Yngwie Johan Malmsteen (; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, on 30 June 1963) is a Swedish-American guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical playing style in heavy metal, and has released 22 studio albums in a career spanning over 40 years.

Early life

Malmsteen was born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck in Stockholm, Sweden, the third child of a musical family. In 1975, his mother reverted to her mother's (Yngwie's maternal grandmother Maud's) maiden name Malmsten, a Swedish noble name, which Yngve promptly also started using as his surname. Later he slightly changed it to Malmsteen and altered his third given name Yngve to "Yngwie". Malmsteen played his first show when in 6th grade, on May 11th, 1976 with his first real band, Track on Earth, consisting of himself, his cousin Erik Lannerbäck and a friend from school playing the drums. Later his brother Björn joined on drums. As a teenager he was heavily influenced by classical music, particularly 19th century Italian virtuoso violinist and composer

Niccolò Paganini Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; ; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices ...

as well as

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

. Yngwie Malmsteen has publicly stated that he is not influenced by the blues or the style of

Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English lead guitarist. He was a founding member and the guitarist of Deep Purple, one of the pioneering bands of hard rock. After leaving Deep Purple in 1975, Blackmore formed the band Rainbow ...

, the virtuoso claims that his guitar playing is inspired by classical violin, not classical guitar. Malmsteen has stated that

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

had no musical impact on him and did not contribute to his style. However watching the TV news reports on 18 September 1970 of Hendrix's death, which included footage of Hendrix smashing and burning his guitar at the Monterey Pop Festival of 1967, made Malmsteen think, "This is really cool."

Career

1980s

From the late 1970s, Malmsteen played in local bands, sometimes together with future

Talisman A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...

bassist

Marcel Jacob Marcel Karl Jacob (30 January 1964 – 21 July 2009) was a Swedish musician, best known as the founder, chief songwriter, and bassist of the hard rock band Talisman. For a brief period, he also played in the band Europe and with Yngwie Malmstee ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

bassist

John Levén John Gunnar Levén (born 25 October 1963) is a Swedish bassist in the rock band Europe. Levén and vocalist Joey Tempest are the only band members who have performed on all of Europe's studio albums. Career Levén was born in Stockholm. When ...

and

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Eero Koivisto. They recorded various demos and a single for CBS Records but nothing was officially released from this era until the 2002 releases of Rising Force - Birth of the Sun and Yngwie's own

The Genesis ''The Genesis'' is a 2002 album released by Yngwie J. Malmsteen. It consists of very early recordings (around the time when Malmsteen was seventeen years old), and many of these tracks were reworked for compositions on albums throughout his caree ...

album. In early 1982,

Mike Varney Michael Varney (born 1958) is an American record producer and music publisher. He is the founder of the Shrapnel Label Group, which includes Shrapnel Records, Tone Center Records, and Blues Bureau International. He also owns 50% of Magna Car ...

Shrapnel Records Shrapnel Records is an American record label group founded by record producer Mike Varney. The group principally uses the ''Shrapnel Records'' record label, a guitar-oriented label which features shred guitar, hard rock, metal and progressive ...

first heard Yngwie Malmsteen's music through record store owner Bill Burkard, who played for him a demo tape of Malmsteen's early work (likely the 1978 "Powerhouse" demo) recorded when Yngwie was 15. Later in 1982, Malmsteen sent to Varney an untitled demo recording as a submission for Varney's ''

Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' was an American magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francis ...

