Yngwie Malmsteen

[dargormudshark]

I have a feeling Jax is going to have to close this thread in a day or so.

I don't any respect for Yngwie as a musician, he was so young and talented and had his style. I would say it was Al Dimeola meets Blackmore, Uli Roth, and Randy Rhoads. The Alcatrazz stuff was great he had the most killer vibrato, great solos, and PHRASES! It was all a new style, it was basically what Blackmore wanted to sound like all the time. What I mean by that is blackmore was trying to sweep in 1969 but it was sloppy but he had the general idea. He even was doing fast alternative picking but it wasn't always clean. Yngwie was at the top of his game and had more potential than anyone else before, except for Dimeola.

What I am getting to is another young shredder who had more potential than any other guitar player I have heard in my life. But unlike being able to use this potential to his advantage he got Lou Gherig's Disease. Ofcourse this is Jason Becker, I think if he was still playing today he would be the best but unfortunately it didn't work out.

Yngwie could have done so much with his talent but instead he just sat their and did the same thing and get fat like the pathetic piece of crap he is. At his concert in March I was right in front of him and I fell asleep during one of his many solo's. Even Rusty Cooley and the other members of Outworld left the show.

This is my opinion on Yngwie

 

[†Russel Allen†®]

The problem about Yngwie is that he STILL thinks that he's revolutionizing the guitar world, and as we use to say here in Brazil, "he thinks he's the last cookie of the package".

 

[Jax]

I have a feeling Jax is going to have to close this thread in a day or so.

Naah, it's all good, this thread has remained pretty civil thus far (thank you!)..just don't start calling each other names, now that I've said that..

As for the subject at hand, I think we all have to agree that, regardless of what we may think of the 21st century version of Yngwie, he has had a huge impact on the music world. While some may think that that impact was felt mostly in the 80s, and others may think that his newer music continues to be a significant influence, the bottom line is that he and his style have had a big effect. Hell, the first time I played SymX for my daughter, her first comment was "wow, they remind me of that guy you listened to when I was young, Mom"..that being Yngwie.

 

[dargormudshark]

He did revoltionize things he brought the technique to what Blackmore was trying to get across. But I really think someone would of come along and do the same thing Yngwie did.

 

[Liquid Shadow]

That was only a matter of time, yes.

BUT, Rising Force is still some of the best neoclassical music out there IMO. The whole CD has so much power and passion behind it (whether it be his more melodic work in Black Star or busier parts like the riffing in track 3...forgot the name), and it's rock solid from start to finish. The innovation aspect of it is one thing, but the \m/ factor is a whole other story. He really had something going for him back then...it's a pity that he couldn't keep up with the standard he set for himself. He may only be a shadow of what he was/could have been, but Rising Force will always kick ass in my book.

The only thing I can honestly say I don't like about it is how it sounds a bit dated. If they could remaster Rising Force, I would require new pants.

 

[Kenneth R.]

like some have said, he opened up a whole new thing back in the day.

but he's still back in the day. he hasn't created anything groundbreaking since then.. he just shred shred shreds some chromatic exercise over a bach progression.

is he fast? yes... still fast.
is he original? not anymore. he hasn't progressed with the genre he helped create.
is he the best guitarist ever? hell no. not a chance..... like others have said, there are other guys (and girls) out there who can outshred him, outphrase him, and write better -songs- that are more than just wankery.

 

[ABQShredHead]

But I really think someone would of come along and do the same thing Yngwie did.

I have to disagree with you there. Growing up in the middle of the neo-classical hubbub started by Mr. Malmsteen, I cannot say any other guitar player would have started the movement he started. Even Paul Gilbert said he went back to the woodshed to completely revamp his technique after seeing and hearing Yngwie. His impact on music is much too profound to merely say somebody else would have done the same thing he did.

I still remember the first time I heard him and I remember the reactions of all the local "talent" to his first cassettes (or vinyl, as Jax alluded to). Back at that time, it was all Van Halen and tap this and tap that, and anything fast was pentatonic. Yngwie completely changed the face of rock guitar. Give him his due. You may say what you want about his modern stuff or that you simply do not like his music, but you cannot diminish the impact he had on the guitar in modern music.

 

[Taliwakker]

ABQ wrote

Back at that time, it was all Van Halen and tap this and tap that, and anything fast was pentatonic.

unless you were Allan Holdsworth

 

[Luis]

I have to disagree with you there. Growing up in the middle of the neo-classical hubbub started by Mr. Malmsteen, I cannot say any other guitar player would have started the movement he started. Even Paul Gilbert said he went back to the woodshed to completely revamp his technique after seeing and hearing Yngwie. His impact on music is much too profound to merely say somebody else would have done the same thing he did.

.

