Yngwie Malmsteen--Facing the Animal (1998)
Rating--8.3

Facing the Animal--RealAudio
The controlled sass of Lynch Mob, the melodies of Dio, the cleverness and progression of Savatage--Mr. Fender is back with a vengeance. After a few years of occasional catchy tracks, Yngwie gives us a solid ball of groove-laiden tunes. "Braveheart" is a speedy opener with a great chorus. Moving bass lines follow in the shadows of Yngwie's super fast riffs, adding to the overall splendor. A few tracks ("Enemy" and "My Resurrection") even conjure up feelings of Dream Theater, with their elegant time arrangements and thick keyboard sound.
"Only The Strong" rips in with thumping bass work while Yngwie shows his stuff. The main bounty found here is the super chug of the title track: A great all around Mob-style groove with a catchy vocal piece, deserved to be played at your stereo's maximum capacities.
A very refreshing effort from Mr. Malmsteen. One main point worth mentioning is he concentrates more on groove and riffs more so than usual this outing. The blazing solos and arpeggios are still there, but this is much more of a "band" effort than has occasionally been the case in the past...
TRACK LIST: Braveheart/Facing The Animal/Enemy/Sacrifice/Like An Angel--For April/ My Resurrection/Another Time/Heathens From The North/Alone In Paradise/ End Of My Rope/Only The Strong/Poison In Your Eyes/Air On A Theme

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