Customer Reviews

Arachnophobiac

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Arachnophobiac is a great sounding record, with solid riffs and solid songs. Alive, Illusion, Rock & Roll Believer, and especially Weathervane are bona fide hits. I love all MSG, but this might be the first MSG record ever that has 4, 5, maybe 6 songs that absolutely everybody (read: not just guitar freaks) would really like. This one totally rocks.

Chris Logan sounds better than on the last record, both in terms of his voice and his songwriting. He definitely has the full-on Bad Company vibe going, but he also does a damn good white man's R&B, without going overboard. Lyrically he's from the straight ahead, uncomplicated school; he's no Phil Mogg, but his stuff works and doesn't get in the way. The evangelical thing is more overt on this one, with more stock Christian lingo here and there, but Chris pulls it off, and sounds genuine, not preachy. Bass and drums are solid and get the job done. Production is solid.

Then there's the lead playing. My first time through this record, I was just waiting for every lead break, hoping to hear Michael blow the doors off and prove to me that he still has it. I was mostly disappointed until track #10. If this is the way you are going to listen to Arachnopobiac, I would suggest that you start by playing tracks 10 and 11 first, because the man can still burn, but for whatever reason, he doesn't really kick it on the first 9 songs (though the lead on Illusion ain't bad). Anyway, get it out of your system by skipping to the end; listen to the playing on the last two numbers, and then go back to the beginning and start over by listening to the songs, which are really good. Jeff Watson plays all the leads on four of the tracks. He plays solid stuff which sounds like he just blew a couple takes on each number, but didn't spend oodles of time on them. In the absence of any official explanation regarding why Jeff Watson needed to play lead on 36% of a Michael Schenker record, we are left wondering. Or not. We could just consider it one hell of a rebound album, and keep hoping the man can keep climbing up that hill.

Michael Schenker has been releasing a lot of music over the past few years, and as a long-time Schenker fan, I couldn't be happier. The interesting thing has been the diversity of music that he has released, but there is always something "Schenker-esque" in all of it.

"Arachnophobiac" is intriguing because it includes some new types of melody, and combines them with a lot of interesting and melodic guitar work that would have fit in very nicely on 1970's UFO releases, or the first three Michael Schenker Group releases in the 1980's.

There is a bit of a blues influence in most of the songs (though not enough to render them boring), and the songs are definitely in the style of traditional British Hard Rock/Heavy Metal, but again, with Michael's trademark melodic guitar work running through all of it. I liked this release the first time I listened to it, but repeated listens reveal even more of the intricacies of the melodies.

The overall guitar sound is a bit thinner than, say "The Unforgiven," and again could be likened to his late-70's or early-80's sound.

The title track keeps me laughing every time I listen to it, and shows a playful, silly side of Michael Schenker that is not evident in his earlier work.

"Arachnophobia" is definitely not for listeners who think that Cradle of Filth is the greatest band on earth, but for those who like good melodic hard rock and metal, in an essentially traditional vein, with emotional, melodic, accurate, often very fast, and always interesting guitar work, then "Arachnophobia" is a good buy. Listeners who think that "nu-metal" has any value whatsoever should buy it and take a few lessons from a master on how to actually play the guitar with meaning.
Those of us who were hoping to hear some of the Michael Schenker sound that we grew up with are very pleased indeed.

Oh, yes. Vocals are mostly fairly clean and bluesy, and sufficiently expressive. Drums and bass are solid, fit the songs, and don't get in the way. :)

Why four stars instead of five? Well, there's no "Rock Bottom" or "Lights Out" or "On and On" or "Desert Song" on this one. I'm saving the extra star for those.

