Yngwie Malmsteen

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There was a handful of guitar players in the 80's who wanted nothing more than to play their guitar faster than a hummingbird doped up on a nectarized I.V., and Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck (Yngwie Malmsteen) of Sweden was one of them. Malmsten was Yngwie's mothers maiden name, which became his last name at the age of 10. After anglicizing both names, he has been known as Yngwie ever since. Yngwie was the neo-classical guitar pioneer of the 80's, followed by many talented guitarists such as Jason Becker, Vinnie Moore, Tony MacAlpine, and Marty Friedman.

Yngwie Malmsteen came from a musical family and starting playing the guitar at a very young age (his first band was formed when he was 10). At 18 year of age, Shrapnel Records brought Yngwie to the USA after hearing a demo tape, and he ended up playing with the bands Steeler and Alcatrazz before releasing his own album, Rising Force, in 1984. The album hit 60 on the Billboard Charts, so Yngwie quit Alcatrazz and started his own band: Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force.

As the 1980's marched on, Yngwie released several more albums with various vocalists and backup musicians. After a serious car wreck in 1987, Yngwie was in a coma for a week and reported nerve damage in his hands. Evidently he recovered, because the bands 1988 release, Odyssey, was his best selling album to date. Many of you will remember the song "Heaven Tonight".

Throughout the 1990's, Yngwie Malmsteen continued producing new material, although his popularity in the USA waned right along with the popularity of heavy metal in general. Never the less, Yngwie continued plodding along, both in the studio and on tour. In 2003, he could be found on tour with Joe Satriani and Steve Vai as part of the super group G3. Yngwie makes his home in Miami, FL these days and rarely makes it back home to Sweden. At the time of this writing, the Yngwie Malmsteen Discography was as follows:

Listen for free or download any Yngwie Malmsteen track for just 12 cents per song!