Ah yes, and now it’s time for the Viking! This guy is probably my 2nd favorite guitarist all time next to last month’s virtuoso. There are so many great things to say it is difficult to not ramble on about this truly incredible guitar player. Yngwie Malmsteen is one of the most talented neo-classical fusion metal masters on the planet. Don’t think so? Just ask him!

Yngwie Malmsteen (born under an almost completely different name in 1963) is a Swedish guitarist who came onto the scene in the 80’s. He has released over 20 studio albums and has been rated as one of the world’s ten best electric guitarists. Heavily influenced by Paganini and Bach, his brand of guitar playing was super unique to the scene at the time many players were branching out into different styles of metal and rock guitar.

Besides his virtuosic playing, most notable is his showmanship. Watching Yngwie is a real treat, not just for his incredible technique but because in all the flurry of notes and scales he comes off very relaxed, in control and yet flamboyantly entertaining. In fact, he often looks out at the crowd in the middle of an insane run of 256th notes and will wink at you! His use of more animated hand gestures and body movements really accentuate the visual aspect of his style and is very reminiscent of how violinist Niccolo Paganini would wow crowds and woo women at his concerts. People back in the day thought he was the devil! I’m sure some people think that about Yngwie as well–he does have the ability to take down most mortal guitarists in a duel.

I’ve seen Yngwie live a couple times. The first time was with his own band (including the Johannson brothers) in the 90’s at the Ogden Theater. In typical fashion, his side of the stage was lined up with 10 Marshall 4×12 cabs and 10 Marshall heads. His guitar rig was so loud it eclipsed the house sound! He also had an octaver pedal that he would push up about 2 octaves in the middle of some high speed run and completely jack with the audience’s hearing. It was as if he was communicating with some type of aliens or insects–you would literally have to cover your ears. Generally, ear protection was a good idea anyway as the room is definitely louder when Yngwie takes the stage. He was decked out in typical fashion–black leather pants and jacket complete with the puffy shirt, neck chains and flowing curly hair. At this point in his career he was actually a little heavy (dare I say fat!) However, this is no way obstructed his incredible playing or that of his band. It was about as raw Yngwie as one could get outside of the 80’s. He performed all of his tricks (he has an incredible volume swell technique) and circus acts, and ended up destroying his guitar in Hendrix-like fashion. Incidentally, I thought it funny that he claims Jimi’s playing never really affected him–I mean he plays a Fender Strat for pete’s sake and his more bluesy playing definitely conjures up the feel of Jimi–but according to Yngwie, it was more the act of lighting his guitar on fire that really impressed him more than anything else.

I saw Yngwie much more recently with Generation Axe at the Paramount Theater. This was quite the spectacle in itself with all the guitar giants in the show. However, when Yngwie finally took the stage it was like night and day. The entire concert lifted off its hinges at that point and things got really good! This time he brought only 22 Marshall cabs and heads–this was really funny because all the other guitarists had at most 2 cabs/heads for their rig (take a close look in the background of the picture to see what I mean). Although this show was more of an ensemble, Yngwie shredded away on many of his hits and brought the same showmanship and incredible technique that one would expect. I am also impressed that he looked really good–he had lost weight since the last time and was just all over the guitar like white on rice. He even closed the performance with his trademark moves, including destroying the guitar a la Hendrix again.

All in all, Yngwie perhaps more than many other great players, influenced an entirely new generation of guitarists who had technique and flash but were bored with the typical metal stock. Guitar players like Greg Howe, Tony MacAlpine and Marty Freidman, who all started in the neo-classical fusion realm thanks to Mr. Malmsteen, have now blossomed into super heady jazz players with the chops to match. For me, Yngwie brought a totally different and advanced level of guitar playing to the scene at a time when I was just getting comfortable with some of the classic legends a la Jimmy Page, Hendrix and Santana. Even Joe Satriani got pushed to the back burner as soon as I found out about Yngwie Malmsteen. This one guy and several of his early works in tablature form were responsible for the loss of an insane amount of hours learning his licks. At this point in my guitar career, I still have the most supreme appreciation and respect for his work and what it has helped me achieve as a player in my own right. THANK YOU YNGWIE!