YNGWIE MALMSTEEN
Guitarist|Summer 2021
He’s the Swedish wizard whose neo-classical flash turned the 80s shred scene on its head. Now, as Yngwie Malmsteen releases new album, Parabellum, he looks back on first Strats, scalloped fretboards, crashed sports cars, and his notorious ‘air rage’ spat
Henry Yates
YNGWIE MALMSTEEN

I’m A Boy

“As a kid, I’d already played the piano, the trumpet, all that. I didn’t like any of it, it was horrible. But guitar felt like a natural thing to me. I was only seven, and already had a guitar, when I saw Jimi Hendrix smashing up his Strat on TV – but that was only a visual influence, not a musical one. Next, I found a blues album in my mother’s collection by John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and that was amazing. When I was eight, I got Deep Purple’s Fireball, and by the time I was nine, I could play all that inside out, on my head. Then I started listening to old Genesis albums like Selling England By The Pound, and understood that the chord progressions and melodies were much more advanced than the five-note pentatonic scale.”

Classical Gas

“I became an aficionado of Bach and Beethoven, but when I heard Paganini, that was the biggest moment. Nobody was playing those crazy arpeggios. Everybody was just playing the box. But I wanted to play that shit on guitar. Sweden, at the time, was a quasi-socialist country, very anti-everything. But one day, when I was 12, there was a solo violinist on TV, just one Russian guy playing Paganini’s 24 Caprices. Back then there were no VCRs, so I took a boom-box with a built-in microphone and put that in front of the TV to record it. You’ve got to understand, there was no internet, there was nothing. You had to learn everything by yourself.”

The F Word

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Summer 2021-Ausgabe von Guitarist.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Summer 2021-Ausgabe von Guitarist.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS GUITARISTAlle anzeigen
QUICK CHANGE
Guitarist

QUICK CHANGE

As Gibson finally adds some Quick Connect pickups to its Pickup Shop line-up, Dave Burrluck revisits this simple no-solder method to mod your Modern guitar

time-read
6 Minuten  |
November 2024
Return Of The Rack
Guitarist

Return Of The Rack

A revered rackmount digital delay makes a welcome comeback in pedal form.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
November 2024
Pure Filth
Guitarist

Pure Filth

This all-analogue preamp pedal based on Blues Saraceno's amp is a flexible powerhouse with a variety of roles.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
November 2024
Reptile Royalty
Guitarist

Reptile Royalty

From Queen to King - there's another Electro-Harmonix royal vying for the crown of octave distortion

time-read
2 Minuten  |
November 2024
Tradition Revisited
Guitarist

Tradition Revisited

Line 6 refreshes its Helix-based modelling amp range by doubling the number of available amp voicings - and more

time-read
4 Minuten  |
November 2024
Ramble On
Guitarist

Ramble On

Furch's travel guitar folds down so you can transport it in its own custom backpack and, the company claims, it returns to pitch when you reassemble it. Innovation or gimmick?

time-read
5 Minuten  |
November 2024
Redrawing The 'Bird
Guitarist

Redrawing The 'Bird

A fascinating reimagining of one of Gibson's more out-there designs, the Gravitas sticks with vintage vibe and mojo. Oh, and that sound...

time-read
4 Minuten  |
November 2024
1965 Fender Jazz Bass
Guitarist

1965 Fender Jazz Bass

\"They made them later on, but it's not something I've ever seen this early.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
November 2024
Boss Cube Street II
Guitarist

Boss Cube Street II

Regular readers will know that the last time I took the Boss Cube Street II out, I was in rehearsal for a debut gig in London.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
November 2024
STILL CRAZY
Guitarist

STILL CRAZY

One of the most creative yet reliably great-sounding effects makers out there, Crazy Tube Circuits grew out of a fetish for old valve amps. We meet founder Christos Ntaifotis to find out more

time-read
8 Minuten  |
November 2024