'' magazine column. ''Guitar Player'' published this demo for the February 1983 edition of the magazine. In 1983, Varney brought Malmsteen to the United States to play on the recording of Shrapnel recording artist Steeler, also featuring singer

Ron Keel Rynia Lee Keel Jr. (born March 25, 1961), known as Ron Keel, is an American rock singer and guitarist. He is known as the singer for Keel (band), Keel, Steeler (American band), Steeler, Saber Tiger, and the Ron Keel Band, and has also fronted I ...

and bassist

Rik Fox Richard Suligowski (born December 28, 1955), better known as Rik Fox, is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal bassist. He was active mainly during the 1970s and 1980s, in the New York City and Hollywood area rock music, rock and metal s ...

for its self-titled album. He then appeared with

Graham Bonnet Graham Bonnet (born 23 December 1947) is an English rock singer. He has recorded and performed as a solo artist and as a member of several hard rock and heavy metal music, heavy metal bands including Rainbow (rock band), Rainbow, Michael Schenke ...

in the band

Alcatrazz Alcatrazz is an American rock band formed in 1983 by Graham Bonnet, Jimmy Waldo, and Gary Shea. They are best known for their songs "Island in the Sun", "Hiroshima Mon Amour", and "God Blessed Video". They are also notable for featuring a pre ...

, playing on its 1983 debut ''

No Parole from Rock 'n' Roll ''No Parole from Rock 'n' Roll'' is the first album by American heavy metal band Alcatrazz, led by veteran singer Graham Bonnet, released in 1983. It spent seven weeks on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart, peaking at No. 128. The album precip ...

'' and the 1984 live album '' Live Sentence''. Bonnet and Malmsteen clashed about who was the frontman and had a fight during a show. Malmsteen was fired on the spot from Alcatrazz and replaced by

Steve Vai Steven Siro Vai ( ; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a Transcription (music), transc ...

. Vai had one day to learn the songs for the ongoing tour. In 1984, Malmsteen released his first solo album ''

Rising Force ''Rising Force'' is the first studio album by guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen, released in late 1984 through Polydor Records.Barrie Barlow of Jethro Tull on drums and keyboard player

Jens Johansson Jens Ola Johansson (born 2 November 1963 in Stockholm) is a Swedish keyboardist and pianist. Jens got famous in the early 80's when he and his brother Anders (drums) joined Yngwie Malmsteen's "Rising Force". Jens is the son of the Swedish Jazz ...

. His album was meant to be an instrumental side-project of Alcatrazz, but it ended up featuring vocals by

Jeff Scott Soto Jeff Scott Soto (born November 4, 1965) is an American Rock music, rock singer of Puerto Rican descent. He is perhaps best known for being the vocalist on Yngwie Malmsteen's first two albums, and the lead vocalist for Journey (band), Journey i ...

and Malmsteen was fired from Alcatrazz in July 1984 before the release of ''Rising Force''. ''Rising Force'' won ''

s award for Best Rock Album and was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for 'Best Rock Instrumental', reaching no. 60 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' album chart. Yngwie J. Malmsteen's Rising Force (as his band was thereafter known) next released ''

Marching Out ''Marching Out'' is the second studio album by guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen, released on 19 August 1985 through Polydor Records. The album reached No. 52 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 and remained on that chart for 28 weeks, "Yngwie Malmsteen - C ...

'' (1985). Then he recruited Jens Johansson's brother

Anders Anders is a male name in Scandinavian languages and Fering, Fering North Frisian, an equivalent of the Greek Andreas ("manly") and the English Andrew. It originated from Andres (name), Andres via metathesis (linguistics), metathesis. In Sweden, A ...

to play drums and bassist

to record and tour with the band. Jacob left in the middle of a tour and was replaced by

Wally Voss Wally Voss (July 25, 1958 – November 29, 1992) was an American bass player. He was the bass player for Fort Lauderdale bands Pearl and later Front Runner, then played live with Yngwie Malmsteen on the Trilogy tour. Later in 1987, he played the ...

. Malmsteen's third album, ''

Trilogy A trilogy is a set of three distinct works that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games. Three-part works that are considered components of ...

'', featuring the vocals of

Mark Boals Mark Robert Boals is an American heavy metal singer and occasional bassist, renowned for his powerful vocals with Yngwie Malmsteen. Boals is also an occasional singer-songwriter and bassist for the band Foundry, who is produced by Linkin Park ...