Considering the revolutions in Schenker's private life over the past few years, it would have stood to reason that this album would be a total disaster. However, there are plenty of Schenker's patented rhythm figures, and singer Chris Logan adds some excellent melodies. The only problem with this outing is that it sounds as if it was recorded to quickly. The guitars never hit the razor sharp highs of Schenker's best work. There are some tricky riffs and a continued exploration of exotic harmonies as first seen on the Covenant album. Jeff Watson contributes some fine guitar solos, but it's not clear why. Schenker's own solos are pretty good here too, but there's nothing that completely rips it up like "Hello Angel" or "Back To Life." It's nice to see that he's still doing new music, though.

I don't know that I've ever seen so many negative reviews that ran so completely contrary to my musical opinion, but here they are nonetheless! Maybe these others were confusing this album with the new Korn CD?? Who knows - all I know is I love this thing!!

There are a couple of super-tasty tunes on here that really grabbed my ear on the first listen.... and that's MAJOR coming from me, since I can say that about very few albums these days. Upon listening to it a couple more times, it became apparent that there were quite a few little gems on here.

I was especially impressed with Fatal Strike, Alive, Rock and Roll Believer, Illusion and Evermore. As for the overall sound of the album, I suppose it could possibly have benefited from a little more gloss in the mix.... but then again, this ain't Def Leppard people! It's MSG!!! :-D The guy who mixed and co-produced it, Steve Fontano, won 2 Grammy's for his engineering and mixing work on some of the best tracks of Santana's "Supernatural" album! Go figure...

I have each and every one of Michael's albums, and find this one to be right up there with the best of them. The messages in Logan's lyrics seem definitely to be a departure from the darker, more fantasy oriented types of ideas expressed in some of the earlier material by Barden, but it's certainly a refreshing contrast to the negativity, anger and hopelessness that seems to have inundated the modern rock scene over the past decade. It is obvious this singer comes from the standpoint of a kinder, gentler era of Heavy Metal.... when music was more a celebration of life than an expression of complete and utter disappointment with it. And the best part? He's a good singer!

Musically, Michael is spot on this time around. Be Aware Of Scorpions seemed to be a little more on the experimental side and was quite good, but this one is a little more my style: Straight to the point, hard-hitting ROCK AND ROLL. That's right - R.O.C.K., the way it was intended to be played. Straight up, in your face and raw!

I was a bit surprised by the appearance of Jeff Watson on four of the songs, as many others apparently were. But after listening to his masterful shredding side by side Schenker's, I've come away feeling that it's more of a bonus than anything. While Schenker is hands down in a class all his own, the two of these mates appearing together on the same album really hits hard - Watson is an incredible player!

The rest of the band rocks on in typical MSG fashion, with amazing time keeping and rhythm coming from Colson, and predictably masterful support by Hamm on bass. I'd love to have heard a little more from the drums though. Colson is an insane drummer (check out his sick, sick technical skills on the "The Absolute Man" album feat. Steve Wash from Kansas and James Labrie from Dream Theater.)

I see lot's of people bashing Varney here, but why?? From what I've read about Schenker, Mike Varney must really have had a lot of faith to do this album in the midst of all the rumors concerning Schenker shirking his obligations (missing concert dates, walking off stage in the middle of shows, etc) only to be let down in the same instance. Word is that Schenker disappeared in the middle of recording his parts. The fact that anyone would expect Varney to throw away however many tens of thousands of dollars he'd already invested in this album instead of hiring Watson to play 4 solos at Schenker's request is completely inane. And let's not forget... Mitch Perry was a guitar player in MSG for several years, as was Robin McAulley.... so it's not like this was a first with a #2 guitar player!

All in all, I'd say this album is certainly worth every penny I paid for it. I am at a loss in understanding how anyone could think it was as bad as the person who posted 3 reviews under different names says it is. I GIVE IT 5 STARS BABY!!

