For me, from the very beginning, these songs are just far too slow in tempo, and they appear to be that way in order to showcase the strength of Ripper's voice than to actually write a good song. "Starting Over" should be a belter as it has the right bones, but the fire just doesn't take as the song drifts along without catching. In "Believe" Ripper seems to be trying too hard to be passionate where there is no passion in the song. It just ends up stretching a boring song to lengths unnecessary, without any hooks. "The Cover Up" is poorly put together. Once again the song melody is just all wrong, especially when Ripper now decides it is time to hit his higher range when really the song dictates that he should be down lower with the heavier type vocal range. And what is with the lyrics? Wow. Jeff Loomis does save the song a little, but there isn't much help there. "Is It Me" and "No Good Goodbyes" sound like they want to be a cross between Alice in Chains and Judas Priest without being able to pull off the sense of power and angst that such a combination would produce. They both have flaws but are listenable.
"The World is Blind" is another in a bland, boring song arrangement. Ripper tries to do the mournful, ballad type of vocals over music that does nothing, and gets closer to sending you to sleep with its repetition than feeling any emotion. Very average, especially considering artists as talented as Doug Aldrich, Billy Sheehan and Simon Wright play on the song.
"To Live Again" gets closer to what you would expect, a punchier song with Michael Wilton and Dave Ellefson contributing heavily in the mix. Junior's bassline is the best part of the song. But there is still a mystifying lull in the middle of the song that just sucks the guts out of it, with Ripper slowing up the pace again by trying to over-emote in his vocals, and in the long run ties it to the rest of the tunes on this album. The same goes with "The Light", the song just doesn't get out of first gear and give itself a chance. We get the full complement of Ripper's range here, somewhat layered over each other, but it just lacks strength.
"Play My Game" is probably one of the better songs on the album, but it too suffers from having any progress the song had made stopped dead in its tracks by the middle of the song, which rips the heart out some great guitar work which tries to get the song going before Ripper starts chanting in slow motion.
"Death Race" is how this album SHOULD have sounded. A great guitar riff starts off the song in the right fashion, and Ripper gets going with his best work, not only singing some worthwhile lyrics, but testing his range without feeling as though he is trying too hard. This is all complemented by great guitar solos in the middle of the song, and Ripper wins on this occasion. This is by far the best song on the album, and if only this had been the basis for how the whole album was written, we would all have been far more impressed and happy.
Unfortunately, the lesson has not been completely learned, as with "The Shadows Are Alive" the band try to put together a memorable closer which doesn't come off as they would have liked, despite some nice guitar work towards the end of the song. Why they had to make the song so slow in taking off is beyond me, because the end does start to come together. Make the whole song with the intensity of the second half of the song and it would have been so much better.
Play My Game really is a disappointment. It could have been a real talking point, an effort that showcased exactly what Ripper can do in a fast heavy environment. Instead, for the most part it plods along without a great deal of life. Is he destined to go through his career as a 'singer for hire' lead vocalist without really establishing himself as an artist of repute? It's possible, and there's no great shame in that, but you would just like to see someone who has a voice like Ripper really put out some killer albums and get the respect and plaudits he deserves.
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