(and Malmsteen on both guitar and bass), was released in 1986. Boals left the band in the middle of the tour and was replaced by the former singer Jeff Scott Soto. The tour was cancelled after Malmsteen was involved in a serious car accident, smashing his V12

Jaguar E-Type The Jaguar E-Type, or the Jaguar XK-E for the North American market, is a British FMR layout, front mid-engined sports car that was manufactured by Jaguar Cars, Jaguar Cars Ltd from 1961 to 1974. Its sleek appearance, advanced technologies, ...

into a tree, which put him in a coma for a week. Nerve damage to his right hand was reported. During this time, Malmsteen's mother died from cancer. New line-up changes for the next album included former

Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...

vocalist

Joe Lynn Turner Joe Lynn Turner (born Joseph Arthur Mark Linquito, August 2, 1951) is an American singer best known for his work with Rainbow (rock band), Rainbow, Deep Purple, and Yngwie Malmsteen. Turner joined Rainbow (rock band), Rainbow in the early 1980 ...

joining the band, along with session bassist

Bob Daisley Robert John Daisley (born 13 February 1950) is an Australian musician and songwriter. A bassist, he is perhaps best known for his intermittent relationship with vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, for whom he contributed bass, co-production and songwriti ...

, who was hired to record some bass parts and help with the lyrics. In April 1988, he released his fourth album ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...

''. ''Odyssey'' was his most successful album, in part due to the success of its first single "Heaven Tonight". Shows in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

during the Odyssey tour were recorded and released in 1989 as a fifth album '' Trial by Fire: Live in Leningrad''. The classic Rising Force line-up with Malmsteen and the Johansson brothers was dissolved in 1989 when both Anders and Jens left. That year later, Jens joined Dio replacing keyboardist Claude Schnell. Malmsteen's neoclassical style of metal became popular among hordes of guitarists during the mid-1980s, with contemporaries such as

Jason Becker Jason Eli Becker (born July 22, 1969) is an American composer and former guitarist. At the age of 16, he became part of the Shrapnel Records-produced duo Cacophony with his friend Marty Friedman, and they released two albums, '' Speed Metal Sy ...

Marty Friedman (born December 8, 1962) is an American guitarist, best known for his tenure as the lead guitarist of thrash metal band Megadeth from 1990 to 2000. He is also known for playing alongside Jason Becker in Cacophony from 1986 until 1989, as well ...

Paul Gilbert Paul Brandon Gilbert (born November 6, 1966) is an American hard rock and heavy metal music, heavy metal guitarist. He is the co-founder of the band Mr. Big (American band), Mr. Big, and was also a member of Racer X (band), Racer X, with whom he ...

Tony MacAlpine Tony MacAlpine (born August 29, 1960) is an American musician and composer. In a career spanning four decades, he has released twelve studio albums. MacAlpine is best known as an instrumental rock and heavy metal solo guitarist, although he has ...

, and

Vinnie Moore Vincent Moore (born April 14, 1964) is an American guitarist and a former member of the British hard rock band UFO (band), UFO. Biography Moore was born in New Castle, Delaware. He began his professional career at age 12 after receiving a ...

becoming prominent. In late 1988, Malmsteen's signature

Fender Stratocaster The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of double- cutaway electric guitar designed between 1952 and 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corpora ...

guitar was released, making him and

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

the first artists to be honored by Fender.

1990s

In the early 1990s, Malmsteen released two albums, ''

Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event which occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ...

'' (1990) and '' Fire & Ice'' (1992), with the singer

Göran Edman Göran Edman (born 28 April 1956) is a Swedish rock singer. He is notable for his session work with many artists through the years but mainly for his early work with guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen. He has also recorded with bands and artists such a ...

(ex-

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States * Madison (footballer), Brazilian footballer Places in the United States Populated places * Madi ...

and Vinnie Vincent Invasion), followed by ''

The Seventh Sign ''The Seventh Sign'' is a 1988 American apocalyptic drama horror film written by Clifford and Ellen Green and directed by Carl Schultz. The film stars Demi Moore, Michael Biehn, Jürgen Prochnow and Peter Friedman. The title and plot referen ...

