Titled ‘The Final Ride,’ a live album was released on May 29—the first in Lynch Mob’s career. George Lynch described the record by saying: “Captured loud, raw, and exactly how it was meant to be heard, this is Lynch Mob firing on all cylinders.”
heart and soul
Recorded during the band’s 2024 Tour at The Guild Theater in Menlo Park, California, this album naturally does not feature any tracks from their latest studio release, ‘Dancing With The Devil’ (2025).
So what does it contain? Well, a wide selection of the many songs into which Mr. Lynch has poured his heart and soul over the years.
But mainly featuring material from the debut album ‘Wicked Sensation’ [1990], ‘Babylon’ [2023], and three Dokken songs.
The band Lynch Mob has taken many forms over the years, but this lineup consists of Puerto Rican singer Gabriel Colon, bassist Jaron Gulino [formerly of Heaven’s Edge], drummer Jimmy D’Anda [formerly of Bulletboys],
and, of course, guitar virtuoso and master George Lynch himself.
Raw & Dirty
The recordings are indeed Raw & Dirty; it seems, in fact, that very little was tweaked in the studio.
Singer Gabriel has a raw voice that at times comes close to that of earlier singers like Andrew Freeman, Oni Logan, or Robert Mason.
The Lynch Mob repertoire is therefore best suited to his vocal range. The Dokken songs are a bit less logical, but that might also be because I simply have the original Dokken versions in my DNA and need to get used to this rawer approach.
Also, the backing vocals aren’t particularly strong. Which I think is a bummer.
Surprisingly, the album opens with a Dokken song. “Lightning Strikes Again” from the 1985 album ‘Under Lock And Key’ and “River Of Love,” one of my favorite Lynch Mob songs from the 1990 debut album ‘Wicked Sensation’.
As far as the song selection goes, I really have little to no complaints, because this is exactly how I imagine a Lynch Mob show. Lynch laid the blueprint in 1990, and with five songs from that rock-solid album, you can’t complain.
dokken
“No Good” from the second album, ‘Lynch Mob’ (1992), is also one of my personal favorite Lynch Mob songs.
The band’s more recent work is also represented with “Caught Up,” “Time After Time” from the 2023 album ‘Babylon,’ and “Let The Music Be Your Master” from the 2009 album ‘Smoke & Mirrors.’ The newer work is somewhat less represented on this album, but in all fairness, the songs from the Dokken era and the first two Lynch Mob albums are still the ones you want to hear at a Lynch Mob show.
The classic track “Paris Is Burning” is introduced by a beautiful solo from Lynch, and “It’s Not Love” is, of course, an amazing song, but vocally it’s not the best track for singer Colon.
The album closes with “Wicked Sensation,” which, of course, is a must-have on a live album. A fine version, although I do think it’s a shame that the song was played with such a long interlude. It does take some of the momentum out of it.
final ride??
A nice collection of songs to which George Lynch has lent his masterful guitar work. Now 70 years old, he still knows how to conjure up a killer sound from a guitar.
The fact is, this has turned out to be a great compilation album, and if you’ve never heard anything by the band Lynch Mob, this is a good introduction.
Whether this will actually be the band’s final achievement remains to be seen. But I personally don’t think this will be George Lynch’s Final Ride just yet. A good album.
Report by Raymond Helebrand
