Michael Schenker was little more than a schoolboy when he became the dean of melodic heavy metal guitar, leaving his brand―imprinted with a white-hot Flying V―on albums by the Scorpions and UFO and a series of other groups featuring his own name.
Now, on May 13, he’s ready to deliver a new dissertation called In the Midst of Beauty. The dozen-song disc by his Michael Schenker Group revisits the virtues that made him a giant: a singing, mile-wide guitar tone that mixes dirt with polished onyx and hook-driven tunes built on big-boned frames. It’s hard rock that goes pop―loudly. And that’s reinforced by his continuing reunion with Gary Barden, a dynamic vocalist who first teamed with Schenker from ’79 to ’84.
Still playing V-style guitars, Schenker’s performance on In the Midst of Beauty ranges from the churn and wail assault of the charging “City Lights” and the existential “Nana” to the acoustic-electric odyssey of “Summerdays,” yielding only to Barden’s warm voice―still the same appealing instrument that’s made him the most popular of MSG’s string of singers.
Although Schenker’s finely chiseled style may seem polite, or at least formalist, in the wake of pre-Black Album Metallica, Napalm Death, Korn, and other bands that have redefined the dominant sound of metal guitar, it still has a shimmering emotional appeal. And Schenker’s influence continues. Over the past few years a host of young guitarists have discovered the potent tone and beautiful voice-like quality of Schenker’s solos via reissues of his most enduring early works including 1980’s The Michael Schenker Group and 1972’s Lonesome Crow by the Scorpions.
The latter remains a cornerstone in metal history. It was both Schenker’s and the Scorpions’ first recording. Produced by sonic wizard Conny Plank, the LP was a good 10 years ahead of its time, paving the way for the pop metal outfits that ruled the charts in the ’80s.
When Lonesome Crow was released, Schenker was immediately hailed for his rich tone and his melodic and harmonic constructions. He was only 16, yet immediately began to influence a generation of peers. Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden, RATT’s Warren DiMartini, and Yngwie J. Malmsteen all absorbed Schenker’s graceful way of playing arpeggios and used his glittering broadsword sound as a model. Metallica’s Kirk Hammett is also a Schenker disciple, albeit with a faster, nastier spin.
Schenker had been playing for just a few years when he cut Lonesome Crow. He was inspired to pick up a guitar when his brother, Scorpions songwriter Rudolf―today one of the world’s foremost Flying V collectors―brought home his first Gibson V. Also like Rudolf, Michael’s primary early influence was Hank Marvin, lead guitarist for English group the Shadows, but he soon discovered Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, and Mountain’s Leslie West.
As with all great guitarists, the fundamentals of Schenker’s sound and approach are in his hands and his head. For most of his career he’s channeled them through Flying Vs. He’s had a host of the instruments, but those most famously associated with him are a pair of black and white ’70s Gibson models: a 1975 with a Seymour Duncan pickup in the lead position and a ’79 with a block inlay up the fretboard. He uses .009 gauge string sets for fast slinky action. Schenker’s pedal set-up has historically been spare. He has long employed wah-wah pedals and has experimented with various chorus, delay, and reverb units.
Just as Clapton gave the 30-watt Marshall combo amp a place in history with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Schenker made the 100-watt Marshall JCM-800 head a favorite among aggressive, inventive rock guitarists with his ’80s Michael Schenker Group albums and concerts.
There have been periods in his career when Schenker’s playing has been overshadowed by the complexities of his life. Ultimately, though, it’s the 53-year-old guitarist’s playing that has left an indelible mark on rock and roll history and, with the release of In the Midst of Beauty, continues to follow its own willfully singular path.