'' (1994) and ''

Magnum Opus A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

'' (1995) with former

Loudness In acoustics, loudness is the subjectivity, subjective perception of sound pressure. More formally, it is defined as the "attribute of auditory sensation in terms of which sounds can be ordered on a scale extending from quiet to loud". The relat ...

singer

Mike Vescera Michael Vescera (born June 13, 1962) is an American heavy metal singer for various bands and projects like Loudness ('' Soldier of Fortune'', '' On the Prowl'', ''Live at the Budokan''), Obsession (''Marshall Law'', ''Scarred for Life'', ''M ...

. Despite his early and continuous success in Europe and Asia, by the early 1990s heavy metal styles such as neoclassical metal and shredding had gone out of fashion in the US. Around 1993, Malmsteen's future mother-in-law – who opposed his engagement to her daughter – had him arrested for allegedly holding her daughter hostage with a gun. The charges were later dropped. Malmsteen continued to record and release albums under the Japanese record label

Pony Canyon , also known by the shorthand form , is a Japanese company, established on October 1, 1966, which distributes music, films, home video, and video games. It is affiliated with the Japanese media group Fujisankei Communications Group. Pony Canyo ...

and maintained a devoted following with fans in Europe and Japan and to a lesser extent in the US. In the mid 1990s, Malmsteen released the albums ''

Inspiration Inspiration, inspire, INSPIRE, or inspired commonly refers to: * Artistic inspiration, sudden creativity in artistic production * Biblical inspiration, a Christian doctrine on the origin of the Bible * Inhalation, breathing in Inspiration and rel ...

'' (1996) featuring three of his former singers Soto, Boals and Turner, ''

Facing the Animal ''Facing the Animal'' is the tenth studio album by Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen, released in 1997 through Pony Canyon (Japan) and Mercury Records (United States). The album reached No. 20 on the Finnish albums chart and No. 39 on the Swedis ...

'' (1997) featuring Mats Levén on vocals and Cozy Powell on drums, followed by a live record ''

Double Live! ''Live!!'' is a live album by guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen, released in 1998 through Dreamcatcher Records; it was reissued in 2000 as ''Double Live'' in the United States through Spitfire Records. The album was recorded live in Brazil on 5–6 May 1 ...

'' (1998) and another studio recording ''

Alchemy Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...

'' (1999) featuring once again Mark Boals on vocals.

Special guest appearances and side projects

In 1996, Malmsteen joined forces with former band members

and

on the album ''Human Clay'' where he played lead guitar on the track "Jealousy". In the same year, Malmsteen recorded guitar solos for two different Deep Purple tribute albums, ''Smoke on the Water'' and ''Black Night – Deep Purple Tribute According to New York'', using the alias "Lars Y. Loudamp" on the latter to avoid contractual conflicts. He also guested with

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

on the song "Denim And Leather" on their live album ''

The Eagle Has Landed – Part II ''The Eagle Has Landed – Part II'' is a double live album by the English heavy metal band Saxon. It is the fourth live album by the band and the first recording to feature Doug Scarratt instead of Graham Oliver, who had left just after the re ...

'' (released in 1997). Later that year, Malmsteen recorded the tracks "Enigma suite" and "All opposable thumbs" with his former band members

and Anders Johansson on their album ''Johansson/Sonic Winter''.

2000s

In 2000, he signed a contract with the US record label Spitfire and released his 1990s catalog on the US market for the first time, including what he regards as his masterpiece, '' Concerto Suite for Electric Guitar and Orchestra'', recorded with the

Czech Philharmonic The Czech Philharmonic () is a symphony orchestra based in Prague. Its principal performing venue is the Rudolfinum concert hall. History The name "Czech Philharmonic Orchestra" appeared for the first time in 1894, as the title of the orche ...

in Prague. After the release of ''

War to End All Wars "The war to end war" (now commonly phrased "the war to end all wars"; originally from the 1914 book '' The War That Will End War'' by H. G. Wells) is a term for the First World War (1914–1918). Originally an idealistic slogan, it is now mainly ...

'' in 2000, singer

left the band. He was replaced by former

vocalist

Doogie White Douglas "Doogie" White (born 7 March 1960) is a Scottish rock vocalist who currently sings for La Paz. He has also notably sung for Rainbow (rock band), Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, Michael Schenker, Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force, Praying Ma ...

, whose vocals were well received by fans. In 2003, Malmsteen joined

Joe Satriani Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956)Prato, Greg"Joe Satriani – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". ''AllMusic''. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 28, 2014. is an American rock music, rock guitarist, composer, and songwriter. Early in hi ...

and

as part of the G3 supergroup, a tour showcasing guitar performances. Malmsteen made two guest appearances on keyboardist

Derek Sherinian Derek Sherinian (born August 25, 1966) is an American keyboardist who has toured and recorded for Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, and Joe Bonamassa, among others. He was also a member of Dream Theater from 1994 to 1999, is the founder of Planet X (ban ...

's albums ''

Black Utopia ''Black Utopia'' is the third solo album by keyboard player Derek Sherinian. In addition to the returning members Zakk Wylde, Simon Phillips and Steve Lukather, three new musicians joined Sherinian: bass guitarist Billy Sheehan and guitarists ...

'' (2003) and '' Blood of the Snake'' (2006), where Malmsteen plays on the same tracks as

Al Di Meola Albert Laurence Di Meola (born July 22, 1954) is an American guitarist. Known for his work in jazz fusion and world music, his breakthrough came after joining Chick Corea's Return to Forever group in 1974. He launched, from 1976 afterwards, a s ...

and

Zakk Wylde Zachary Phillip Wylde (born Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt; January 14, 1967) is an American rock musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and as the founder, lead guitarist, lead singer, songwriter and producer of the heav ...

. In 2004, Malmsteen made two cameo appearances on ''

Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law ''Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law'' is an American adult animated television sitcom created by Michael Ouweleen and Erik Richter for Cartoon Network's late-night programming block, Adult Swim. The first season of ''Harvey Birdman, Attorney ...

''. In 2005 '' Unleash the Fury'' was released through Spitfire Records. As stated in an issue of ''Guitar World'' magazine, he titled this album after an infamous 'airline incident', which occurred on a flight to Japan during a 1988 tour. He was drunk and behaving obnoxiously, until he fell asleep and was roused by a woman pouring a jug of iced water on him. Enraged, he shouted, "You've released the fucking fury!" The audio from this incident was caught on tape by a fellow band member. Malmsteen says that the name of the album refers to both the energy of the album and the incident. The release of ''Unleash the Fury'' was followed by a DVD release of ''Concerto Suite For Electric Guitar And Orchestra in E Flat Minor, Op. 1 – With The New Japan Philharmonic Live''. The DVD chronicles Malmsteen's first time playing in front of a live audience with an orchestra, an experience that he describes as "fun but also extremely scary". In 2007, Malmsteen was honored in the

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...

version of ''

Guitar Hero II ''Guitar Hero II'' is a 2006 rhythm game developed by Harmonix and published by RedOctane for the PlayStation 2 and Activision for the Xbox 360. It is the sequel to ''Guitar Hero (video game), Guitar Hero'' (2005) and the second installment in t ...

''. Players can receive the "Yngwie Malmsteen" award by hitting 1000 or more notes in succession. February 2008 saw the replacement of singer Doogie White with former

Iced Earth Iced Earth is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band currently composed of only Jon Schaffer, formed in Tampa, Florida, and based in Columbus, Indiana. They were formed in 1984 under the name the Rose, then Purgatory, by guitarist, ma ...

and

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the p ...

and current

Beyond Fear Beyond Fear is an American heavy metal band started in March, 2005 by Tim "Ripper" Owens after he left Judas Priest as a side-project, apart from his former work with Iced Earth. History The band was started largely to satisfy Owens' desire ...

singer

Tim "Ripper" Owens Timothy S. "Ripper" Owens (born September 13, 1967) is an American heavy metal singer who currently performs with KK's Priest, Spirits of Fire, the Three Tremors and "The Tim Ripper Monster Energy Big Band". He first gained attention as the ...

