Thank God we are not rating this one on the album cover art alone, as it some of the silliest ever seen.

A huge Michael Schenker is seen rising out of the top of an Inca style temple, playing his trademarked Flying V guitar. There are rays of the sun behind him and golden letters spell out ‘Temple of Rock.’ How do those Germans come up with this stuff? Maybe they really do love David Hasselhoff…

While they artwork is silly, the music is inspiring and rocks hard from beginning to end proving the elusive, and oft lucid, Michael Schenker, is back, firing on all cylinders.

The album starts off with the intergalactic Metal Head William Shatner doing a spoken word intro before Schenker comes crashing in on the hard rocking “How Long.”

Throughout the album, Schenker’s playing is impressive. His soloing on songs like “Miss Claustrophobia” and “Speed” is among the best of his career. The biggest guitar solo fest, however, is on the reprise titled “How Long (3 Generations Guitar Battle Version)” and features Schenker battling it out with guitarists Leslie West and Michael Amott.

Schenker’s backing band is tight and features ex-Scorpions drummer Herman Rarebell on drums and UFO’s Pete Way on bass.

As if this album could not be better, Schenker also invited some of his famous rocking friends show up in the studio. Guest appearances on the album feature vocalists Doogie White and Robin McAuley, guitarist, and brother, Rudolf Schenker of the Scorpions, keyboardists Don Airey and Paul Raymond, bass players Chris Glen and Neal Murray, and drummers Carmine Appice, Simon Phillips, Chris Slade and Brian Tichy --- talk about an all star cast of musicians! This is a good old fashioned hard rock album that gets better with each listen.

Michael Schenker, clean and sober, is a force to be reckoned with. Let’s hope he can keep on the straight and narrow and choose to be addicted to rock music instead of drugs and booze going forward, as he is showing his creative juices are a long way from drying up.