AMEN

 

[Liquid Shadow]

but he's still back in the day. he hasn't created anything groundbreaking since then.. he just shred shred shreds some chromatic exercise over a bach progression.

It always cracks me up when people say these types of things, because it really displays a massive amount of ignorance on the part of whoever tosses those statements around. Chromatic excercise? Yeah...there's a lot of chromatics in Yngwie's music.

And those "Bach progressions" aren't limited simply to Bach. Many progressions used in classical music (any era) will appear in numerous compositions by the same composer and others, because they follow simple voice-leading principles, meaning that the ear is accustomed to hear things played out in a certain order. Certain things sound totally natural, such as a dominant seventh chord resolving to a major tonic chord. Yngwie follows many of the same "rules" in his more classical-oriented songs as those that were followed by composers like Bach (who is one of his biggest influences).

He may use "Bach progressions," but then how do you account for the massive reoccurances of chord progressions in other classical music, jazz, and blues stuff? Are those songs no less valid because of similar progressions at one point or another? All blues songs follow the same basic progression (with some variations). That's what makes them blues. There are more jazz songs than you or I could count that use a ii-V-I progression at some point. Things like this give each genre its sound, and I guarantee you that Yngwie is not the only person to use similar chord progressions to other people. Even SX do it quite often. What is played over those chord progressions is what makes each song different.


Now I'm in the mood for some "chromatic" music. I think I'll go listen to Evil Eye now.

 

[Asgath]

Sadly Yngwie just shreds, he may shred like a god, but he never really play's with melody. I much prefer Romeo, his style is far more interesting, he can shred, AND play really beautiful melodies.

Just my peice of the cake

 

[OfSinsAndShred]

Just because Yngwie doesn't play slow for long periods of time doesn't mean his music lacks melody. He plays melodies all the time, with flourishes of shred in between. Listen to Far Beyond the Sun, The Seventh Sign, Valhalla, ANY of his instrumentals. All of them have great melodies, whether it's guitar, vocal, or keys.

 

[Liquid Shadow]

Along with the songs already mentioned by OfSinsAndShred, there are countless others that, regardless if you like them or not, are undeniably melodic. Black Star, Evil Eye, Now Your Ships are Burned, Liar, Baroque and Roll and Heaven Tonight, just to name a few. Yngwie never plays with melody? Bullshit. Yes, he has a tendency to wank away with no real meaning at all, but so does Mr. Romeo. Yngwie has no fewer melodies in his songwriting or soloing that Romeo does.

You people are way too quick to jump on the bashing bandwagon and not quick enough to find any strong support for what you have to say. If you have an opinion that someone cannot do something, you should try to back it up every now and then, instead of throwing false accusations around about players you apparently know very little about.

 

[ABQShredHead]

I think Malmsteen has one of the strongest, if not the best, senses of melody in the modern guitar arena. He is flawless. I don't understand that statement from Asgath, and I think even his wanking is melodic.

 

[Luis]

Yngwie was at the top of his game and had more potential than anyone else before, except for Dimeola.

I do not share your opinion.

I can mention two guitar players in the 70s technically as good as Yngwie or Dimeola:

Steve Howe
Allan Holdworth.

 

[OfSinsAndShred]

But Yngwie was the first ROCKER to be as talented as he was. Up until then rock players didn't really know what the hell arpeggios were, with a few exceptions (EVH, Blackmore, Uli Roth)...

I think Malmsteen has one of the strongest, if not the best, senses of melody in the modern guitar arena. He is flawless. I don't understand that statement from Asgath, and I think even his wanking is melodic.

Thank you! His shred is melodic - there's a point to it. Unlike the guys who play exercises when they bust out the speed.

 

[Wyldeyng]

I stopped frequenting these boards because of comments like this nugget here. This cat knows ZERO about Yngwie's music. It is proven with his asinine statement.

Melody?

Lets's see.... Icarus, Marching out, Crying, Hold on, Save our love, Bablyon, Brothers, Die without you, Like an angel, Blue, Miracle of life, Majestic blue. Just one song from each of his studio albums. Go have a listen.


Hendrix....Van Halen.......Yngwie...............................................................................................

Sadly Yngwie just shreds, he may shred like a god, but he never really play's with melody. I much prefer Romeo, his style is far more interesting, he can shred, AND play really beautiful melodies.

Just my peice of the cake

 

[OfSinsAndShred]

Hendrix....Van Halen.......Yngwie................................ .................................................. .............

The three dudes with the biggest impact on rock guitar.

 

[Thraxz]

Hendrix was in general an awful guitar player... but he had a really different approach as to how to play it.

 

[Beelzebub]

Gather round it's story time

Once upon a time there was a kickass guitar player named Yngwie and he kicked ass, and he still does. The end.