, with whom Malmsteen had once recorded a cover of

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...

's song " Mr. Crowley", for the 2000 Osbourne

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century a ...

''Bat Head Soup: A Tribute to Ozzy''. The first Malmsteen album to feature Owens is titled ''

Perpetual Flame ''Perpetual Flame'' is the sixteenth studio album by Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen and his group Rising Force, released on 13 October 2008 in Europe and on 14 October 2008 in the US and Canada. It was his first album since 2005's ''Unleash t ...

'' and was released on 4 October. On 25 November 2008, Malmsteen had three of his songs ("Caprici Di Diablo", "Damnation Game", and "Red Devil", all from this latter album) released as downloadable content for the video games ''

Rock Band ''Rock Band'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2007 and developed by Harmonix. Based on their previous development work from the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series, the main ''Rock Band'' games have players use game controllers mod ...

'' and ''

Rock Band 2 ''Rock Band 2'' is a 2008 rhythm game developed by Harmonix, published by MTV Games, and distributed by Electronic Arts. It is the sequel to ''Rock Band (video game), Rock Band'' (2007) and the second installment in the Rock Band, ''Rock Band ' ...

'', and later for ''

Rock Band 3 ''Rock Band 3'' is a 2010 rhythm game developed by Harmonix. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, on October 26, 2010. Mad Catz took over both roles and re-released the title on Novembe ...

''. In 2008, Malmsteen was a special guest on the VH1 Classic show ''

That Metal Show ''That Metal Show'' is a talk show that premiered on VH1 Classic on November 15, 2008 and ended on May 9, 2015 with a span of 14 seasons. Hosted by Eddie Trunk, Don Jamieson and Jim Florentine, the series features three hosts interviewing music ...

''. On 10 March 2009, Malmsteen's label Rising Force released ''

Angels of Love ''Angels of Love'' is the seventeenth studio album by Yngwie Malmsteen, released on 10 March 2009. The entirely instrumental album features nine all-new acoustic renditions of previously released material, as well as a previously unreleased track ...

'', an all-instrumental album, which featured acoustic arrangements of some of his best-known ballads. Malmsteen released a compilation album entitled '' High Impact'' on 8 December 2009.

2010–present

On 23 November 2010, '' Relentless'' was released, the second album to feature

on vocals. The US version featured a remake of "Arpeggios From Hell" as a bonus track. Yngwie appeared on ''

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of the '' Late Night'' franchise. Hosted by Jimmy Fallon,

'' on 3 February 2011 to promote his album. On 6 August 2011, Malmsteen made another appearance in the United States, playing a rendition of "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort ...

" before a game between the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

and

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

at Sun Life Stadium. Although rarely seen in his native country of Sweden, Malmsteen played one gig there in 2012. On 7 July, he ended the Getaway Rock Festival in

Gävle Gävle ( ; ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in Sweden, the seat of Gävle Municipality and the capital of Gävleborg County. It had 79,004 inhabitants in 2020, which makes it the List of cities in Sweden, 13th-most-populated city in Sweden. I ...

, which he was headlining with

Nightwish Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka Neval ...

and

Manowar Manowar is an American heavy metal band from Auburn, New York. Formed in 1980, the group is known for lyrics based on fantasy (particularly sword and sorcery) and mythology (particularly Norse mythology and Greco-Roman mythology), as well as n ...

. On 5 December 2012, Malmsteen released the album '' Spellbound''. 2013 saw the release of Yngwie's official autobiography ''Relentless''. On 12 June 2014, Malmsteen kicked off his "Guitar Gods 2014 Tour" at the F.M. Kirby Center in

Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre ( , alternatively or ) is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. ...

, Pennsylvania alongside ex-

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...

guitarist Bumblefoot and guitarist

Gary Hoey Gary Hoey (born August 23, 1960) is an American hard rock and latterly blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. He has recorded over 20 albums. Early life and early career Hoey was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, United States. At fourteen, ...

