MR. HUMBLE - Yngwie Malmsteen press conference at Hellfest 2024

[JTyson]

I saw him early on when he got here in the US, I had seen most of the great guitar players who were still alive at that point and I can tell you hands down, he was the baddest f’ing guy on the planet, he played with fire and emotion, he did it right in your face and he made it look easy. He was the guy who practiced his ass off for years while everyone else was out having fun and wasting time on stupid shit.
Yes, a lot of people started doing the two handed tapping thing after Van Halen did it, it was fairly easy to copy what he did and make it sound cool, but the techniques Yngwie brought to the table were the opposite, you could not fake what he was doing, you had to practice your ass off to even get remotely close enough to be willing to even try it in public. The shredders that came after him were all using techniques that he alone brought with him and he elevated the entire world of shred guitar to a whole new level.
Yes, he says stuff that makes himself seem like an egomaniac, but (at least for a decade)
he never failed to deliver the goods live.
Even after seeing him 8 times he would still leave me stunned and amazed like it was the first time I saw him.
For whatever he has become, he was the first and the last of his kind and there will never be another like him, and while his time it seems has passed, nobody who was there can deny that he walked right into the lions den and killed all the lions who were nearly gods to people at the time, and did it with total conviction and laughed while he did it..
I saw him 2 years ago and age is def taking a toll despite what he says, but that’s ok.
His playing seems more forced now when it used to be effortless, and he seems to have narrowed his scope of runs and scales he uses when it used to seem he had an endless supply of them to draw from back then.
I don’t care that he has an ego, he earned it.
Rock and Roll is the most ego filled musical genre on the planet earth. I’m not sure why it’s such a bad thing when it’s him, there are worse egos out there who don’t have a sliver of the talent he did.
If you never saw him in the first decade that he was here, I totally understand how he could be viewed the way many see him today, and that’s ok.
I seriously doubt that he gives half a shit what any of us thinks…
Just ask him, he’ll tell you straight up

 

[Juliad]

I saw him early on when he got here in the US, I had seen most of the great guitar players who were still alive at that point and I can tell you hands down, he was the baddest f’ing guy on the planet, he played with fire and emotion, he did it right in your face and he made it look easy. He was the guy who practiced his ass off for years while everyone else was out having fun and wasting time on stupid shit.
Yes, a lot of people started doing the two handed tapping thing after Van Halen did it, it was fairly easy to copy what he did and make it sound cool, but the techniques Yngwie brought to the table were the opposite, you could not fake what he was doing, you had to practice your ass off to even get remotely close enough to be willing to even try it in public. The shredders that came after him were all using techniques that he alone brought with him and he elevated the entire world of shred guitar to a whole new level.
Yes, he says stuff that makes himself seem like an egomaniac, but (at least for a decade)
he never failed to deliver the goods live.
Even after seeing him 8 times he would still leave me stunned and amazed like it was the first time I saw him.
For whatever he has become, he was the first and the last of his kind and there will never be another like him, and while his time it seems has passed, nobody who was there can deny that he walked right into the lions den and killed all the lions who were nearly gods to people at the time, and did it with total conviction and laughed while he did it..
I saw him 2 years ago and age is def taking a toll despite what he says, but that’s ok.
His playing seems more forced now when it used to be effortless, and he seems to have narrowed his scope of runs and scales he uses when it used to seem he had an endless supply of them to draw from back then.
I don’t care that he has an ego, he earned it.
Rock and Roll is the most ego filled musical genre on the planet earth. I’m not sure why it’s such a bad thing when it’s him, there are worse egos out there who don’t have a sliver of the talent he did.
If you never saw him in the first decade that he was here, I totally understand how he could be viewed the way many see him today, and that’s ok.
I seriously doubt that he gives half a shit what any of us thinks…
Just ask him, he’ll tell you straight up

If you talk the talk and you're really good then you're just being honest and sincere. Yngwie was and is still in the conversation of best neoclassical electric guitarist. If you don't believe me just ask him

 

[Techdeth]

I got Rising Force when it came out and had heard about him beforehand. But other than us guitar geeks in this tiny corner of the Internet, no one can name a single song of his, let alone sing along with it. He gets zero airplay and I can't name one of his albums after Trilogy. Yeah, I get his technical abilities, have seen him live a few times, totally respect his ability and I like most of Rising Force. But he ain't on the Mt. Rushmore of guitarists.

He def is because of influence . He changed shredding . And all of rock evolved faster because what achieved on the guitar .

 

[skoora]

I loved it. I felt he was just being very honest and open. He didn’t dog anyone and actually gave plenty of kudo’s. It’s a shame his strength of vision didn’t translate to a great body of work. Couple of decent albums early on but decades of Huh? His place in guitar history is secured and not insignificant. His impact on rock/metal guitar in the 80’s was seismic.