What is wrong with Yngwie Malmsteen?

[TekChef]

I think Yngwie should do what most performers in the classical genre do: play other people's music. For instance popular violinists are often good at violin but they never write their own music they just play classical composers' music. Yngwie is good at playing but he can't write very well and he often uses classical motives to begin with as in Paganini and Bach.

That is actaully a interesting idea. He has enough knowldge, etc about the classical style, that he could easily play a violin/guitar part for a composer. The composer would not have to worry about ability to play the piece, because let's face it-Yngwie could do it!

I think he would do well to study composition and try to improve as a composer. It's obvious that Yngiwe has the technical thing mastered-if he were to improve his composing skills to the level of his playing, it would be insane.

 

[TheMonkeysAteMySoul]

Everyone can be a critic. But you have nothing to back it up with. I can say all day that every guitarist sucks ass even if I cant play better than them. But then there is no substance to it. You criticizing Yngwie(Learn how to spell the mans name) means nothing if that if you're arguement.

so you wouldn't mind me criticising him if I could play all his songs, all you need to criticise someone is an opinion, if I could play all his stuff then I could appreciate how hard it is but that wont change how good I think it is.

and about ynghewdeyq playing classical, classical players aren't just appreciated because of how fast they can play a cllassical player is nothing if there isn't any emotion in there playing, and yngshizle has no emotion in his playing

 

[Bryant]

I am a longtime fan of YM, but I like his older stuff best because he hasn't progressed in twenty years. He is a God of a guitarist and doesn't "suck" by any sense of the imagination, but he IS a one trick pony. He is the best at what he does, but he is one-dimensional and many have grown tired of hearing his rehashed licks.
I honestly consider him one of the top ten guitarists that have ever lived, but unless he amazes me and the rest of the world, he is not going to do anything much different than he did twenty years ago. In the grand scheme of things, he was so good back then, 99% of guitarists out there are still playing catch-up, but he has not improved on what he did back then.


Bryant

 

[97reb]

I have to agree with Bryant on this. Somehow or another Bryant and I rarely disagree on stupid threads like these. Offer Yngwie the respect he deserves, but also respectfully say why you dislike his playing, if you so dislike his playing. There are plenty of guitar players out there with several cd's to their name or their bands name that really suck. I am not great at guitar, but after 20 years of playing, I know a little bit more than some idgits that have not been playing for as long. Some of these idgits have been incredibly lucky to have Record companies jump on their "style". Poor Idgits, they will be forgotten in 20 years. Yngwie has survived for more than 20. I think he is stale, but I still respect him.

 

[{D|aBo|uS}]

I have to agree with Bryant on this. Somehow or another Bryant and I rarely disagree on stupid threads like these. Offer Yngwie the respect he deserves, but also respectfully say why you dislike his playing, if you so dislike his playing. There are plenty of guitar players out there with several cd's to their name or their bands name that really suck. I am not great at guitar, but after 20 years of playing, I know a little bit more than some idgits that have not been playing for as long. Some of these idgits have been incredibly lucky to have Record companies jump on their "style". Poor Idgits, they will be forgotten in 20 years. Yngwie has survived for more than 20. I think he is stale, but I still respect him.

Well, thx for saying that my thread is stupid. Actually, I don't even know why you think it is stupid. I am a big fan of Malmsteen and as Bryant says, I put him in the top 10 guitar players of the last 30 years. That's why I wrote this thread, to ask other musician about a guitar player that has, according to me and other people, changed the way guitar is played in metal music. On the other side, because I am a new member, I don't really know what is a GOOD thread, so give me some clues so that my next won't be as stupid as this one. Anyway, I find it cool that some of you people replied to my thread and I think that all the points of view here are reasonnable. Also, I think that most of those points are getting to the same point : Malmsteen is good, but has not progressed so much since the last years. So that's it, maybe that the discussion is closed.

667, the neighbour of the beast

 

[xenophobe]

Bryant, I agree on most of your points... I would quote your messages, but I've stuff to add...

1) Al DiMiola was doing stuff similar to what Yngwie did when he first broke into the scene a decade earlier, but definitely not in the same focus that YM did...

2) YM was always better when he was in someone else's band. Download Alcatrazz - No Parole from Rock and Roll, or better yet... Live Sentence. Everything Yngwie did on his first two solo albums (and everything thereafter... at least solo-wise) can be heard on Live Sentence.

3) Anyone who says he isn't a great player is a fucktard

4) YM can't write a song to save his life, but he CAN play and (arguably) inspired just as many people to shred as EVH... If you have any doubts, download the video Alcatrazz - Evil Eye... or Far Beyond the Sun, or Live at the Budokan... To see him play back in the day is a fucking amazing thing, his timing, technique and tone on a single coil vintage trem strat is something EVERYONE who plays guitar should see at least once.

 

[TwilightSymphony]

...his timing, technique and tone on a single coil vintage trem strat is something EVERYONE who plays guitar should see at least once.

Actually, they're stacked humbuckers - DiMarzio's, I believe. (They fit right into the same spot as the regular single coil pickups, though some bodies do need to have the routing deepened.) Yngwie simply had the Fender pickup covers installed over them so they look like the stock Fender single coils.