. In February 2015, it was announced that Malmsteen was in the studio working on a new album. In April and May 2016, Malmsteen was one of five guitarists featured on the

Generation Axe Generation Axe are an international rock/ heavy metal supergroup formed by Steve Vai in 2016. They toured North America in April and May 2016, and Asia in April 2017. Another North American tour took place in November and December 2018, and anot ...

tour. In 2018, it was announced that Malmsteen had signed with Mascot Records, with a new studio album expected the following year. In 2019, Malmsteen released ''Blue Lightning'', featuring

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...

songs – mainly covers – with Malmsteen's virtuoso playing. As Malmsteen was quoted: On 8 May 2021, Yngwie Malmsteen was reported to have launched the ''Parabellum'' album and video for the "Paganini-referencing" track "Wolves at the Door". Since

COVID-19 restrictions During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions, particularly lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions), were implemented in numero ...

prevented touring, Malmsteen had more time to record the album, and was "clearly delighted with the results." On 17 July 2023, Yngwie Malmsteen announced his first-ever interactive video guitar masterclass on TrueFire. Yngwie uses a variety of backing tracks pulled from 10 of his most popular songs as the framework for the masterclass and the way in which he demonstrates his creative process, technical skills, and performance insights. It was released on 31 July 2023.

Personal life

Malmsteen was married to Swedish singer

Erika Norberg Erika may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Hayasaka Erika (''Megatokyo)'' * Erika (''Friends'') * Erika (''Pokémon'') * Erika (''Underworld'') * Erika Itsumi ''(Girls und Panzer)'' * ''Erika'' (film), a 1971 Italian thriller film * Eri ...

(1991–1992) and was subsequently married to Amber Dawn Landin (1993–1998). Since 1999 he has been married to April Malmsteen, with whom he has a son born 1998 named Antonio, after

Antonio Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...

. The family now resides in

Miami Shores, Florida Miami Shores or Miami Shores Village is a village in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The village is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,567, up from 10,493 in 2010. History By the early ...

. Malmsteen is a naturalized US Citizen Yngwie's father was a military officer and his mother worked for the Swedish Trade Council. They separated only 2 months after Yngve was born. Yngwie's mother passed away in 1987, aged 48. In 1990, Yngwie's grandmother Maud passed away, and a few months later his brother Björn died in a train accident on Roslagsbanan. A Ferrari enthusiast, Malmsteen owned a black 1983 Ferrari 308 GTB/GTS, 308 GTS for 24 years before selling it on eBay, and a red 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, 250 GTO. In a 2005 issue of ''Guitar Player'' magazine, Malmsteen discussed his often-ridiculed behaviour, saying that, "I've probably made more mistakes than anybody. But I don't dwell on them. I don't expect people to understand me, because I'm pretty complex, and I think outside the box with everything I do. I've always taken the untraveled path. Obviously, people have their opinions, but I can't get too wrapped up in that, because I know what I can do, and I know what kind of person I am. And I have no control over what anybody says about me. Back in Sweden, I'm 'Mr Personality' in the tabloids, but obviously I can't take that seriously. I know in my heart that if I do the absolute best I can do, maybe ten years from now people may turn around and say, 'he wasn't that bad'." In August 2009, Time (magazine), ''Time'' magazine included Malmsteen on its list of the 10 best electric guitar players of all time. Malmsteen's listing, however, appeared to be sardonic, as the article concluded that: "The Swede's superfast 'neoclassical' style – he credits Bach and Paganini as influences – is a blur of scales and technical precision. It almost makes you forget that the great bulk of his music is so fast that it's unlistenable."

