With Doogie White on vocals, the German axe-master regroups with ex-Scorpions Herman Rarebell (drums) and Francis Bucholtz (bass) on a baker’s dozen new tracks. All are short, the longest being a 4:39 “To Live For The King’. Needless to say, under those time constraints, there’s not a lot of showing off by Herr Schenker, but he does his fretboard noodling within the context of the song: short Flamenco flourish in ‘Where The Wild Winds Blow’, quick picking ‘Shine On’ and ‘Dance For The Piper’ finale. There’s a decidedly Deep Purple quality to the bouncy, keyboard flavored ‘Lord Of The Lost And Lonely’, with Blackmore style and White channeling his best Ian Gillan, although the yelps come out on the fleet-fingered follow-up, ‘Rock N Roll Symphony’! ‘Land Of Thunder’ is the speedster in the batch, although in terms of showcasing Schenker’s talent, the work in ‘To Live For The King’ is probably superior.

‘Because You Lied’ basically repeats the titular phrase ad infinitum, the lone toe-stub herein, but it’s part of the weak closing trio. Schenker is set to tour North America, early in 2014, plan you pilgrimage to become a member of this Temple’s congregation, faithful servant or new convert.