The Yngwie Malmsteen Thread v. He's Better Than You and He Knows It

[Ultimetalhead]

This man is the definition of a guitar god. He is the only guitarist I've ever heard who can make a bland song but still keep my full attention just because of the sheer insanity of his soloing. His new album is freaking incredible.

Appreciate, depreciate, whatever. I don't care. He's the king of guitar.

[glaurung]

He's too much. I love his "Concerto Suite" album but that's about it.

[Ravenheart]

I actually like a lot of his early work--even some of the pop metal cheezeball stuff from Eclipse   But he doesn't have the intensity he used to contain. Still, he's one of the pioneers of shred guitar. And he's made some incredibly catchy songs, despite all the flashy soloing.

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

I do love Trilogy Suite, but overall I find him too repetitive.

[Ultimetalhead]

I'd urge everyone in this thread to listen to his second-newest release, Perpetual Flame. It's easily his most tasteful album. I'd also listen to Relentless, his newest one just released yesterday, because it's just THAT good.

[Fuzzboy]

Best album cover EVER




I used to be really into the guy, and some of the early stuff is pretty damn cool (around the first 3 albums). But, at the risk of sounding like every Malmsteen hater on the internet, everything he's done since then proves to me that he's seriously run out of ideas.

edit: Actually, I have to admit that Perpetual Flame was much much better than Unleash the Fury and everything before that. I still couldn't get through the whole album though.

[Ultimetalhead]

Listen to the new one at some point. Seriously. It's not 12 metal songs straight in a row. There's actually a good mix of styles. It reminds me so much of Rising Force in the structure of it (TONS of instrumentals).

[Fuzzboy]

Listen to the new one at some point. Seriously. It's not 12 metal songs straight in a row. There's actually a good mix of styles. It reminds me so much of Rising Force in the structure of it (TONS of instrumentals).

It's something I definitely want to get around to doing, but I'm unable to since I'm in a different country ATM and on my mother's laptop. She'd freak if I downloaded anything on it 

[Ultimetalhead]

Understood. 

[j]

What's the best of his old stuff?  I'll give it a shot along with the newest one.

-J

[Ultimetalhead]

Rising Force. Now.

[MykeHavoc]

Great musician. I admire his song-writing. The actual meat and potatoes of the stuff, that being the riffs and melodies. Not the best lyricist, but whatever. His solos obviously sound like Yngwie. I'm a fan. Odyssey is one of my favorite albums ever.

[yeshaberto]

he has been my favorite guitarest over the years...so much power in his playing.  but I can also see how he could get tiresome after a while

[SPNKr]

I began to appreciate a little bit because I once saw a video of him showing you how to play something classical. Once he played the whole thing I was just
Been a while since I heard anything by him, but he's got a unique style yes. I'll get some more maybe.

yeshua grats on 8888 posts! XD

[yeshaberto]

oh man, I missed it, but thanks...

got to meet the mighty man one night on his bus.  it was during his sober years (while touring with Dio)...he was surprisingly humble and gracious. 

[MykeHavoc]

Say what you will about the man, but he is more proud to be an American then most people that were born here are. People seem to think that because he's a flash player, that makes him an asshole. All evidence I have seen (especially over the last several years) indicates the total opposite.

[chrisbDTM]

his albums from the 80s and 90s are awesome, but now every release sounds the same

[j]

Rising Force. Now.

Done.  Got it on my queue.

-J

[Ultimetalhead]

NOW.

[Zydar]

I've heard the song Judas from Eclipse, it's a good one.

[SPNKr]

Say what you will about the man, but he is more proud to be an American then most people that were born here are. People seem to think that because he's a flash player, that makes him an asshole. All evidence I have seen (especially over the last several years) indicates the total opposite.

Yes I hate assumptions like those too.

[AwakeFromOctavarium]

Not a fan. I'm not very fond of neo-classical shredding anyway (not trying to generalize him but that's his main style). I'd rather listen to Steve Vai or Petrucci.

That's all I can contribute.

[Adami]

I really like his work in Symphony X.