Equipment

Yngwie Malmsteen Signature Stratocaster

Malmsteen has been a longtime user of

s with DiMarzio HS3 single-coil pickups "for playing at blistering volume with no hum or screechiness". His most famous Stratocaster is his 1972 blonde Stratocaster, nicknamed "The Duck" because of its yellow finish and the Donald Duck stickers on the headstock. An alternative nickname for this guitar is "Play Loud" due to a sticker that Anders Johansson put on the upper horn of the guitar in Rockshire studios in 1984. Fender made 100 replica copies of this guitar and marketed it as the "Play Loud Guitar". He also has a Fender Yngwie Malmsteen Signature Stratocaster since 1986. It comes in a Vintage White finish with a maple neck, either a maple or rosewood Fingerboard#Scalloping, scalloped fretboard and, from 2010, Seymour Duncan STK-S10 YJM "Fury" Model pickups. There is also a signature YJM100 Marshall amplifier, based on the "1959" amplifier range.

Other equipment

Besides Stratocasters, Malmsteen has played and appeared in ads for non-Fender guitars (like Aria (guitar company), Aria Pro II and Schecter Guitar Research, Schecter in the early 1980s) and played non-Strat-shaped guitars (like Gibson Flying Vs), early in his career. Today, for acoustic and nylon string guitars, Malmsteen uses his signature Ovation Guitar Company, Ovation YM68s. Malmsteen uses light-gauge strings on his guitars, stringing his 25-1/2" scale instruments with his signature string sets by Fender (gauges: .08, .011, .014, .022w, .032, .046 and .08, .011, .014, .026, .036, .048) and pairing them with Dunlop Delrin 500 series guitar picks.

Band members

Current members *Yngwie Malmsteen – guitars, vocals (1978–1982, 1984–present) *Nick Marino – keyboards, vocals (2005–2006, 2010–present) *Emilio Martinez – bass, vocals (2017–present) *Wyatt Cooper – drums (2024–present)

Discography

Steeler

Alcatrazz

Studio albums

Live albums

Videos

* ''Metallic Live'' (1984, VHS) * ''Alcatrazz Live Sentence 1984'' (2010, DVD Reissue)

G3

Live albums

Videos

*''G3: Live in Denver'' (2004)

Solo

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilations

EP

Videos

Music videos

* "Island in the Sun" (1983) (with Alcatrazz) * "Hiroshima Mon Amour" (1983) (with Alcatrazz) * "I'll See the Light Tonight" (1985) * "We're Stars" (1986) (with Hear 'N Aid) * "You Don't Remember, I'll Never Forget" (1986) * "Heaven Tonight" (1988) * "Making Love" (1990) * "Save Our Love" (1990) * "Bedroom Eyes" (1990) * "Teaser" (1992) * "Dragonfly" (1992) * "Forever One" (1994) * "The Only One" (1995) * "Carry On Wayward Son" (Kansas cover) (1996) * "Alone in Paradise" (1997) * "Like an Angel" (1997) * "Hanger 18, Area 51" (1999) * "Crucify" (2000)

Guest appearances

References

External links

Audio interview with Yngwie // Metalpaths.com 2010

Audio Interview with Yngwie on GuitarJamDaily.com

Yngwie Malmsteen Interview
at NAMM Oral History Program, NAMM Oral History Collection (18 January 2008) {{DEFAULTSORT:Malmsteen, Yngwie 1963 births 20th-century Swedish composers 20th-century Swedish guitarists 20th-century Swedish male musicians 21st-century Swedish composers 21st-century Swedish guitarists 21st-century Swedish male musicians Alcatrazz members American people of Swedish descent G3 (tour) Generation Axe members Living people Steeler (American band) members Swedish bandleaders Swedish expatriates in the United States Swedish heavy metal guitarists Swedish lead guitarists Swedish male composers Swedish male guitarists Swedish record producers Swedish rock guitarists Yngwie J. Malmsteen's Rising Force members Musicians from Stockholm

Early life

Career

1980s

1990s

Special guest appearances and side projects

2000s

2010–present

Personal life

Equipment

Yngwie Malmsteen Signature Stratocaster

Other equipment

Band members

Discography

Steeler

Alcatrazz

Studio albums

Live albums

Videos

G3

Live albums

Videos

Solo

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilations

EP

Videos

Music videos

Guest appearances

See also

References

Further reading

External links