I didn't expect that Michael's last release would be so nasty. Though after absolutely plain BAOS I should have expected it. Aranchophobiac is even worse and plainer - no trademark of Schenker, only MSG sign at the top points that this is Schenker's release. But this album could have been done by anyone.
There something interesting in Evermore, Aranchophobiac and a bit in It's Over Now, but other songs I cannot even rememeber though I've tried listening to this album 5 times.
I cannot say it is bad, it is rather midquality, though I see no inspiration in this release, just plain hardrock. Just tasteless hardrock. But Schenker as my idol #1 should sound better, at least like he did at his first cooperation with Mr. Varney - Unforgiven. Other releases - be it UFO or MSG - went worse and worse.
OK, I'll try listening this release one more time, though I do not believe in success. Hope that the next release will show Flying V in its best.

I SEE THE LESS THAN FAVORABLE REVIEWS OF THIS LATEST CD. I EVEN ADMIT THAT THE FIRST PLAY LEFT ME WONDERING. THEN I PLAYED IT AGAIN AND AGAIN AND I THINK IT IS AWESOME. I CAN'T GET THE SONGS OUT OF MY HEAD. I HAVE FOLLOWED SCHENKER FROM DAY ONE AND HE REALLY HAMMERS IT ON THIS CD. THE WAH WAH LEAD BREAK ON THE TITLE SONG,ARACHNOPHOBIAC, IS SOME OF SCHENKER'S BEST.FAST AND FLAWLESS. DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS CD IF YOU LIKE GOOD HONEST ROCK AND ROLL.

this is another great record since bewhere of scorpions,
michael schenker seems to reinvent himself on every
record,and this one is great,jeff watson was a great
guest,and schenker was very happy to have him fill in.
an over all great record.I have to say that this is the
best record I have heard this year,it craps on the new ufo,
even though I like ufo with vinnie moore,there is just nobody
that creates music like schenker.so go out and buy this record.

I've always been a fan of Michael Schenker's music and this album has proven itself to be another one of his great works. From start to finish Arachnophobiac has given me total enjoyment with each listen. I'm so glad he's finally found a singer that can do his songs justice and keep on delivering the goods every time.

Note to Michael: Keep this Chris Logan dude! Don't let him slip away like you did Gary Barden and Robin McAulley because I want the next MSG album to be just as great as the last two!

Those who have made such unimaginably negative comments here about this album are obviously no fans of Michael Schenker, past present or future. Order this album and you'll be just as dumbfounded once you hear it. You'll find youself back here adding more 5 STAR reviews to the list!

Highly recommended to anyone who appreciates quality rock & roll !

Rock on MSG!

As a long time Schenker fan since my teens, I have to say I am sadly disappointed with the latest release. BAOS in my opionion was much better than this CD! Arach has a few decent catchy songs, but overall it reeks of a highschool garage band with juvenile lyrics. I cant see any of this getting radio airplay. Most of the sounds were so predictable from the first listen. The singer Logan, altho he has a great rock voice, sounds like he's slipped a bit from the last album, and some personal tension is reflected in his voice. Guitars lack that powerful past style. It seems like this was a project done just to put something out on time, and no one really got much into it. Then Jeff from night ranger says he played guitar on most of the album? What gives? The album cover design [is bad] as well, but I do like the inside sleeve and back cover. I think a few of the band members are going thru too much personal drama in their lives to really create any memorable music at this point.

Overall, its an okay CD if you are in the mood to listen to some 80's rock at your next keg party.

How bad can it get? I love Michael Schenker from UFO, MSG, and McCauley Schenker. When "Walk on Water" came out, I thought hard rock was alive and well again. Then, the next UFO album came out.....and sucked. Michael is a busy guy, and puts out alot of material, which is admirable, but the quantity goes up and the quality goes down.He has spread himself too thin, putting out mostly garbage since "W.O.W.".
I should have known by the stupid album cover how bad "Arachnaphobiac" would be, but I bought it anyway. Maybe I'm living in the past, but I'm 40 years old, and still like hard rock/heavy metal as much as I always have.
I'm scared to pay good money for a new cd these days!!!

I hate to say it, but avoid this one unless you have a friend who'll let you borrow it