Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Consistency is the hardest of all endeavours. The near creative peak is one that at times can be insurmountable, overwhelmingly impossible to try and surpass and for which even Hannibal on a good day, with elephants and gallons of vinegar in which to destroy a few thousand boulders blocking his way, might think twice before giving up and going home for a plate of cheese and grapes. For the Spirit on a Mission to entertain and thrill still looms large in one of Europe’s greatest Rock God-like figures.

For Michael Schenker, consistency is a watchword, a maxim in which to spread terror into Rock usurper’s minds and to which his fans and the greater Rock community thank him for and following on from Michael Schenker’s Temple of Rock last studio release in 2013, Bridge The Gap, and the outstanding 2011 eponymously titled recording, consistency is not in threat, it overflows with typical, but unbelievably good, soaring guitars and fruitful, almost blessed like, lyrics. It is consistency, the textured reliability that makes the musician still one of the finest in his field.

Spirit on a Mission is a layer upon layer piece of music intensity, of screaming unhindered emotion channelled through the anger and volume of a life truly lived and with no compromise available. It is an album that defies the listener to switch off, to take a moment’s respite in the face of overwhelming passion and laughs at the idea of a break in proceedings; to do any of these is almost sacrilegious, not worthy of even the faint hearted or emotionally stunted. For in Spirit on a Mission, life is loud, life has to be that way.

Tracks such as Vigilante Man, the creeping terror that haunts the background in Something of the Night, Bulletproof, the fantastic Let The Devil Scream and the album closers of Restless Heart and Wicked bring life directly into the stereos of the British public and remind them once more that in days gone past, they had such bands of such quality to be proud of.

For the third time to bow at the offerings of Michael Schenker’s Temple of Rock is not just an honour, but also a privilege. Life is meant to be lived loud and Michael Schenker provides the necessary script.

Michael Schenker’s Temple of Rock’  Spirit on a Mission is released on March 23rd.

Ian D. Hall