Yngwie Malmsteen takes the guitar world by storm at age 22

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DEC. 27, 1985

By Steve Newton

Hendrix. Page. Beck. Clapton. Blackmore. Van Halen. Rhoads. Malmsteen.

Malmsteen?

That’s right, Malmsteen. The name might not be as familiar, but rest assured that in years to come it will gain a place beside those of rock’s biggest guitar heroes. At only 22 years of age, Swedish-born Yngwie (pronounced “ing-vay”) Malmsteen is fast becoming known as the most skilled player in hard rock.

Taking his influence more from classical music than the blues, Yngwie has developed a mind-boggling technique and a sound that is uniquely his own. In the latest edition of Guitar World magazine–which features Yngwie on the cover–his music is described as “an ear-searing combination of heavy metal bombast and classical beauty.”

Local metal fans will have a chance to hear for themselves what all the fuss is about when Malmsteen’s Rising Force opens for Dio this Saturday (December 28) at the Coliseum. Yngwie fanatics take note: you can meet him in person, the day of the show, at A&A Records on Granville, between 3 and 4 pm.

Yngwie Malmsteen’s rise to the upper echelons of the guitar world has been a rapid one. In February of 1983 he made his first move to America from Sweden, on the invitation of guitar aficionado Mike Varney, a columnist for Guitar Player magazine and high-profile talent scout, especially in the metal realm (as “Mister Varney” he has produced three volumes of U.S. Metal–Unsung Guitar Heroes on his own Shrapnel Records label.)

Varney set up a recording project with Malmsteen, Talas bassist Billy Sheehan, and drummer Leonard Haze of Y&T, but that plan fell through, and Yngwie quickly joined another band called Steeler, with which he cut one album.

By the time that record hit the streets, however, Yngwie wanted out of Steeler. After being approached by UFO singer Phil Mogg to join his band, Yngwie settled on a new one being formed by vocalist Graham Bonnet, who had previously played with guitar greats Ritchie Blackmore (on Rainbow’s Down to Earth) and Michael Schenker (on the Michael Schenker Group’s Assault Atttack).

The group became Alcatrazz, and Malmsteen recorded two albums with them, the debut No Parole for Rock ‘n’ Roll, and the mini-LP, Live Sentence, recorded in Japan. Two years ago, just before the release of No Parole, I interviewed Bonnet, and this is how he described his new find:

“Yngwie came down [to audition] one Sunday afternoon and that was it. I mean, he plays like Ritchie. And he looks like him a bit too, you know, he has crosses hanging around his neck and all that stuff–the typical heavy metal guitarist. He’s real young, but he’s got great technique. He’s very much like Eddie Van Halen, real clean. And I’m not kidding when I say he’s as good as that. He’s shit-hot!”

Unfortunately for Bonnet, hot as Yngwie was, he had cold feet. While still a member of Alcatrazz, he was planning his own band, and just last year he recruited former Jethro Tull drummer Barriemore Barlow, fellow Swede Jens Johannsson on keyboards, and American vocalist Jeff Scott Soho–who Malmsteen picked from over 2,000 demo tapes submitted in answer to an MTV ad.

Rising Force was formed, and in April of ’84 they released their self-titled debut album. Originally available only in Japan, it sold so many copies as an import that PolyGram Records went on to release it in North America–and it eventually went as high as Number 60 on the Billboard chart.

On the strength of Rising Force Yngwie received the Best New Talent award in the prestigious Guitar Player poll (an honor previously bestowed on the likes of Al DiMeola, Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, Adrian Belew, and Stevie Ray Vaughan), and a third place showing in the Overall Best Rock Guitar category (behind Gary Moore and Alex Lifeson of Rush).

1985 sees Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force with a second album, Marching Out, and a new singer from the Ted Nugent band, Mark Boals.

Earlier this month I called Yngwie at his home in L.A., where he was resting after a 60-date tour with Aussie rockers AC/DC. He talked about his influences, his admiration of horror writer Stephen King, and his hatred of most “heavy metal”.

What made you want to learn guitar in the first place?

Basically I got really inspired by seeing Jimi Hendrix on TV, you know. That’s basically how the whole thing started.

What was it about Hendrix that you liked so much?

I liked the fact that he was really incorporating a lot of show into what he was doin’. I liked that lot.

On the liner notes of your new album you mention Hendrix and Ritchie Blackmore.

Yeah, I started listening to Deep Purple a lot after that as well.

Which albums in particular?

Fireball and In Rock, way back when they first came out.

What was the music scene like in Sweden when you were growing up?

It was nothing. It was just like a lot of shit really.

Is that what brought you over to America?

Well I’d been playing for such a long time, and the reason I went to America from Sweden was because it didn’t matter how much I tried there–it would never bring me anywhere.

I understand you’re heavily into classical music.

Yeah that’s my biggest influence really, period. That’s what I listen to right now. I don’t have any influence from rock bands, because I think it’s too limiting really.

Who are your biggest classical influences?

Johann Sebastian Bach. Paganini.

You say in Guitar World that Paganini was “a rock and roller”.

You could say so, yeah. What I mean with that was that he was really wild. You know, he went around drinking and fooling with women. He was wild.

Does it bother you when people call Rising Force a heavy metal band?

It didn’t use to bother me. But nowadays, when I really understand what heavy metal stands for, I don’t like it at all. Because as far as I’m concerned heavy metal is a very primitive, and in my opinion not very necessary form of music that could be extinct.

I really detest it. It’s disgusting, and it’s really boring, and it’s very low, and it’s totally free from any intelligence or logic or notions. It’s all crap, and it’s for little frustrated pre-pubescent kids. And I’m really fed up with it.

But aren’t those the same kids that come to your concerts?

Yeah, but they seem to have a little more understanding for what’s going on, the kids that come to my concerts. You know, rather than people like W.A.S.P. and all that shit.

I understand that you were drafted into the Swedish army when you were 18?

Yeah. And anything that is like an establishment, I just can’t stand really. Schools, or armies, or jobs–whatever–it’s something I just can’t cope with. Because I’m too independent a person to be told what to do, and do things in groups. I’m a very creative person in my own way, and I don’t need people to tell me what to do, and I definitely don’t like it!

How did you get out of the army?

Well it’s a long story really, but basically just by explaining to them exactly how it was. And by spicing it up a little bit, and exaggerating here and there, and telling them I’d shoot myself if they didn’t let me out.

You’ve got a special thanks to Stephen King on your new album. What’s that for?

Because it’s really inspiring to read good books, and I’ve always been fascinated by the unknown and so forth. I’ve been studying the occult a lot.

Which is your favourite Stephen King book?

I think Firestarter and The Stand. I’m reading The Talisman right now, which he wrote together with another guy, Peter Straub. And that one’s really good. That’s one of the best ones I think.

Do you ever get ideas for songs from his stories.

Well not exactly ideas for songs as much as inspiration. It’s creation that really inspired me–that’s why I’m inspired by Leonardo da Vinci and H.P. Lovecraft and whoever.

How is your new album, Marching Out, doing? Is it selling pretty well?

It’s not doing bad! Considering the fact that we don’t get any airplay, and a very small amount of MTV play, it’s actually very good. It’s something a little over half a million now I think.

To hear the full audio of my 1985 interview with Yngwie–and my 2014 interview with him as well–subscribe to my Patreon page, where you can eavesdrop on over 350 of my uncut, one-on-one conversations with: