Michael Schenker Group - Wolverhampton Review

Despite a busy last few years of touring, it has been a decade since the German guitar wizard Michael Schenker went out under the Michael Schenker Group (MSG) name. Ever since leaving UFO in 1978, MSG has been Schenker's main musical outlet - but in recent years the MSG name has been jettisoned in favour of other Schenker-related projects. The early-to-mid years of the 2010s saw Schenker touring as a member of Temple of Rock, a band which was formed to celebrate all of Schenker's diverse career - as well as to write new material that took on a slightly heavier vibe than much of his other work. Following Temple of Rock coming to an end, Schenker spent the rest of the 2010s touring with Michael Schenker Fest - a souped up version of MSG that featured a number of the band's classic members playing lengthy sets that celebrated many of the different eras of the band. As great as Michael Schenker Fest was, I imagine that their tours were quite challenging logistically. They required a lot of schedules to neatly coincide, and the multi-frontman approach meant that the tours were a big commitment in return for relatively little time on stage for some of the touring party. I imagine that everyone involved had a great time on those tours however, and the Michael Schenker Fest project also led to two strong albums featuring new songs written by Schenker and many of his classic collaborators. Earlier this year, however, Schenker returned to the MSG name again - and released the first album under the name since 2008's In the Midst of Beauty. Immortal however, which was released to celebrate Schenker's 50th year in the music business, felt more like the third Michael Schenker Fest album than an old-fashioned MSG release. MSG has generally always had a set line-up, with each of its previous studio albums being true band releases, but Immortal featured another sweeping line-up of guests - with some new faces teaming up with some of Schenker's regular collaborators. Immortal is a strong album, although it can feel a little disjoined as a result - but it contains some of Schenker's heaviest and most furious songs for quite a while. Schenker's 50th anniversary celebrations have unsurprisingly been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but with the UK open for business again at the moment he decided to take the chance to debut the new live MSG line-up here with a run of four shows which had previously been postponed. The one that made the most sense for me was a Saturday night in Wolverhampton at KK's Steel Mill - a relatively new venue that has already gained a strong reputation. Joining Schenker on this run of shows are previous MSG members Steve Mann (guitar/keyboards/vocals) and Bodo Schopf (drums); alongside two new faces in frontman Ronnie Romero and Barend Courbois (bass guitar/vocals).

Before Schenker took to the stage. however, the large crowd that had already gathered were treated to around 45 minutes of classic heavy metal from the German singer Doro Pesch and her band. Doro has been rocking since the early 1980s, first with Warlock and then with her own self-titled band, and she brought all of her experience to Wolverhampton. Despite putting on a strong set, I felt that she struggled to get large portions of the crowd on side throughout her time on stage - which was a shame considering that she is a very well-known in the rock and metal world. Those of us down at the front, however, were getting into what she was doing - and Pesch's set was very enjoyable. I had seen her once previously, opening for Saxon in 2018, but the Wolverhampton set included a few different songs. A lot of her classics remained in situ however, and a couple of old Warlock songs opened up the night. I Rule the Ruins and Burning the Witches got the set off to a strong start, and there were plenty of people down the front singing along to their anthemic choruses. The set contained a good balance of old and new, with songs from Pesch's recent solo albums sitting nicely alongside the Warlock classics. The fast-paced Blood, Sweat and Rock 'n' Roll was a good representation of where Pesch is now; as was the anthemic All for Metal later in the set. Sandwiched in between the two newer songs, however, was the old Warlock song Hellbound - which old-school Pesch fans certainly enjoyed. Given the Judas Priest connection to the venue, towards the end of the set Pesch dusted off her cover of Breaking the Law - which was stretched out with an atmospheric guitar intro courtesy of Bill Hudson (guitar/vocals). It was a fun cover, but in a short set I would have rather heard Pesch play more of her own compositions; but the set-closing All We Are certainly rocketed up the energy one last time. Pesch managed to whip up a bit of a sing-a-long during All We Are - meaning that the set came to a powerful end. Despite certain portions of the crowd not ever really bothering with Pesch's set, she put on a strong showing in Nottingham - and her high-energy performance set the tone for what was to come later. The setlist was:

I Rule the Ruins [Warlock material]

Burning the Witches [Warlock material]

