Eclipse

By the time of Eclipse, Yngwie Malmsteen's influence had spread far across the guitar community -- dazzling technique was almost a prerequisite to play lead guitar in a heavy metal band, and places like the Berklee School of Music and GIT (which used such Malmsteen favorites as Beethoven and Paganini to hone technique) were churning out guitar virtuosos as if they operated assembly lines. The bottom line was that no matter how innovative Malmsteen had been at the outset of his career, he no longer sounded that way, even though as an originator he still far outstripped his legions of mimics. Thus, Eclipse sounds like a holding pattern -- Malmsteen turns in a competent set of neo-classical rockers that achieve radio-ready status better than much of the material on Odyssey, but there isn't anything that sounds new here. Of course, Malmsteen fans wouldn't have it any other way. ~ Steve Huey