Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Great "Lost" Yngwie Album, November 27, 2000
To say that Yngwie had mastered the guitar would be a big understatement. But by 1992, the man who had single handedly re-invented the instrument was under severe fire from most U.S fans and critics who were referring to Yngwie as a "sellout" for making an attempt at commercial accessability or as an artist whose creative juices were all dried up. Nevertheless, it was time for Yngwie to right the ship and conjure up another testament to his guitar heroics. The slumping sales of ECLIPSE caused Yngwie to leave Polydor/Polygram, his label since his first solo outing, and strike up a deal with the record giant Elektra. That Elektra saw any purpose in this is beyond me because it was obvious from all the media venom that Yngwie was on a one way street (in the U.S anyway) to the "out of print" file. Ultimately, that was this albums fate. Which is truly a shame, because the same ECLIPSE line-up was back sans Michael Von Knorring (who only plays on one track). He was replaced by the talented Bo Werner on drums. With the 1992 release of FIRE AND ICE on Elektra records, Yngwie would push his music further classically than he had since RISING FORCE and had crafted a true epic that should have fared better. Not much different from other outings (except for minor production twists and a heavily processed guitar tone) FIRE AND ICE boasts a plethora of great tracks and great instrumentals like the opening "Perpetual", the bluesy "Dragonfly", the radio ready "Teaser", the crafty "Cry No More", the sitar laden "C'est La Vie", the beautiful ballad "I'm My Own Enemy", another blues rocker "All I Want Is Everything" and the tranquil "Golden Dawn". The epic piece "How Many Miles To Babylon" is also a true gem. Yngwie also acquired the duties of a small string section for the great and hard rocking "No Mercy" and "Forever Is A Long Time", both high points for the album and for Yngwie. The title track "Fire And Ice" is another great song featuring a wild arpeggio intro and the concluding "Final Curtain" is really odd seeing as this album did mark the end for Yngwie's stateside career. But the ultimate track here is the instrumental "Leviathan". Harkening back to the classic instrumentals of his early days, "Levithan" is a non stop juggernaut of guitar mastery and makes an apt statement for both Malmsteen and instrumental guitar music which he had helped popularize in the 1980's. Boiling with state of the art guitar playing and an overall epic scope, FIRE AND ICE would be Malmsteen's first and last album on Elektra records. The disc would be out of print just a short time later and still as of 2000 has not seen re-release possibly due to Elektra's stonghold. Later, Malmsteen himself would denounce the album and it's single "Teaser". Folks in Japan were treated to bonus track "Broken Glass" which is a stellar song and should have seen the light of day here. FIRE AND ICE marked the end of one part of Yngwie's career, but another was right around the corner. With the grunge revolution on it's way, Yngwie would soon return to his underground cult status and put forth his best album in almost a decade, THE SEVENTH SIGN
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Malmsteem's masterpiece, September 30, 2000
this is in my opinion the best Malmsteem album of all time,plain and simple. if you don't know why..the guitar intro to the fire and ice track is absolutely impressive and speaks for itself. here Malmsteem demonstrates why he's considered the most virtuous guitar player of today...and then some...not just anyone can play these songs. on this album there is a greater emphasis on the combination of classical and metal music than in the ones that came before it,this is probably one of the most classicaly influenced metal cd's you'll ever hear. there are some brilliant orchestral parts with guitar solos that can blow your mind yet as always it mantains a very melodic and elaborated feel,all around sublime. this is simply a perfect expression of musical virtuosity,its defenitely among my top 10 favorite cd's. I wish he'd release another masterpiece like this,..but it would be a very dificult task to surpass the excelence of this majestic opus. It is absolutely imperative to have this cd in your collection
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A good blend of commercial rock and classicalized rock, August 14, 2004
This was the last big studio release by Yngwie J. Malmsteen. Clearly wanting to return to his classical, Blackmore-influenced music, Yngwie still manages to throw in a few radio-friendly songs. Production quality is a bit too "bright", but it fits for the material here.
The most commercial song on the disc is "Teaser", which could have been written by Joey Tempest's Europe. The vocal, especially the chorus, sounds so much like Europe's style that I'm surprised that Tempest never filed a copyright suit.
The least commercial track, barring the instrumental works, is "Final Curtain". Complete with a HUGE orchestral rhythm section that doesn't sound a bit out of place here; the thunder at the end brings out the strength of the song.
True, there's no "I'll See the Light Tonight" or "Soldier without Faith" here, but the Yngwie stamp is undeniable and definitely solid.
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