Raise Your Fist in the Air

Blood, Sweat and Rock 'n' Roll

Hellbound [Warlock material]

All for Metal

Revenge

Breaking the Law [Judas Priest cover]

All We Are [Warlock material]

Following a 30 or so minute changeover, the lights went down and Schenker and his band took to the stage with relatively little fanfare. Schenker gave a brief spoken introduction, before he and the band launched into the shredding instrumental piece Ascension - which was dedicated to the late MSG drummer Ted McKenna. Ascension proved to be a powerful introduction to the 23-song two hour-plus set, and it really set the tone for what was to come. Schenker then introduced Romero, and peeled off the riff for the old MSG classic Cry for the Nations. Romero is a singer that I blow hot and cold on, but in Schenker he seems to have found a perfect match. Romero was on fire all night, and his versatile, yet powerful, voice was the perfect foil for Schenker's trademark neo-classical tone. With the exception of a closing run of old UFO numbers, the set was a real mix of eras. Newer songs mixed in nicely with old songs throughout the evening; with enough classics included to keep the casuals interested, and plenty of newer numbers and deep cuts to excite the die-hards. UFO's Doctor Doctor was thrown in surprisingly early in an almost off-hand manner, but it was the soaring Sleeping With the Lights On which was an early highlight due to its hooky chorus. There were a handful of songs from the two Michael Schenker Fest albums played early on, with a few MSG deep cuts slotted in between them. The poppy Looking for Love from the MSG album was a surprise, and the bruising Red Sky also saw a rare outing - which included a fantastic Schenker solo and a great vocal display from the whole band. A couple of songs from Schenker's older bands were wheeled out next, with the atmospheric Scorpions number In Search of the Peace of Mind providing a brief change of pace - before the rollicking Lights Out was a real mid-set sing-a-long.

Given that large portions of the crowd had essentially ignored Pesch's set, some of MSG's set was also greeted by some bemusement - which was a shame. Songs like Lights Out got everyone going, but most of the newer songs and deeper cuts garnered only mild applause. The next portion of the set was such a period, with a few new songs from Immortal wheeled out, as well as a deep cut in Rock You to the Ground. Only really Armed and Ready got the crowd going during this portion of the set; which was a shame as songs like the heavy Drilled to Kill, with some excellent keyboard work from Mann, deserved a huge cheer. The final part of the set, however, did really wake everyone up - and the atmosphere really shot up as a result. It was probably wise to end the show with a mini six-song UFO greatest hits set, which kicked off with a lengthy version of Rock Bottom - morphing into a Schenker guitar workout with a long and explosive solo. The song is always a highlight of any Schenker show, but this time it was just the beginning. Five more UFO songs followed, with highlights being a stunning Shoot Shoot, that had everyone singing along, and a powerful rendition of Natural Thing which included a great guitar solo trade-off between Mann and Schenker. It was left to a barnstorming rendition of the anthemic Only You Can Rock Me, with plenty of Mann's Hammond organ, to bring a set that was packed full of class to a close. The atmosphere by this point was through the roof, and the cheer as the band took to their bows was loud - which in truth they should have been all night. The setlist was:

Ascension [Michael Schenker Fest cover]

Cry for the Nations

Doctor Doctor [UFO cover]

Sleeping With the Light On [Michael Schenker Fest cover]

Assault Attack

We are the Voice [Michael Schenker Fest cover]

Looking for Love

Warrior [Michael Schenker Fest cover]

Into the Arena

Red Sky

In Search of the Peace of Mind [Scorpions cover]

Lights Out [UFO cover]

After the Rain

Armed and Ready

Sail the Darkness

Rock You to the Ground

Drilled to Kill

Rock Bottom [UFO cover]

Shoot Shoot [UFO cover]

Let It Roll [UFO cover]

Natural Thing [UFO cover]

Too Hot to Handle [UFO cover]

Only You Can Rock Me [UFO cover]

This show was one of those from a veteran artist where all of their experience and stagecraft shone through. Schenker was on fire throughout following a long break from playing live, and the new MSG line-up already seems to have gelled - which is impressive considering that this was only their third gig. Schenker does not seem to be slowing down at all despite being in his mid-60s, and I hope that he brings the new MSG back to the UK again soon - as I will definitely be making the effort to see them again.