The name Michael Schenker has always been associated with the guitar. He is recognized as one of the top guitar players in rock. His band The Michael Schenker Group has never achieved commercial chart success and none of his albums are considered ‘must-haves’ or any of his songs considered classics.
But, many underground rock enthusiasts consider his 1982 release “Assault Attack” as one of the best hard rock albums ever. The CD was not available in the US, until it was remastered and re-released in the Summer of 2009. It’s also now available on iTunes.
It was the first and only MSG album to have Graham Bonnet as the vocalists. With a very distinctive and melodic voice, Bonnet gave MSG a very different sound then previous vocalist Gary Barden.
Schenker himself delived some stunning solos, espically in the instrumental “Ulcer” and played superb guitar throughout the disc. The opening song, the title track “Assault Attack” truly lived up to it’s name and from the beginning. The listener knew that this new experiement with Bonnet as the vocalist would be a success.
The album literally burns with smoking riffs and guitar licks. The story is that Bonnet was not considered a great lyric writer, so Schenker gave him a magazine and it provided many aggressive inspirations. The lyrics are solid and aggressive, perfect for hard rock. “Rock You to The Ground” follows the opener and forms a 1-2 assault. The third track “Dancer” is a melodic song that was commercially targeted for that time period. Bonnet’s voice and style worked perfectly. Although, it did not garner radio airplay at the time, it was right in line with what FM radio was playing.
“Desert Song” and “Samurai” continue the hard rock onslaught that “assault Attack” began. The album for some reason, received mixed reviews upon it’s release. Soon after it’s release, Schenker fired Bonnet and Barden returned. This album is regarded by many Schenker fans as his best album. Truly, an underrated hard rock classic.
