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This is the third Malmsteen release and after the marvelous Marching Out it only makes sense that he follows the same style - Trilogy sounds very similar to its predecessor. The songwriting on the record is good, the songs are straightforward and with little excess. There are some great songs here like the opener and "Queen in Love" and overall it is a killer aural experience. Even on the two instrumentals the band shows a good sound as a whole and you don't feel suffocated by it. The album is short by Malmsteen's standards; he doesn't overstay his welcome and sticks to the point.

For this record Malmsteen recruited the services of Mark Boals, making his first appearance with the band. But unlike the future release Alchemy, Boals sounds restrained like he is begging to explode. Having said that, he delivers a solid performance. Malmsteen's abilities still reign supreme; there is no shortage of quality riffs and shredding in the songs. As always you'll be in awe by his guitar skill and still he doesn't overpower the songs too much. The drums and the bass sound powerful and the keyboards are a lot more present here than on the other Malmsteen releases.

However, Trilogy isn't nearly as memorable as its predecessor and nothing here is really groundbreaking, it's just good, period. If you liked his second release Marching Out, then there is nothing to complain about on this album. This record is for fans of guitar shredding and if you haven't heard any of his albums this is a good place to start.