It’s usually not a good sign when your record company press release focuses on your past and almost forgets to mention your new album. On the other hand, not many a musician has had a career as impressive as Michael Schenker. Still one of the greatest guitarists around, Schenkers light touch and unique sound have been an inspiration to generations of musicians since the late seventies. His output however has – to put it mildly - varied somewhat in quality. He surely made his share of crap albums throughout the years.

All over the internet Arachnophobiac has been hailed as a return to true form. It isn’t really. Since UFO disintegrated on the brink of super stardom, Schenker has failed to deliver the goods. There were some good albums and lots of brilliant songs, but the German guitar-hero has a very uneven back-catalogue. He never truly fulfilled his potential. This 32nd version of MSG is just another watered down UFO clone. All the parts are there, but the genius is missing.

It proves again that a great band is more than the sum of it’s parts. Still, Arachnophobiac is the work of a team of very skilled musicians. The fretwork is as good as ever. The songs aren’t all that strong. Strokes of brilliance shine through on tracks like “Illusion” and “Over Now”. The simple early hard rock sound is still what MSG does best. The lyrics just suck. The metal audience might not be the most poetic – or even literate – around, but this is ridiculous. “One lonely Spider, creepy crawling up my wall, two more inside my shoe.” And that’s the title track! Just call a fumigator and get it over with. Not to mention the nu-gospel of “Alive” (shudder), how low can you go?

Without the history of the man who gave this band his name, the rating might have been a bit higher. It’s a decent rock album. Mr. Schenker however, can do much better. At least he could, twenty-something years ago.