Smoke On The Water' follows, beginning with a terrific variation of the opening classic riff. It is the most recognizable riff in rock history that every guitarist knows. The actual thematic content is fascinating about how a "stupid with a flare gun" burned down the recording studio of Frank Zappa and the Mothers in Montreux. Now the event is immortalised forever in song. This will perhaps remain the all time greatest Deep Purple song especially due to the 7 note chord riff. The live version is sensational with a scorching lead break and Lord's shimmering keyboard attack.

'The Mule' follows next with a lengthy instrumental break, and the song runs out to 9 ½ minutes in length. Ian Paice drums up a storm on his Ludwig kit soloing for quite some time. His precision drumming and atmospheric arrangement has become a benchmark for drummers worldwide.

'Strange Kind Of Woman' is also lengthy at 10 minutes and is great to hear as it was one of the biggest singles or the group not available on studio vinyl during this time. It was a chance for the band to kick back and groove along to a pleasing riff. The section where Gillan imitates Blackmore's guitar is often quoted as a master stroke and was influential to many bands to follow. It sounds as though Blackmore was trying to trick Gillan but they trade off perfectly and it is amusing and part of the experience of the live set, reminiscent of Plant and Page of Led Zeppelin.

'Lazy' is a 10 ½ minute opus with tons of keyboard soloing and Blackmore insane on bluesy guitar. It is a terrific lengthy jamming track about a dude so lazy he just stays in bed. Lord is awe inspiring on the organ solo and it really showcases his skill.

'Space Truckin'' follows and clocks in at a mammoth 20 minutes. It is another of the quintessential DP tracks. The power riffs and grinding organ absolutely slam to the wall. The lengthy version originally took up an entire side of the double vinyl album. It features huge spacey solos with Jon Lord's Hammond and his experimental ring modulator sounds. He unleashes a furious tirade of powerful organ stabs as Glover maintains a consistent bassline with Paice backing on drums. The session lasts for almost 15 minutes and is technical and progressive while maintaining strong rock rhythms. The Hammond solo is based on 'Mandrake Root' from the early DP albums.

"Made In Japan" is a classic masterpiece that is one of the most famous live albums in history. Every track is killer and the band are at the peak of their powers. It is a testament of the greatness of Deep Purple in the early years of proto-metal and the progressive nuances throughout, with intricate time sig changes and lengthy jamming solos, make it the ultimate live album of 1972.