ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JUNE 25, 2014
By Steve Newton
Yngwie Malmsteen likes to wear all black on-stage and play fast as hell on a Fender Strat through a wall of cranked Marshall amps, so you might think that Ritchie Blackmore is his hero.
“Okay, let’s correct that,” says Malmsteen when I mention that Wikipedia names the six-string legend from Deep Purple as “his most important guitar influence”. “Have you read my book?” he asks from a tour stop in Cleveland. “I released a memoir last year called Relentless, and everything that you have ever heard about me is put to rest in that. It includes all the personal stuff, the technical stuff, equipment, musical journey, you know.
“I grew up in Sweden, and in Sweden it’s, like, a socialist country—we didn’t have anything. It’s black and white, everything. One TV channel. And my sister gave me Deep Purple’s Fireball for my eighth birthday, so I was eight years old in a country that didn’t have any media anywhere, so of course the impact was amazing, to hear that music. By two years later I knew how to play everything note for note—Made in Japan, all this—but I became frustrated with the fact that it was all pentatonic scales. Pentatonic blues scales are what guitar players play, and I got really frustrated with that because I was playing all the time.”
As Malmsteen explains, he didn’t find a respite from his pentatonic blues until the same sibling who turned him on to Purple brought home some early Genesis records.
“They have much more interesting chord structures and melodies and much more difficult things to actually learn and play,” he relates. “So then I realized that that’s actually mostly baroque classical music that Tony Banks, the keyboard player in that band, brought in. So I went direct to the source and started listening to Bach and Vivaldi and then eventually Nicolo Paganini. My whole style is based on baroque classical music and the virtuoso violin of Nicolo Paganini. That is what I do with Marshall stacks and Stratocasters.
“So I have absolutely no influence from Ritchie Blackmore at all,” he concludes. “Nothing.”
So much for the accuracy of the world’s free encyclopedia. But what about its sordid details regarding Malmsteen holding his fiancée hostage at gunpoint, or being involved in that drunken airplane incident?
“Those two things are not true,” he stresses. “Having said that, yes, I was a bit of a wildman.”
What we can confirm about Malmsteen—or his current Guitar Gods tour with Guns N’ Roses guitarist Bumblefoot, instro-rock ace Gary Hoey, and former Scorpions axeman Uli Jon Roth—is that Roth has to sit out all the tour’s North American dates due to visa problems. So he won’t be fretting up a storm when the tour hits Richmond’s River Rock Show Theatre this Saturday (June 28).
“I think he’s amazing,” notes Malmsteen, “and I think it’s a shame that he can’t come along. But this is not [about] one person, this is an event, this is a big crazy guitar thing. And everybody brings something. I do what I do, and Bumblefoot does what he does, and Gary Hoey does what he does. And then we play together and jam, so it’s really good, you know.”
To hear the full audio of my interviews with Yngwie from 1985 and 2014 subscribe to my Patreon page, where you can eavesdrop on over 300 of my uncut, one-on-one conversations with:
Dave Martone, 2020
Ian Gillan of Deep Purple, 2006
Joss Stone, 2012
Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest, 2005
Jack Blades of Night Ranger, 1984
Vivian Campbell of Def Leppard, 1992
Colin James, 1995
Kim Simmonds of Savoy Brown, 1998
Tom Cochrane of Red Rider, 1983
Ed Roland of Collective Soul, 1995
Taj Mahal, 2001
Tom Wilson of Junkhouse, 1995
Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, 2003
David Lindley, 2002
Marty Friedman of Megadeth, 1991
John Hiatt, 2010
Nancy Wilson of Heart, 2006
Jeff Golub, 1989
Moe Berg of the Pursuit of Happiness, 1990
Todd Rundgren, 2006
Chad Kroeger of Nickelback, 2001
Steve Earle, 1987
