As Michael Schenker continues to make his way around the US of A, celebrating the legacy of UFO, what better time to remind everyone that his namesake vehicle is alive and well? That’s right, old schoolers; Michael Schenker Group is back with a brand new album, Don’t Sell Your Soul. This is MSG’s first outing since 2022’s Universal, as well as the band’s first album to feature the vocal talents of former H.E.A.T frontman, Erik Grönwall. Yes, Ronnie Romero is officially out of the picture, having since shifted gears towards his own solo venture and lashing out at journalists like yours truly on Facebook, but that’s another story for another day.
With this change in singers comes a change in sound. Whereas the last two MSG affairs were steeped in the type of melodic/power metal sound that has since become industry standard for classic euro bands keeping up with the times, Don’t Sell Your Soul feels like a throwback in terms of writing, production, and delivery. The overall feel is far more hard rock/AOR, which is Grönwall’s wheelhouse, and reminiscent of 1983’s Built to Destroy, which foreshadowed the pop direction Schenker would explore alongside Robin McAuley, but retained those hard hitting riffs and melodious solos.
This approach shines on cuts like the opening title track, “Danger Zone”, and “Flesh and Bone”. Grönwall’s uber-melodic, clean vocals contrast largely from Romero’s Dio lite delivery, but again, fits the mold of these songs better than the former would. Like most recent MSG albums, there are no shortage of friends hopping along for the ride. The aforementioned McAuley lends his pipes for two of the album’s most metal moments, the rampaging “Eye of the Storm” (“Into the Arena” Jr., anyone?) and hefty “Six Stringed Shotgun”. Longtime collaborator Michael Voss also sings a couple of tunes, as does current live MSG singer, R.D. Liapakis, whose Coverdale-esque delivery pushes “It’s You” to the top shelf.
As far as the album as a whole goes, Don’t Sell Your Soul starts off remarkably strong, largely due to its retro disposition, but begins to taper off towards the latter half. By no means are these songs “bad”. It’s just that some are stronger than others, and the closing speed metal cacophony of “Surrender” is amongst the strongest on here. Those who appreciated the heavier fare of the last couple MSG outings will headbang in rejoice to this neck-snapper, complete with healthy dose of Schenker’s signature six string pyrotechnics to round things out.
Assuming this incarnation of MSG holds on for another album (and unless Grönwall gets the call to front Mötley Crüe, why shouldn’t they?), I’d like to see Grönwall handle vocal duties from top to bottom. MSG are always at their sharpest when the songs are centered around one singer as opposed to “Michael and Friends”, which is what gave Immortal an edge. That said, Don’t Sell Your Soul is a rock solid hard rocker of an album, and I can only hope it’s an appetizer for the full course meal this band is capable of cooking up.
7 out of 10
Label: earMUSIC
Genre: Hard Rock
For fans of: UFO, Deep Purple, Whitesnake