Yngwie Malmsteen discussed his unique musical development and relationship with guitar trends in a recent interview with Eon Music.
“I never viewed things in that way. I was never part of a wave of any kind,” Malmsteen said. “When I was a little kid, I was recording and writing stuff because my uncle had built a recording studio long before I was even born, and by the time I was eleven or twelve years old, I got to go in there and just mess around.”
“I was just recording and I’d come up with crazy sh*t that was like neoclassical metal, really big. I used to call it ‘symphonic rock’ or something. There were no terms like that, that you guys made up after I came out,” he explained. “But anyways, I never followed any trends, because when I was little kid in Sweden, there was no radio, there was no MTV; there was a black hole of f*cking nothing!
“Your older siblings or friends in school might have a record like Alice Cooper ‘School’s Out’, and it was cool,” Malmsteen continued. “When I was eight years old, I got Deep Purple ‘Fireball’, and I heard the double bass drums and stuff like that, but I never heard Zeppelin, I never heard Black Sabbath, I never heard anything like that.”
“So to make a long story even longer, I never followed any trends of any kind, ever. I remember clearly I was in sixth or seventh grade when the punk and new wave hit, and I was already a pretty accomplished musician by that time,” he added. “I was recording and playing, doing crazy sh*t already, and I said; ‘What the f*ck is this?’, so I never followed anything.”
The guitarist shared these thoughts when asked about whether the 1990s represented a golden era for solo guitar instrumental albums.
Malmsteen’s isolation from mainstream rock influences shaped his distinctive musical path.
Research from Sweaty Spice revealed that Malmsteen’s style draws heavily from classical music. His primary influences were violinist-composer Niccolò Paganini and Johann Sebastian Bach.
Ultimate Guitar highlighted how this classical foundation helped Malmsteen develop a sound distinct from common guitar trends of his era.
Ultimate Metal pointed out an interesting contrast in Malmsteen’s musical journey. Despite his claimed isolation from guitar influences, he later showed appreciation for blues classics on his album ‘Blue Lightning.’ The album features covers of well-known blues and rock songs.
His unique musical path began with early recording sessions in his uncle’s studio. This foundation, combined with his classical influences, established Malmsteen as one of the most distinctive voices in guitar-driven music.
