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Well, Michael Schenker needs no introduction from me, so let's get onto it. In the promo sheet, Schenker himself states the following: "There is a deep meaning in the title and album cover of the new Michael Schenker Fest album. It illustrates my musical life at a glance with much to be revealed. Because of that I called the album 'Revelation". Another title for this album could have been "Purity and Passion versus Greed and Corruption". OK, so how does this whole "we're purists and we're here to save rock 'n' roll from the evil claws of mass-produced radio-friendly garbage" translates into the music contained here?

Well, this is a very heterogeneous album for hard/heavy standards, let's start with that, which is a good thing given the fact that there are thirteen songs here. I won't say that there are influences here—because come on, the guy has been shredding his guitar since before 90% of us were born—but there are definitely similarities with other bands and elements of the hard rock world.

The bluesy "Crazy Daze", for instance, borrows much from the David Lee Roth-era Van Halen, while "Lead You Astray" has a very cool Hardline/Warrant vibe akin of the '90s. There are small glimpses of Schenker's other acts like MSG and UFO in songs such as "Under a Blood Red Sky", "Sleeping With the Light On" and "Old Man" as well, which makes the experience less tiresome as a whole.

So, all in all, did Michael Schenker and his apostles save us from the terrible destiny of mechanical, uninspired and forgettable music that the German so gallantly states in the promo sheet? Well, partially. As I did get to notice the passion and drive to do something special, these old-timers have been doing the same thing for too long, so it's practically impossible not to fall under the "one trick pony" cliché.

To sum it up, the legendary aura that surrounds Michael Schenker should be enough to make this album find its place on the German's longtime fans' playlist, as well as grab some laid-back and casual listeners, even if there are some downsides here. This is a cool release to rock on to, but nothing that justifies the theatrical words of Schenker himself of the experience having "meaning with deep emotion behind every note". At the end of the day, it's just another hard rock album; calm down, Mr. Schenker...just keep rocking without wanting to solve the mysteries of the universe and you'll be fine.