Michael Schenker’s Temple Of Rock – Bridge The Gap

By Andrew Bansal

Through his tenures in bands like Scorpions and U.F.O. along with various incarnations of his own solo projects, Michael Schenker has undoubtedly been a legendary figure as a rock guitarist over the past four decades. Even in recent years he has stayed prolific, and in 2011 he began working under the moniker “Michael Schenker’s Temple Of Rock”. The newest album under this project is called ‘Bridge The Gap’, and is set for a US release via Inakustik Records next Tuesday January 7th 2014. Besides Schenker himself, the album features the talents of two of his old Scorpions band mates, Francis Buccholz on bass and Herman Rarebell on drums, and this is the first album by the trio since the 1979 Scorpions release ‘Lovedrive’. Aside from them, ‘Bridge The Gap’ boasts of former Rainbow vocalist Doogie White taking the helm as frontman and Wayne Findley on guitars and keyboards. Together the quintet have recorded an album that can be best described as quintessentially Schenker.

Getting off to a fantastic start with ‘Neptune Rising/Where The Wild Winds Blow’, this 13-track album offers plenty for the old-school hard rock fan to dig into. Even though it treats Schenker fanatics with a nice healthy dosage of guitar solos, this album is certainly more dominated by his massive riffs and hooks, reminiscent of early MSG material and instantly enjoyable for all rock loving ears, and in addition to the stellar album opener, tunes like ‘Horizons’, ‘ Lord Of The Lost And Lonely’, ‘Rock N Roll Symphony’ and ‘Temple of The Holy’ are certain to be received as instant classics, but in all honesty, there isn’t a single dull moment on this album, and there is no such thing as a ballad, and even though there are a couple of songs of a slower variety, they do not lack in heaviness.

The Schenker brothers have a rich history of delivering great power ballads when they were both in Scorpions as well as in their time away from each other in separate bands, and tunes like ‘Shine On’, ‘Bridges We Have Burned’ and ‘Dance For The Piper’ definitely keep this tradition going. But a major component of Bridge The Gap is Doogie White’s performance on vocals. He deserves to get as much credit as Schenker for giving this album a true old-school hard rock sound a la Rainbow, and it’s his combination with Schenker’s guitar that makes this album as enjoyable as it is. This isn’t a virtuosic guitar rock album by any means, and is a full band effort in every sense, with the solid, experienced rhythm section of Herman Rarebell and Francis Buccholz, along with Wayne Findley adding the melodic element with his keyboards and rhythm guitar parts.

Of course, Michael Schenker is known and revered among guitar enthusiasts for his forever-amazing tone, and on Bridge The Gap, he hasn’t disappointed his fans in that aspect either, as he presents an unmistakably brilliant tone through his Dean flying V which has become such a trademark visual element of his musical personality. There is no doubt that he has had his personal flaws that have prevented him from sticking to the Scorpions, UFO or any other band for a length of time as a stable member, but through Bridge The Gap he has once again silenced his detractors, proving that he still has it in him to write great songs, and his musical genius lives on. ‘Bridge The Gap’ is Michael Schenker at his finest, and should be a no-brainer for fans of classic hard rock.

Rating: 9/10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFrRFTA_ZII

Record Label: Inakustik

Release Date: January 7th 2014

Track Listing:
01. Neptune Rising
02. Where The Wild Winds Blow
03. Horizons
04. Lord Of The Lost And Lonely
05. Rock’n’roll Symphony
06. To Live For The King
07. Land Of Thunder
08. Temple Of The Holy
09. Shine On
10. Bridges We Have Burned
11. Because You Lied
12. Black Moon Rising
13. Dance For The Piper

Links:
MichaelSchenkerHimself.com
facebook.com/MichaelSchenkerRocks

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