Gabby Gaborno of the Cadillac Tramps, 1991
Terry Bozzio, 2003
Roger Glover, 1985
Matthew Sweet, 1995
Jim McCarty of the Yardbirds, 2003
Luther Dickinson of North Mississippi Allstars, 2001
John Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls, 1995
Steve Hackett from Genesis, 1993
Grace Potter, 2008
Buddy Guy, 1993
Steve Lynch of Autograph, 1985
Don Wilson of the Ventures, 1997
Gordie Johnson of Big Sugar, 1998
Trevor Rabin of Yes, 1984
Albert Lee, 1986
Yngwie Malmsteen, 1985
Robert Cray, 1996
Tony Carey, 1984
Ian Hunter, 1988
Kate Bush, 1985
David Gilmour from Pink Floyd, 1984
Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip, 1996
Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi, 1993
Colin Linden, 1993
Kenny Wayne Shepherd, 1995
Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues, 1986
Elliot Easton from the Cars, 1996
Wayne Kramer from the MC5, 2004
Bob Rock, 1992
Nick Gilder, 1985
Roy Buchanan, 1988
Klaus Meine of Scorpions, 1988
Jason Bonham, 1989
Tom Johnston of the Doobie Brothers, 1991
Joey Spampinato of NRBQ, 1985
Patterson Hood of the Drive-By Truckers, 2003
Andy Powell of Wishbone Ash, 2003
Steve Kilbey of the Church, 1990
Edgar Winter, 2005
Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde, 1990
Randy Hansen, 2001
Dan McCafferty of Nazareth, 1984
Davy Knowles of Back Door Slam, 2007
Jimmy Barnes from Cold Chisel, 1986
Steve Stevens of Atomic Playboys, 1989
Billy Idol, 1984
Stuart Adamson of Big Country, 1993
Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, 1992
Warren Haynes of Gov’t Mule, 1998
John Bell of Widespread Panic, 1992
Robben Ford, 1993
Barry Hay of Golden Earring, 1984
Jason Isbell, 2007
Joe Satriani, 1990
Brad Delp of Boston, 1988
John Sykes of Blue Murder, 1989
Dave Mustaine of Megadeth, 1998
Alice Cooper, 1986
Lars Ulrich of Metallica, 1985
Shannon Hoon of Blind Melon, 1992
Myles Goodwyn of April Wine, 2001
John Mellencamp, 1999
Mike Campbell of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, 1999
Kenny Aronoff, 1999
Jon Bon Jovi, 1986
Dickey Betts of the Allman Brothers, 1992
Little Steven, 1987
Stevie Salas, 1990
Joe Bonamassa, 2011
Rob Baker of the Tragically Hip, 1997
Tommy Emmanuel, 1994
John Petrucci of Dream Theater, 2010
Eric Johnson, 2001
Stu Hamm, 1991
Gene Simmons of Kiss, 1992
Ace Frehley from Kiss, 2008
David Lee Roth, 1994
Allan Holdsworth, 1983
John Mayall of the Bluesbreakers, 1988
Steve Vai, 1990
Tony Iommi of Heaven and Hell, 2007
Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, 1996
Geoff Tate of Queensryche, 1991
James Hetfield of Metallica, 1986
Stevie Ray Vaughan, 1990
Rick Richards of the Georgia Satellites, 1988
Andy McCoy and Sam Yaffa of Hanoi Rocks, 1984
Steve Morse, 1991
Slash of Guns N’ Roses, 1994
Brian May from Queen, 1993
Dickey Betts of the Allman Brothers, 1991
Jake E. Lee of Badlands, 1992
Rickey Medlocke of Lynyrd Skynyrd, 1997
John Fogerty, 1997
Joe Perry of Aerosmith, 1987
Rick Derringer, 1999
Robin Trower, 1990
Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, 1994
Mick Ronson, 1988
Geddy Lee of Rush, 2002
Buck Dharma of Blue Oyster Cult, 1997
Michael Schenker, 1992
Vince Neil of Motley Crue, 1991
Vinnie Paul of Pantera, 1992
Joan Jett, 1992
Steve Harris of Iron Maiden, 1988
Sebastian Bach of Skid Row, 1989
Rob Halford of Judas Priest, 1984
Bill Henderson of Chilliwack, 1999
Paul Rodgers, 1997
R.L. Burnside, 1999
Guthrie Govan of the Aristocrats, 2015
Mick Mars of Mötley Crüe, 1985
Carlos Santana, 2011
Walter Trout, 2003
Rudy Sarzo of Quiet Riot, 1983
Tommy Aldridge, 2001
Donald “Duck” Dunn, 1985
Mark Farner of Grand Funk, 1991
Chris Robinson of Black Crowes, 1990
Jennifer Batten, 2002
Mike Fraser, 2014
Leo Kottke, 2002
Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead, 2002
David Gogo, 1991
Booker T. Jones, 2016
Link Wray, 1997
James Reyne from Australian Crawl, 1988
Mike Rutherford of Genesis, 1983
Buddy Guy, 1991
Country Dick Montana of the Beat Farmers, 1990
Mike Cooley of the Drive-By Truckers, 2016
