Yngwie is still the man

[Yngvai X]

Just thought I'd post that after seeing Yngwie play in NYC last night that he is still the fucking man when it comes to shred. No one plays like him at all. I can't think of many other guitarists who have such total and utter mastery over their instrument the way he does (and most of the ones that do (did) are fusion musicians). And unlike many other shred guitarists, he makes that baby fucking SING. I don't care what anyone says, he is one of the most passionate, emotive guitarists in the world, and very few shredders can even touch his vibrato and phrasing. Granted he hasn't had a very strong album since Facing the Animal (and his band fucking sucks now), he is still an amazing guitarist to watch live. This was my 4th time seeing him, and I'll see him again whenever I have the chance...

 

[Luis]

Well. I respect your opinion but i dont agree with you.

Yngwie used to be the MAN (Rising Force marked a new era in the history of of the electric guitar) however, nowdays we can see and hear many electric guitar virtuosos that are as good or even better (in all terms) than the swedish master.

 

[Yngvai X]

Well. I respect your opinion but i dont agree with you.

Yngwie used to be the MAN (Rising Force marked a new era in the history of of the electric guitar) however, nowdays we can see and hear many electric guitar virtuosos that are as good or even better (in all terms) than the swedish master.

Name one shredder in the metal genre that can improvise with the fluidity that he can. Because lots of guys have chops, but just about all of their solos are worked out and played the same every time.

 

[Luis]

Name one shredder in the metal genre that can improvise with the fluidity that he can. Because lots of guys have chops, but just about all of their solos are worked out and played the same every time.

What about Tony Macalpine or MJR?

They are more than shredders.

 

[OfSinsAndShred]

Just thought I'd post that after seeing Yngwie play in NYC last night that he is still the fucking man when it comes to shred. No one plays like him at all. I can't think of many other guitarists who have such total and utter mastery over their instrument the way he does (and most of the ones that do (did) are fusion musicians). And unlike many other shred guitarists, he makes that baby fucking SING. I don't care what anyone says, he is one of the most passionate, emotive guitarists in the world, and very few shredders can even touch his vibrato and phrasing. Granted he hasn't had a very strong album since Facing the Animal (and his band fucking sucks now), he is still an amazing guitarist to watch live. This was my 4th time seeing him, and I'll see him again whenever I have the chance...

Yes! No one can keep shred improv interesting like Yngwie can. The dude has passion to spare. It's hard to think of a metal guitarist who tops him.

The concert I was at sucked though - Yngwie KICKED ASS, but the crowd was just a bunch of non-metal pussies standing still and not yelling or even headbanging. Total borefest.

 

[soulshred]

I saw him for the th time also. His fingers just has something others dont. That touch,his tone in his hands everything is unique. He is one of a kind.
I dont know why but I am gueesing all those qualities he has because he is naturally talented insanly.
He also did a clinic at Berklee that was insane also

 

[Trusse]

I agree Yngwie is the master.

 

[wchuck]

What about Tony Macalpine or MJR?

They are more than shredders.

Right, they qare both amazing and IMO better than yngwie, much better feeling and emotion and not all about playing as fast as they could (not everytime ). And Tony MacAlpine is imo the best neoclassical player I know. But Yngwie is sometimes incredible, some soli of him are awesome as well as is improvisation, or when he slows down like in the G3 concert in denver, that's really good, but sometimes there are just moments like mass shred (G3 - accustic solo).

 

[kazahana]

Wohoo! Everyone in the world apart from me seemed to go through this Yngwie hating phase where if you even mentioned his name, people would want to start a fight.

I think he's certainly a great guitarist, and his older stuff is superb. He still retains his awesome improvisation and technique, but his songwriting is a little bland at the moment. I'd really love to see what he could accomplish if he took a more progressive approach.

 

[Taliwakker]

Does Yngwie improvise or just play his catalogue of licks in a different order each time....depends on how you define improv really.
But he is good.