 

[Pessimism]

dont feel bad, it isnt a stupid thread.

hell, im a singer first, and a guitarist second. im not great or anything, but i respect YM with all i got, juat like i do with all the other great guitarists.

 

[Bryant]

To go back in time, I have to disagree with Iced. 99% of the time bands that get softer basically sound worse to my ears. Yngwie and Symphony X as another exception can put out all the power ballads they want to and are exceptions to the rule. While my all-time fave Yngwie release is his first Rising Force release, my second is "Odyssee" and JLT fit him like a glove. Listen to the opening solo on "Crystal Ball." Yngwie poured his soul into that. It's not even very challenging to play, but all the "non-challenging" stuff like YM's "blues" licks he has tired to play don't sound very good, but "poppy" or not, I thought his JLT stint produced great music.
I am getting off-topic here, but I had to mention Symphony X as well in this post. As a guitarist, I of course love Romeo, but as good as he is, his singer is even better at his craft than Romeo is at his. When they do songs like "The Odyssee" and "Accolade II" Allen absolutely floors me, but Romeo doesn't write enough to Allen's strengths to really allow Russ to show his prowess.
To get back to the topic, Romeo has Yngwieitis. It is a disease where a musician who is so good at his craft doesn't play many instrumentals but allows his own prowess to hinder the band. Yngwie had some good vocalists come and go and Russ is a god, but even though I really like SX's stuff, Romeo doesn't allow Allen to be his best and YM has done even worse for his vocalists EXCEPT for JLT.


Bryant

 

[{D|aBo|uS}]

I have to agree on the thing about Symphony X, even if it is off topic a little. But I agree. I also really love this band. And there is also the guitarist of Jag Panzer, which I don't remember the name, but I think he is a bit of a Yngwist. But maybe that I'm getting even a little further here hehe. But actually I argue on the thing I previously said, Malmsteen has influenced a lot of guitarist in metal music. We could mention a lot of band, not only Symphony X or Jag Panzer.

667, the neighbour of the beast

 

[Cosmic_Sea]

I don't like his tunes much, but he is still a great guitarist. But still not as good as George Bellas.

 

[Bryant]

I have to agree on the thing about Symphony X, even if it is off topic a little. But I agree.
667, the neighbour of the beast

I was about shitfaced when I made that post. The intentions were there, but I don't think I made my point as well as I would like to have. I apologize for that. I wanted to say that Romeo is an accomplished enough guitarist where he deserves some extended solos etc. but his vocalist might even be better than he is.
That is hard for me to say as a guitarist, but I am a musician first and vocals are an instrument. As good as Romeo is as a guitarist, Allen is better as a vocalist. If I had Russell Allen singing for me, I would play more to his strengths than Romeo does.

Bryant

 

[{D|aBo|uS}]

I was about shitfaced when I made that post. The intentions were there, but I don't think I made my point as well as I would like to have. I apologize for that. I wanted to say that Romeo is an accomplished enough guitarist where he deserves some extended solos etc. but his vocalist might even be better than he is.
That is hard for me to say as a guitarist, but I am a musician first and vocals are an instrument. As good as Romeo is as a guitarist, Allen is better as a vocalist. If I had Russell Allen singing for me, I would play more to his strengths than Romeo does.

Bryant

Ok, now that I am almost to get your point, I still think your are right saying that Romeo is a damn good guitar player, but is not playing as he should be to keep up with Allen's voice. The thing is that, I don't know if it is what you meant, but it is more Romeo style's with is not really fitting perfectly with Allen. I think the problem is about his style, not about his capacity to keep up with Allen. I don't know if I understood what your point was, and I don't even know if I was able to make mine understandable hehe.

 

[slaesh]

yngve malmsten was the reason i started playing! and i owe the man my life! when i first heard 'far beyond the sun' i was fucking floored and thrown in to the wall! i had never heard anything like that in my fucking life! i've only admired randy rhoads to that point!
But what malmsteen did made me think: 'how the fuck can one do that with a guitar?' nowadays it sounds silly, but then it was just amazing! i downloaded everything i found on video and bought as many records i could find and bourgh myself a vintagewhite strat and started fucking playing!

now i have sold the strat and i don't play as much yngwie as before, but every now and then i stumble across some parts of triology suite..

i love yngwie's playing but i can understand how people think he's just trying to redo his old self, but every now and then he get's twist that sounds fresh and when he does i get goosebumps!

he will always be my main guitar hero, not always my favourite! but face it: without yngwie bands like Children Of Bodom, Stratovarius (which i hate, but anyway) and practically all of the power metal band sound very different!

and his technique is state of the art! remember he's playing a 21 fret strat!

but his songwiriting and lyrics mostly suck! but we're talking guitarplaying here

 

[Bryant]

Ok, now that I am almost to get your point, I still think your are right saying that Romeo is a damn good guitar player, but is not playing as he should be to keep up with Allen's voice. The thing is that, I don't know if it is what you meant, but it is more Romeo style's with is not really fitting perfectly with Allen. I think the problem is about his style, not about his capacity to keep up with Allen. I don't know if I understood what your point was, and I don't even know if I was able to make mine understandable hehe.

