Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Neoclassical moves, 24 Jan 2003
Mark Boals is mostly known for his work with Yngwie Malmsteen, and has achieved more albums with him than any other singer (4).A solo album released in Japan was disappointing, but his second attempt, called Ring of Fire, was much more accomplished, let down by a rather basic production (don't like the rhythm guitar sound at all, reminds me of Trilogy era Malmsteen production). The songs were overall good, some of the choruses bordered on catchy, and Tony Macalpine on guitar is excellent - despite accusations, he is NOT simply a Malmsteen clone.This time round, Ring of Fire is the name of the band, and the album is The Oracle. There are two changes; Tony Macalpine was otherwise committed, so George Bellas (Mogg/Way) appears on guitar (ironically HE'S now left and Macalpine is back for the tour and next album!), and the bass is handled by Philip Byone (ex-Steve Vai band).
Virgil Donati (drums) and Vitalij Kuprij (keys) remain.
The production is streets ahead of it's predecessor, the guitar sound is far better. The band are as tight as can be, and George has clearly been practicing his Yngwie licks. technically they are flawless, and Marks singing is up to his usual standards. It's the songs that lose it a couple of stars, IMHO. Most songs don't seem to have a proper hook to latch onto (Vengance for Blood is an exception), and whilst I'd love to have George's technique, he just puts out a flurry of notes with very little feeling, something Tony Macalpine manages to include in the previous release. His tone is also a bit thin, compared to Tony or Yngwie. So it's not a bad neoclassical album, but it is guilty of some of the sins that gave the neoclassocal movement a bad name and contributed to it's relative demise at the end of the '80's.
Hopefully the next one will be an improvement.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Neoclassical overload, 13 Feb 2002
Mark Boals is mostly known for his work with Yngwie Malmsteen, and has achieved more albums with him than any other singer (4).
...His second attempt, called Ring of Fire, was much more accomplished, let down by a rather basic production (don't like the rhythm guitar sound at all). The songs were overall good, some of the choruses bordered on catchy, and Tony Macalpine on guitar is excellent - certainly more feel than Yngwie on his latest offering (which also has crap production).This time round, Ring of Fire is the name of the band, and the album is The Oracle. There are two changes; Tony Macalpine was otherwise committed, so George Bellas (Mogg/Way) appears on guitar (ironically HE'S now left and Macalpine is back for the tour!), and the bass is handled by Philip Byone (ex-Steve Vai band)
Virgil Donati (drums) and Vitalij Kuprij (keys) remain.
The production is streets ahead of it's predeecessor, the guitar sound is far better. The band are as tight as can be, and George has clearly been practicing his Yngwie licks. technically they are flawless, and Marks singing is up to his usual standards. It's the songs that lose it a couple of stars, IMHO. Most songs don't seem to have a proper hook to latch onto (Vengance for Blood is an exception), and whilst I'd love to have George's technique, he just puts out a flurry of notes with very little feeling, something Tony Macalpine manages to include in the previous release. So it's not a bad neoclassical album, but it is guilty of some of the sins that gave the neoclassocal movement a bad name and contributed to it's relative demise at the end of the '80's.
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