Yngwie Malmsteen
b. June 30, 1963
Stockholm, Sweden
Malmsteen was born into a musical family. On September 18, 1970, at age seven, he saw a broadcast reporting the death of Jimi Hendrix. That drove his obsession with the guitar. Yngwie has been quoted, "The day Jimi Hendrix died, the guitar-playing Yngwie was born". Malmsteen was a teenager when he first encountered the music of violin virtuoso Niccolò Paganini, whom he cites as his biggest classical influence. Through his emulation of Paganini concerto
pieces on guitar, Malmsteen developed a prodigious technical fluency. Malmsteen also cites Jimi Hendrix, Brian May of Queen, and Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple as influences. Yngwie broke new ground and contributed to the evolution of modern rock guitar, with his modal progressions and classically influenced techniques. He is often credited, along with Randy Rhoads, with increasing the popularity of the neoclassical, heavy metal genre. Malmsteen is also known for his use of custom scalloped fret boards. This is similar to a regular fret board, but with wood 'scalloped' or scooped away to form a concave shape in between the frets. The highly accurate, yet delicate, controlled touch required to play properly with Malmsteen's modified Stratocaster is elusive for most, and an integral part of Malmsteen's technique.
In the early 80’s Yngwie played with the bands Steeler and Alcatrazz and in 1984, he release the guitar landmark album Rising Force. Yngwie has released twenty-one solo albums in the last twenty-three years.
Download the Yngwie Malmsteen Image
