Magnum Opus

I like it because I like music

After just one listen, it is very apparent to me that the sound mix for this isn't the greatest around. Someone here noted that it sounded too compressed. Well, it does. The bass is very low in the mix and only the lead guitars are above the fray of instruments. The vocals are very good and tight with the music. Now some positives: The guitar-work, I find to be very, very good. I've gotten 3 CD's and 3 album downloads from Yngwie over the last 6 months and his guitar playing is very good, once again, for this album, despite the less than stellar sound to the music and mixing of instruments' volumes, etc. I rate this at 4 stars, because, you'll look far in today's annuls of music to find much better! Some of the songs really rock out, while some of them are more ballad oriented, but most are the rocking type of heavy metal he's know more for. I believe, if you like to rock out and sometimes mellow out, this is a great album and a great mix of songs, tempos and styles, even though it's not the best sounding album around. You can always adjust the mix of bass and so on, if you'd like, for those who have an EQ or iTunes EQ, but you don't need to. This is a very good album. Not a great album, but certainly better than 2 or 3 stars, as it's a lot better than your average album out these days.

In my opinion this is one of the heaviest albums that Yngwie Malmsteen has done. Heavier riffs awesome solos and a pretty good vocalist, check it out.

One of the Best Organ records ever. Meticulously recorded, great performance from one of America's best organists. Wilson Audio records are collectable.

I have even met yngwie in person at guitar center it's like all the other cd's just balls out shredding the fret board

This was of course, a VERY unfashionable album to make in the grunge infested mid '90s, a miserable time to be a metal fan in the US. Just goes to show Yngwie's absolute belief in his music, I give him much credit for sticking it out, popular or not. I can't say the same for most artists. I remember reading a review at the time suggesting Yngwie must have serious mental problems (LOL) and/or be caught in a time warp to release an album like this during the so-called Alterntive Nation era. Without a doubt, Yngwie clearly wasn't paying attention to trends on MTV or otherwise!! He remained true to himself. One thing that is different is that this album has some very heavy songs! Hard to believe he got so much crunch from single coil pickups, but he did it on some songs and at other times had a more vintage Yngwie crunch. Yngwie had very nice guitar tones and production on this one, including very nice drums. I think of this as a wintry sounding album, with deep reverbs and lush keys. I consider the keys to be one of the best features of the album, especially on Amberdawn, which evokes the frozen north with very lush keyboards. Mike Vescera did a great job again, I was hoping Yngwie would let him hang around (the previous Vescera album, 7th Sign, was even better). This is the last of the Yngwie albums I immediately rushed out to buy as he had a bit of a slump after this, only to come back strong later. I think all of the Yngwie albums up to and including this one would make any Yngwie fan happy, although as I said earlier, casual fans should be careful after this one!

I love Yngwie's music and I wish records companies could release on version of every CD just one time. I hate the fact that I have to buy a CD multiple times to get a bonus track.

All that I expected.

A TRUE PHENOMENAL GUITARIST THIS ALBUM IS AMAZING AND A MUST FOR ANY YNGWIE MALMSTEEN FANS,,AND FOR ANYONE WHO REALLY APPRECIATES THE ART OF PLAYING THE ELECTRIC GUITAR

As always, a good album by a master.

Für mich persönlich mein Lieblingsalbum von Yngwie Malmsteen. Die Riffs kommen druckvoll, die Soli sind wie immer top und die Songs wirklich gut. Was heraussticht, ist die Produktion, die ungewöhnlich druckvoll rüberkommt aber jedem Instrument seinen Raum gibt, vor allem das Schlagzeug kling ziemlich fett. Super Album!

Mit seinem 8.Studioalbum "Magnum Opus" beschreitet YNGWIE MALMSTEEN den Weg weiter den er bereits mit "The Seventh Sign" eingeschlagen hat. Auch auf "Magnum Opus" serviert er harte und druckvolle Songs, allerdings finde ich persönlich das er in einige Nummern, wie beispielsweise "I'd Die Without You", sehr viele Emotionen gepackt hat. Auch die Entscheidung wieder mit MICHAEL VESCERA zu arbeiten war genau richtig, der Sänger hat mir schon auf dem Vorgänger sehr gut gefallen. YNGWIE MALMSTEEN wäre nicht er selbst wenn er seine Finger still halten könnte, auf dem Vorgänger hat er sich noch ein wenig zurück gehalten, auf "Magnum Opus" übertreibt er es das eine oder andere Mal doch wieder etwas. Allerdings ist das jetzt schon ein bisschen Jammern auf hohem Niveau, in der Vergangenheit war das schon viel schlimmer. Das Songmaterial ist, wie immer eigentlich, etwas durchwachsen. Während mit Songs wie "Fire in the Sky", "Vengeance" und dem bereits erwähnten "I'd Die For You" ein paar richtige Granaten auf "Magnum Opus" zu finden sind, wird der eher neutrale Hörer auch ein paar ganz schwere Brocken vorfinden. An YNGWIE MALMSTEEN scheiden sich eben die Geister, während die Einen ihn für brillant und sensationell halten, schlagen die Anderen bereits die Hände über dem Kopf zusammen wenn sie auch nur seinen Namen hören. Für den neutralen Hörer gibt es aber immer wieder richtig feine Schmankerl zu entdecken, anderseits aber auch Nummern bei denen man sich ein Gähnen nur schwer unterdrücken kann. Auf "Magnum Opus" findet man überwiegend hochmelodische Songs die durchaus Wiedererkennungswert haben, mir gefällt's! Mein Fazit: "Magnum Opus" gehört für meinen Geschmack zu den besseren Veröffentlichungen des schwedischen "Gitarrenhexers". Wie immer brilliert MALMSTEEN als Ausnahmegitarrist, allein dafür lieben seine Fans abgöttisch. Fans des Schweden werde ich dieses Album wohl nicht ans Herz legen müssen, allen Anderen würde ich dazu raten, wenn ihnen bereits der Vorgänger gefallen hat. Meine Bewertung: 7 von 10 Punkten.

Thank you.