 

[Kenneth R.]

in my opinion he's one of many shredders, and not really my style. i respect his skill, i could never do what he does. however, i prefer melody to speed. (please don't even try to tell me he has more melody than whoever i could think of)

 

[Alexander*_Reborn]

I always thought for shire gut wrenching speed Paul Lambert was a little bit more intense (See street lethal, Racer X) but overall Lambert's music and song writing is distinctly average and somewhat cringe worthy actually so Yngwie gets my vote. Yeah you have guys like Michael Angelo if you want to make it a speed contest but that is a totally pointless exercise because you cannot FACTUALLY determine who is best, you only have opinions. Stop the press I know but you have so many of these damn time-wasting arguments over 'who's best' that point is best overstated.

Me personally I like guitarist who can shred but know how and when to use it without going balls to the wall at every opportunity, that is true class not egotist virtuosity for the sake of it.

If you have a whole album full of shred you get board very quickly, it's like the first time I listened to Dragonforce thinking 'I'll never get board of this' 4 songs later you become familiar with the arrangement structure and the dynamic interest and element of surprise (which is half the fun) is gone.

My faves at the moment are

Jimmy Papas (Ice Age)
Stephan Lill (Vanden Plas)
Rafael Bittencourt (Angra)

Absolute bliss.

 

[Yngvai X]

Does Yngwie improvise or just play his catalogue of licks in a different order each time....depends on how you define improv really.
But he is good.

Every guitarist "plays his catalogue of licks in a different order each time" when they improvise except for Allan Holdsworth, who is one of a kind.

And as far as MacAlpine and Romeo...I wouldn't consider Tony a metal guitarist (he's been leaning more towards fusion these days), and Romeo, as much as he is my favorite guitarist, can't improvise like Yngwie (or at least I've never knowingly heard him improvise...all of his solos live are rehearsed).

Besides, I think MJR, of all people, would agree with my post, as he is a huge Yngwie freak.

Plus Yngwie gets bonus points for being the first. Shred would not exist without him in the metal scene, and that is a fact. There are guys who did have some speed and technique (Van Halen, Rhoads, Roth, etc) but none before Yngwie had his speed, intensity, or skill.

 

[wchuck]

as far as I know MJR, when he records a track, improvises some solos and then takes the best, and furthermore the live solos are different from the studi solos, maybe he improvises some solos, I don't know.

 

[Yngvai X]

as far as I know MJR, when he records a track, improvises some solos and then takes the best, and furthermore the live solos are different from the studi solos, maybe he improvises some solos, I don't know.

I don't know what songs you've heard live, but all the times I've seen them, he plays the same solos every time. Some songs he rewrote the solos for when he does it live (like in Of Sins and Shadows) but again he plays that same solo every night.

 

[Jax]

Knowing MJR, I'm going to say that it's more likely him being a perfectionist that keeps him from doing much improvising on stage, than any lack of skill or talent at it..better to go with what's proven than to experiment & have the timing end up off or the like, & throw the whole song into a headspin.

 

[Yngvai X]

Knowing MJR, I'm going to say that it's more likely him being a perfectionist that keeps him from doing much improvising on stage, than any lack of skill or talent at it..better to go with what's proven than to experiment & have the timing end up off or the like, & throw the whole song into a headspin.

Oh, I'm not knocking his talent for doing the same solos live every night (I rehearse all of my solos too), I'm just saying Yngwie does have the chops to improvise everything that he wants to. Not just that, but also to embelish and change the written parts on the fly if he wants.

 

[Horus]

I think that what every guitarrist should do when they start improvising a solo on stage, is that they should just milk it. Just start shredding the fuck out of their axe for like 6 minutes, just as a way to tell the audience "I'm better than you, and I want to make mention of it." without making them mad.

 

[OfSinsAndShred]

I always thought for shire gut wrenching speed Paul Lambert was a little bit more intense (See street lethal, Racer X) but overall Lambert's music and song writing is distinctly average and somewhat cringe worthy actually so Yngwie gets my vote.

You mean Paul Gilbert? Yeah, he's intense all right. And he's got killer licks, too.

 

[control-denied777]

well,yngwie is great.But ,musically he stayed in the same place that he started in the 80's.Nothing new in my opinion. Right now Kiko Loureiro (Angra)is the best metal guitarist(with no doubt).by the way MJR should defenitiley do a solo record.