Here is Zane Ewton's Review

Yngwie Malmsteen rose to the top of the rock guitar heap with his band's debut album Rising Force. After a career of 20 plus years of scaling the heights of guitar heroism, surviving personal tragedies and changing tides of music's mainstream he has returned with Unleash the Fury. Unleash is a mishmash of everything Malmsteen is best known for; the riffing, the shredding and the classical influences come together into 18 tracks of liberated ferocity.

What Malmsteen has actually unleashed is an album that is just like every other album he has released. The vocals and lyrics, not to mention every other instrument backing up Malmsteen's guitar, are generic and forgettable. None of that matters though as long time fans have always shown up with a need for lightning fast solos and sheer instrumental prowess.

Age and several hand related injuries have not been able to slow Malmsteen down, nor have they been able to help him economize his playing. The guitar work on Unleash the Fury strays through crunching riffs that are tight and memorable but then gives way to shredding solos that cross the line of overwhelming and lands firmly in annoying.

Guitar enthusiasts are sure to enjoy the pyrotechnics but even the most faithful shredder wannabe will have their patience tested with Malmsteen's relentless playing.

Malmsteen may be an 80's relic whose ego won't allow anything more than a constant stream of similar sounding albums but with a better band his songs (if you want to call them songs) would have a stronger base for him to abuse his guitar atop. Or at least there would be something more to listen to when Malmsteen's solo has reached critical mass.
 

Here is Joannie Foney's review

I have always liked Yngwie more than Satriani or Vai, cuz he is more undeniably metal than they are. On this CD, that hasn't changed, which, as you'll see if you continue reading, little has changed in Yngwie land. Anyone who has ever heard anything by him will instantly recognize any tune on this CD as something else by him. Some great, famous classical tunes have undergone the Yngwie metalization process patented by him in the mid 80's, the vocalist is a different guy, that still manages to sound eerily identical to the other singers Yngwie has gone through over the years, and also included on here are more puffy instrumentals featuring orchestras & slow, drawn out, way too long intros & closings.

With the release of this CD, Yngwie sticks to the same formula that he has followed for 20 years, only this time the theme of the entire CD isn't silly dragons & knights & maidens, which was really a refreshing change. Though his song structure of every song on here remains identical to his body of work over his career, his solos still managed to sound different from each other & he still can play his instrument extremely well.

Even though Yngwie hasn't really departed all that much from doing what he's always done, some songs were disaappointing, like including a choir on "Unleash the Fury", as if choirs were experienced fury unleashers. "Beauty & a Beast" featured clichéd lyrics that he borrowed from many other similar songs in this vein. Some of the songs on here, too dragged along so slowly that they were frustrating to listen to. Yngwie is talented enough to play fast & crunch, but maybe he is so looking forward to retirement that the only thing he wants to play fast is his guitar solos & snooze through the songs. There were still some really good songs on here that didn't disappoint, "Locked & Loaded", & the coupla songs where he metalized a classical tune, but overall, the songs on this CD were little more than slowed down versions of his earlier stuff.

That his song structure has not progressed a lick, presents a puzzling proposition. Did Yngwie sign a 'if it's not broke, don't fix it' blood oath 20 years ago? Other albums of his were much stronger, though this is much longer. Buy it if you really like Yngwie, though if you already own a few or all of his CDs, this one won't add much to your collection.

Yngwie Malmsteen - Unleash the Fury

Label:Eagle Rock

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