Another year, another Malmsteen record (his 13th studio album if I'm not mistaken !) and of course, how could it be any different - a completely new band line-up as well.
Most interesting newcomer this time around is without a doubt ex-Rainbow and current Cornerstone vocalist Dougie White, who does a rather excellent job all the way through and may well be considered to be in my top three vocalists Yngwie has worked with so far. Unfortunately that other big name Derik Sherinian's role is mainly reduced to some backing keyboards here and there and that can be considered quite a shame since he's capable of a lot more than what's on offer here (and it would have lead to some blistering guitar / keyboard duels ... oh well ...)
Musically of course, there's nothing really new or terribly different from the usual formula. The main difference between Attack and War To End All Wars being the production, which was a bit lacking on his previous release and has notably increased in quality this time around. Favorite songs for me are without a doubt the instrumentals Majestic Blue and Air. Finally a nice surprise comes in the form of Freedom, which sees Yngwie taking on lead vocals himself, and managing to come away pretty good with it as well.
Basically there's not a lot to complain about except for one small thing, namely the lyrics. I think it's about time that Yngwie let his vocalists write their own texts, as some of the stuff that is on offer here is rather weak and certainly unfitting for a singer off of Dougie's caliber.
To round off - no real shocking surprises here, Malmsteen once again delivers a decent album as he will probably continue doing in the future - and hey, after 13 albums - he deserves all credit for sticking to his own style and not disappointing his fans.