Guest Blogger: Justin #2

Yngwie Malmsteen is regarded as one of the greatest guitarists of the 20th century. Growing up, Yngwie was hugely influenced by classical music such as Paganini, Beethoven and Johann Sebastian Bach. The genre that Yngwie Malmsteen plays is power metal. Power metal is a sub-genre of metal which combines metal with a symphonic tone. This music is usually played at a very fast pace but it also has a classical feel to it. It almost never has a somber feel. Instead it has an up-beat tempo that makes you want to go just go crazy and have a fun time banging your head. The first album I bought from Yngwie on vinyl was Odyssey. The opening track “Rising Force” starts off with a low tone choir like sound and then the powerful drums and sound of Yngwie’s guitar roar through the speakers. Unlike most albums, this album does not actually have a title track unless you consider the first song the title track. At this time, Yngwie’s band was called Yngwie J. Malmsteen’s Rising Force. A lass the opening song “Rising Force”. Two songs that are particularly memorable to me are “Bite The Bullet” and “Déjà vu”. “Bite The Bullet” is a minute long guitar solo from the master himself and “Déjà vu” is a hard hitting song with a furious intro riff and a fast drum beat. These two songs stick out to me because Yngwie’s guitar work on “Bite The Bullet” is both beautiful and mind blowing. “Déjà vu’s” drums are just crazy fast and extremely fun to listen to and play along with. Critics rate this album a 7/10. A solid C average. I however would rate this album a 9/10. This album is great and it has some amazing guitar solos, great vocal work, furious drums, and incredible keyboards. The reason I don’t give this a 10 is there is one song I tend to skip on this album but every other track is great. If you’re looking for a different genre of music and don’t know where to start, I would highly recommend giving some of Yngwie’s work a listen. It is definitely worth your time and money.