I've been a long-time, diehard Yngwie fan. I was hearing many rumors before this album was released that it was going to be a great album...that it had many new surprises awaiting me, which was something I was hoping for because listening to Yngwie albums year after year I was feeling like I was hearing the same thing.

Well, this album did surprise me. And the first surprise of the album was a bad surprise. The mixing and engineering on this album is horrible. The lead guitar is too loud, the rhythm guitar is muddy, the vocals are too quiet in the mix, the mix is very dry and in your face and could use some reverb in a few place...the whole mix sounds very muddy. The album sounds like a 21st century demo.

The other poorest quality of this album is the lyrics. Lyrics have never been Yngwie's strong point and this album is no exception. However, I am one who usually does not listen closely to lyrics so this aspect does not bother me much.

The good things about this album? Some AWESOME guitar riffs, especially on Crucify and Bad Reputation. Crucify is the best vocal track on the album and is great from beginning to end...great intro riff, cool background sitar with Yngwie shredding on that as well as the bass...one of the highlights of the album. Yngwie is great at writing instrumentals and this album is no exception. Other than Crucify, the three instrumentals are the highlights of the album. Great melodies, great guitar playing.

The other songs on the album are mediocre to good. Miracle of Life is a good song but the poor engineering on the album seems to ruin some of the effect of the song. Yngwie slows down a bit at times on this solo which sounds cool and I would like him to explore this direction more. I hear Yngwie do some cool new licks and ideas in places, yet at the same time I also hear him rehash old things (example: "Catch 22" riff begins exactly like "See You in Hell" from Eclipse). "Tarot" starts off really strong with a really cool sounding keyboard part but the song itself doesn't feel really strong. Many of the songs will grab you in places yet lose you in others. Overall, many of the vocal songs have a feel like they were just haphazardly thrown together...like they were rushed.

Diehard Yngwie fans should have this album for the instrumentals and for "Crucify." Fans "on the bubble" or people new to Yngwie should not get this album. If you are new to Yngwie, get his first CD "Rising Force" and his Concerto Suite. These albums represent Yngwie at his best.

Yngwie has portrayed a very high standard for himself ever since he started. Some of his albums are very good some are just repetitive junk, they atleast are well recorded. War to end all Wars is very badly recorded the guitar sound is very weak more like really overdirven fuzz, it sounds really bad, the drums sound like card board boxes and the overall mixing is muddy, oh, and the singer really sucks! He sounds nutless, very high-pitched squealing. The lyrics are also pretty stupid. I'm very sorry I spent my money on this album, the songs are basically the same thing Yngwie has done always, nothing new, nothing interesting, very boring. Repetetitive. We all know that he is fast, we all know that he is the ultimate shredder and now we all know that he is running out of ideas and songs. Yngwie should recall this album and atleast put it out when it's decently recorded. I've heard bad sounding demos that sound better than this. Anyways, get his Alchemy album if you want a good album of his, The Seventh Sign is also good and anything from his early days. Skip this one, don't waste your money!

...this album can be summed up pretty easily: If you like Yngwie, then you'll appreciate the songs and the fact that he has taken the time to constuct his solos around sweeping appregigios and real melodies (unlike all the other albums since Fire and Ice). Example songs: The Wizard, Masquerade, Miracle of Life, Crucify - much better than the usual 'widdle diddle' solo efforts that go nowhere. It's funny how Yngwie even admits to never listening to his previous albums - even he probably gets bored hearing his own playing. It's just so pointless - we get that he can play fast by now. ....At some points in the songs, the vocal volume actually flluctuates, so for example, verse 1 sounds quieter than verse 2. The singer is hidden by the bass ...Yngwie plays the bass on this CD so no surprises that he wants to be heard over the vocalist. ....

The whole thing sounds like a poor recording on a warped 8 track demo. Shame .... As an Yngwie fan myself, I have to admit, he should never have lost Goran Edman as a vocalist/lyricist. It's never been the same since. Eclipse was his real magnum opus. Needless to say, WTEAW gets two stars from me. ....

After Alchemy,which I thought was a great album,this is a total disaster.I expected more,after the kick that Alchemy was for me.I thought the bad Yngwie albums were far,far behind.But man,this was too much for me.I thought the album sounds repetitive and Mark Boals sounds worn out.And,what was worst,the final mix is horrid!!!!You'd think a guy like Yngwie would be more careful with production aspects,but what was shown in this album made me think the guy was in some kind of rush to release something.No,no,no.I wouldn't recommend this.This would be a bad start for a new listener and it's disappointing for Malmsteen fans of old.This is just for rabid Malmsteen fans,who maybe would think it's a good album,leaving aside the sound of the final mix.I don't think so...it's a waste of time and a waste of money.Follow a previous recommendation and better get yourself Symphony X's "V",or "The Divine Wings of Tragedy".Get good stuff for your money.

I am so confused Johann! After the wonderful "Alchemy" I expected a disaster- and got one all right...but not for the reasons one might think from this Wizard of the Strat. It is the final MIX! The album has great songs, solos, and arrangements-but has the worst final mix I have ever heard...and I mean B-A-D!!! Did Yngwie listen to the master? The bass guitar covers everything. Mark Boals is BURIED in the noise. The choral-vocal parts stand out, but in all...the CD is unlistenable due to the noise. Compare the Engineering to "Odyssey" (1988) or "Magnum Opus", (1994) and see what I mean. Oh Yngwie is KING. The "Double Live" CD from Spitfire took the place in my collection of this disaster in my collection, however. What a shame. Can anyone say : "RE-MIX"???? Awful.