What I am saying is that Romeo is a very good guitarist, but Allen is even a better vocalist than Romeo is a guitarist. Allen sounds best when they do power ballads or songs that have soft and heavy parts in them like "The Odyssee" and "Accolade II." They are one of the few metal bands that I think should make a softer sound instead of a heavier sound because Allen sounds like a God singing the softer stuff.
Romeo is the main songwriter, but too much he writes things that sound good musically, but is not the best for Allen's voice. If Russell Allen sang for my band I would write songs that made him sound his best because he has one of the best voices in metal music.

Sorry to get off-topic guys...


Bryant

 

[Psychonaut]

I was huge into Yngwie back in the 80's. Around the time Marching Out and Trilogy came out, I was always listening to him in awe. Even my mother remembers his name since I listened to him so much. After Odyssey, I started losing touch with his songs mostly because they were starting to sound a little rehashed. I still never lost respect for him and when I saw him live a few years ago, I was amazed.

 

[Bryant]

I was huge into Yngwie back in the 80's. Around the time Marching Out and Trilogy came out, I was always listening to him in awe. Even my mother remembers his name since I listened to him so much. After Odyssey, I started losing touch with his songs mostly because they were starting to sound a little rehashed. I still never lost respect for him and when I saw him live a few years ago, I was amazed.

Ha ha ha I think my Mom knows the words to the whole "Last in Line" album.

To get back on topic (as I am the king of off-topic) Yngwie has no problem absolutely making a guitar do everything but catch on fire by itself. His style is limited, but he is THE master of that style. Unfortunately, YM doesn't know how to write good metal songs. After "Odyssee" the only release I really liked as far as the "songs" was "Seventh Sign." His solos were still brilliant as were the instrumentals, but the songs went from somewhere in between boring and sucking for the most part. Though I am a musician and love to hear great players, i am a music fan first and prefer great songs as opposed to poor songs with great solos.


Bryant

 

[BlackStar68]

Ya know people kill me with this "hasn't progressed in his playing thing"...ya know AC\DC has made the same album for 20 years and nobody bitches about them....ya know the first second that Yngwie, Ace, Vai, any of these guitars "changes" their sound then all you same people will be bitchin' about them selling out....remember Metallica??????
This kind of crap is what opened the door for Nirvana in the first place!!!!!!
I think anyone of us musicians would love to at a point in our career's where someone puts on your music and says "Hey thats so and so" in a matter of a couple of seconds.
It's not the same thing over and over for Ace or Yngwie or AC\DC.......it is their style..like it, Love it, or don't listen.

But that is just my 1 1/2 cents worth.....carry on

 

[J the TyranT]

Well, some of these posts are retarded. Yngwie, the master of his craft? What then, is his craft? Playing the same exact scale and sweep pattern really fast? Soooo... Vinnie Moore, Ron Jarzombek, Rusty Cooley (hate the fuck), Joe Stump, Jason Becker, Paul Gilbert, Michael Angelo, Romeo, Luca Turilli, Mike Chlasciak... none of them are "better" than Yngwie? Maybe you guys should actually pick up a fucking guitar, or pull your heads from your asses. Stop shopping at boutique shops, paying 3k for a Bogner, Diezel, or Egnater, and acting all hardass with your decades old diminished runs and get the fuck over it.

To say nobody was doing it, or wouldnt have done it, is basically retarded. You're as bad as the drum dudes saying Pete Sandoval is the best drummer ever cuz he double-basses so fast....woooooowwww... real original.

Give it up, at least Buckethead is trying to really mix shit up. Ron Thal, Shawn Lane... the list goes on, and Yngwie aint on it.

 

[Class of '85]

Ya know people kill me with this "hasn't progressed in his playing thing"...ya know AC\DC has made the same album for 20 years and nobody bitches about them....ya know the first second that Yngwie, Ace, Vai, any of these guitars "changes" their sound then all you same people will be bitchin' about them selling out....remember Metallica??????
This kind of crap is what opened the door for Nirvana in the first place!!!!!!
I think anyone of us musicians would love to at a point in our career's where someone puts on your music and says "Hey thats so and so" in a matter of a couple of seconds.
It's not the same thing over and over for Ace or Yngwie or AC\DC.......it is their style..like it, Love it, or don't listen.

But that is just my 1 1/2 cents worth.....carry on

Exactly!!, and it is the fact that Yngwie refuses to change his style that has kept me a fan since the beginning. Until I hear a guitarist that plays a style I like, any cleaner or faster, he will continue to be my favorite. I once liked EVH, but that was only because YJM hadn't yet arrived on our shores. I am a "purist" in the truest sense, I don't like anything but guitar, meaning that I would have preferred that Yngwie had never done anything with vocals. After playing guitar since 1981, I can still say that I sincerly love his works the most. The important thing to keep in mind, is that Yngwie is an amazingly talented composer. 300 years from now his works will still hold up, from a classical point of view. When I hear anyone put him down, it reminds me of the fact that there is no accounting for taste. Someone once wrote that "A man's greatness may be measured by the number of his enemies".