Gary Rossington of Lynyrd Skynyrd, 1986
Lindsay Mitchell of Prism, 1988
Buddy Miles, 2001
Eddie Money, 1988
Tom Hamilton of Aerosmith, 1983
Gaye Delorme, 1990
Dave Murray of Iron Maiden, 1984
Graham Bonnet of Alcatrazz, 1984
Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac, 2016
Doc Neeson of Angel City, 1985
Rik Emmett of Triumph, 1985
Sonny Landreth, 2016
Tosin Abasi of Animals as Leaders, 2016
Jeff Beck, 2001
Albert King, 1990
Johnny Ramone of the Ramones, 1992
Peter Frampton, 1987
Otis Rush, 1997
Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip, 1989
Leslie West of Mountain, 2002
Steve Howe of Yes, 2017
Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, 1983
Uli Jon Roth, 2016
Poison Ivy of the Cramps, 1990
Greg Lake of ELP, 1992
Robert Plant, 1993
Malcolm Young and Brian Johnson of AC/DC, 1983
Warren Zevon, 1992
Tal Wilkenfeld, 2016
Steve Clark of Def Leppard, 1988
Roy Buchanan, 1986
Gary Moore, 1984
Ronnie Montrose, 1994
Danny Gatton, 1993
Alex Lifeson of Rush, 1992
Ann Wilson of Heart, 1985
Yngwie Malmsteen, 2014
Chris Cornell, 2008
Long John Baldry, 1985
Allan Holdsworth, 1983
Kim Mitchell, 1984
Warren Haynes of the Allman Brothers, 1994
Derek Trucks, 1998
Susan Tedeschi, 1998
Joe Satriani, 2018
B.B. King, 1984
Albert Collins, 1985
Ronnie James Dio, 1985
Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, 1984
Dick Dale, 2000
Greg Allman, 1998
Dickey Betts, 2001
…with hundreds more to come
Yngwie is full of shit. He’s admitted the airplane incident many times. The audio of the incident was actually recorded, & is on youtube to be found. He admits it was recorded too, and that the Unleash the Fury album was named after that incident. The Blackmore thing has been talked about for decades, I’ve only noticed vague similarities, but Yngwie has never denied it until this point. Why? He’s had 3 decades to straighten it out. He certainly was inspired by Blackmore, & has admitted that in the past as well. Who knows what happened with the gunpoint hostage thing….but he was arrested & charged for it. Fiancee wouldn’t testify against him….case closed. Now YJM denies all these things? Maybe he has gotten amnesia? Sure doesn’t play cleanly anymore, and takes a back seat to Mr. Joe Stump when it comes to live performance. Joe will eat Malmsteen alive! This is being said by a Yngwie fan, so haters take notice. Later…
https://youtu.be/KcXCqQ_-gMI
is this the recording?
Ingwie wittleweewee is a bit too full of himself. Yes, he can play fast classical scales. But really, what he does not play at a mile a minute is very plain. When you think about players skill level…well, as a real musician would think, you want to grade vibrato, resonance and ability to use melodic scale progressions. Honestly, if we are grading speed, wittleweewee is rare. But if we are really talking about what makes a great guitar player, it’s very obvious why guitar players overwhelmingly realize why Blackmore is in a class all by himself. All this despite the fact that he (RB) is an insecure mass a lot of the time.
Ps
And really, average music fans grade music by what feelings the music exudes.
Many years ago I saw IM and RB within a relatively short time frame. We all commented that we were as amazed by how we felt the heart and soul of Blackmore permeating the concert hall as we were with the great genius of this guy who plays whatever comes to him at that moment! Ritchie is so great live!
We also saw IM and we’re impressed with the speed. Beyond that, none of us felt anything inside from our experience. The thing we all agreed on is that we all wasted our hard earned blue collar money watching this transvestite (YM) show off, playing his over-rehearsed guitar solos as fast as he could.
#wasted dough
Fcking ass ole, you are the transvestite. You don’t need to insult to make a point clear, idiot! Yngwie is great, he refers that musically he has no influence from Blackmore, he based his style on Bach and Paganini.
and Uli Jon Roth
Since when was “transvestite” an insult?