[wolfking]

I'd probably say that Yngwie Malmsteen is my fav guitar player of all time.  I was learning the guitar and was getting tired of it.  My guitar teacher played me the song Seventh Sign I was just stunned, since then i love playing guitar.

I think a lot of people don't understand his playing.  Yes, he's self indulgent and yes he puts a million notes a minute in everywhere but that is just his pure expression coming out.  I can hear his soul and love for music with his playing.  And really, he has so many songs where the solos are some well though out and melodic, people just don't want to dig down enough.

I own all his albums minus the new one, which I'm hoping to get this weekend.  To be honest, I like all his albums, there is amazing music on all of them.  My favourite is Alchemy, this is simply one of my top 10 albums of all time.  So many good songs, and Mark Boals doesn't disappoint either.  Other yngwie favs;

Facing the Animal
Odyssey
Magnum Opus
Attack!
Fire and Ice
Marching Out

Really the list goes on.  Live he is awesome.  I've seen him live once and he really put on an amazing show.  his Live DVD with Mats Leven is worth picking up too.  Live in Leningrad with Joe Lynn Turner and the Johansson brothers is simply stunning.  His playing on that is out of this world.  Anyone who doubts this man, should really dig deeper and check out some of his unknown cuts.  You might be surprised.

[wolfking]

Yngwie's up to his old tricks again!!

https://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=149917

LOL WUT??

[jsem]

Yngwie's up to his old tricks again!!

https://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=149917

LOL WUT??

[Ultimetalhead]

I fucking lol'd so hard at that article. It makes me wonder if Relentless is just a collection of B-Sides from Perpetual Flame, with maybe the only new tracks being the instrumentals. It wouldn't surprise me.

Still, it's a hell of an album. 

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

I love Malmsteen.  "Hold On" is probably my favorite Malmsteen tunef or two reasons - JLT's voice is stratospheric on that song and the tone on the guitar solo is one of the scariest guitar tones ever.  This isn't the best quality version of it, but still decent:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZL-u2CdKNcI



Also, the obligatory:

https://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2006/malmsteen-p1.php

[MykeHavoc]

Yes, this record (at least the 6 tracks with Ripper singing) are left over from the last record. Tim is upset because he only had a one album contract, so the management is supposed to re-up it for this record to come out, regardless of when it was recorded. I will discuss it further with him Saturday, as I'm going to his restaurant in Ohio for his unplugged show. I'll be hanging with him for the better part of a day, so we'll likely have time to jive.

[Lowdz]

yngwie was my guitar hero from the first Alcatrazz record (not cd!). Even if the song wasn't great there would be a cool solo to make you listen to it. Loved his early work but since facing The Animal his songs have been awful, and why oh why does he insist on singing???
the Concerto Suite is sublime.
Odyssey was the pinnacle of his songwriting but his guitar playing hasn't moved on since the late 80s, but this is probably  because his technique was fully formed at a young age and raised the bar in terms of metal guitar. Since Yngwie came along everybody had to play arpeggios in their solos. He was that influential.

[LudwigVan]

I really like his work in Symphony X.

   So true.

I agree all the sentiments about Rising Force.   That album is a seamless blend of classical music and metal, just so full of atmosphere and taste (I know... not a word you associate with Malmsteen, but there it is).

The way Yngwie melds Bach and Mozart with heavy riffs is fully-realized on this album.  Not to be missed. 

[KevShmev]

I think it was someone at Portnoy's forum who had this quote in his sig, by a singer who used to be in Malmsteen's band:

"Yngwie and I parted over religious differences; he thought he was God, and I disagreed."

 

[yeshaberto]

 

[j]

NOW.

Listening now.

-J

[wolfking]

I think it was someone at Portnoy's forum who had this quote in his sig, by a singer who used to be in Malmsteen's band:

"Yngwie and I parted over religious differences; he thought he was God, and I disagreed."

 

I wonder who said that, could be something Jeff Scott Soto would say.  I'd be surprised if it were Joe Lynn, he seems like a really nice easy going guy.  Mark Boals could be guilty of that too, even Goran or Michael.