This interview was used for Swedish guitar great Yngwie Malmsteen’s first English-language cover story. At the time, the 21-year-old was rapidly becoming renowned for his fiery “neo-classical” style. He’d already recorded albums with Steeler and Alcatrazz, and had just released his debut solo album, “Yngwie J. Malmsteen’s Rising Force.” (A year earlier, while Yngwie was in Alcatrazz, we did our first interview together: • Yngwie Malmsteen: The ... )
As we met in a San Francisco hotel room to do his debut cover story interview, Yngwie detailed the amount of work required to achieve his level of skill and reach new plateaus. He revealed how he composes instrumentals, drawing on the influences of Bach, Mussorgsky, and Tchaikovsky rather than other guitarists. He talked about Jimi Hendrix and responded to critics who wrote that his playing mirrors Ritchie Blackmore’s.
He then covered his musical experiences with Alcatrazz and his current band, Rising Force. We took a track-by-track tour of his debut solo album. Yngwie explained his recording and playing techniques and pointed out that he is “not involved in rock guitar,” but rather is a unique force unto himself.
The interview took place on January 12, 1985. A partial transcription was published as the May 1985 "Guitar Player" cover story. I hope you enjoy the world debut of the audio of this conversation!
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