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YNGWIE MARLMSTEEN TALKS CLONES, TONES, AND WHY PEOPLE JUST DON'T GET HIM.
"Growing up, I hated being called Yngwie. It's a stupid, ancient Viking name. But now that stupid name has become an adjective for an entire style of guitar playing!" Ø When Yngwie Malmsteen appeared in GP's Spotlight column in February 1983, nobody in their right mind could have envisioned what a polarizing figure the fiery, Strat-wielding Swede would become. From Django to DiMeola, or Van Eps to Van Halen, guitarists are used to players coming along and rewriting the boundaries of what is technically possible on the instrument. But Malmsteen's classically inspired shred was so in your face, so over the top, so completely extreme, that reactions to his playing were just as severe. Some guitarists were threatened, others were amused-positive that what they were hearing was a sped-up tape-and others simply copped Malmsteen's trip completely, and had somewhat fruitful, if short-lived careers.
But from his nut-job escapades to get out of Sweden's mandatory military service (entering his local commander's office with a loaded pistol pointed at his own head), to domestic squabbles, car crashes, and an airrage incident that turned into an Internet phenomenon, Malmsteen's personality often overshadows his playing.
"I've probably made more mistakes than anybody," says the 42-year old. "But I don't dwell on them. I don't expect people to understand me, because I'm pretty complex, and I think outside the box with everything I do. I've always taken the un-traveled path. Obviously, people have their opinions, but I can't get too wrapped up in that, because I know what I can do, and I know what kind of person I am. And I have no control over what anybody says about me. Back in Sweden, I'm 'Mr. Personality' in the tabloids. But, obviously, I can't take that seriously. I know in my heart that if I do the absolute best I can do, maybe ten years from now, people may turn around and say, 'He wasn't that bad.'"
Malmsteen's new record, Unleash The Fury [Spitfire], will delight his hardcore fans and do nothing to change the minds of his critics. The record is a straight-up metal affair, with Malmsteen's incendiary neo-classical thumbprint inhabiting every nook and cranny. It...