I don’t know , ” Jet To Jet ” sounds a lot like ” Spotlight Kid ” … just an observation !! Throw in the Fender Strats with scalloped frets ; it screams : ” Blackmore is my idol !! ” LOL !!
Yes good summary of the 3 players.
How anyone can listen to YM for more than 2 minutes is beyond me.No soul to his playing at all.This is why he will never be mentioned in the same breath with the greats.Speed means nothing if theres no soul-feeling behind it.
If you learned every note from a
Purple album, then yes, yes you are influenced by Blackmore
Idiot’s still in denial, just like his claim of not knowing about Blackmore’s scalloped fret LOL.
I am a HUGE Yngwie fan, still is but I think John Petrucci is more of a REAL guitar player’s guitarist, simply because he is a true musician. Petrucci can play fast, slow, melodic and above all he plays clean!
Now….let’s get down to the nitty gritty. Malmsteen claims that he owes nothing to Blackmore??? I don’t believe it. I have proof that he owes EVERYTHING to Blackmore (and I’m not talking about his ‘scalloped’ fretboard either). In 1996, Yngwie Malmsteen released an album called ‘Inspirations’ showcasing his playing style and influences. On the album, there are 10 songs, and 5 of those songs were credited under Blackmore from Rainbow and Deep Purple era. Look it up.
Malmsteen was mostly influenced by Blackmore in terms of songwriting, he never stopped trying to rewrite Machine Head and Rainbow Rising. Any musician who knows his craft will tell you Uli Roth and Al DiMeola had a massive impact on his lead guitar playing, and he never lost that influence. He had a really promising start, but for the past thirty years keeps playing the same song and album endlessly. To compare him to a more tasty, original player like Blackmore or Jeff Beck is to look like someone who doesn’t know anything about music. Edward Van Halen was there first for shredding, and he was an original as well. Go play to your quarter full stadiums, Yngwie. Check out who Beck plays to, and for.
Improvisational ingenious, Riitchie Blackmore: the gold standard! The guy does not practice and lays down all his album tracks in 1 take. Go back and listen to the leads on Perfect Strangers; awesome guitar work.
That’s true George, but Blackmore can also be extremely interesting on the rare occasions he does plot out his leads: the MH version of “Highway Star”. Malmsteen never wrote a song that good, nor a “Stargazer” or “Sails of Charon”. All three songs were a huge, never ending influence on him. He never progressed past that.
I saw Deep Purple once back in the early 70s. Blackmore sucked. I could only listen through 3 1/2 songs and left, as Blackmore kept playing the same thing for every song. This was during his proclamation that he was the best guitarist in the world and would challenge anyone to a guitar dual.
I am not a fan of Yngwie Malmsteen.
There are three “guitar players” with no soul at all: Satriani, Vai and Malmsteen.
You are right about the middle one but not the first and last if you ever get a chance search youtube for ‘Amberdawn’ and ‘Blue’ by Yngwie Malmsteen, lots of soul there. By the way, aside from YJM I think John Petrucci is truly the best out there!
R B and Y M are two very problematic personality guitarists, both of whom have this profile where people are disregarded by one situation or another, it is very ego envious, of course they have musician friends but many more enemies and for what? They are two excellent guitarists and each in its time. Dozens of guitarists do well to talk about their heroes, Slash talks about Jimmy Page, Joe Bonamassa talks about Jimmy Page so on, Eric Clapton is very honored and they all extinguish old guitar players to their performance. It’s just that R B and Y M are still childish mentally. But damn it, your art is great!
Malmsteen has been slobbing on the knob of Uli Roth and Blackmore since time immemorial. He still sounds like a masturbatory, less soulful and musical version of Roth. Even worse, he stole licks from Sails of Charon and is always competing with himself to play them faster (and less musically). There you have Yngwie, end of story motha fuckaaas!
Such a complete lie, half his stuff is blues based not neoclassical. Completely shitty person who refuses to acknowledge those who helped make him who he is today.
Malmsteen own everything to Blackmore period, pantatonic??? listen to Gates of Babylon, Stargazer ect… nothing to do with that scale!! he play Blackmore song on inspiration and thank him in some of his album, copy Blackmore strat and some of his clothes in Steeler and Alcatrazz days, he own to Blackmore a lot!
Let’s not forget Rory Gallagher’s ‘Moonchild’. Listen to that and tell me Yngwie did not ripped it off for one (or more) of his songs