In a new interview with Louder Sound, Yngwie Malmsteen defended himself against the hatred and backlash he has been receiving.
Throughout his career, Malmsteen has received a lot of hate, not only from his listeners but from other rockers as well. While some refer to him as a great musician but an arrogant person, some criticize him for playing with a flashy technique. The hate has even been a topic among the fans on different platforms, asking whether or not he deserves the hate.
During the interview, the guitar virtuoso addressed the hate comments about him. He referred to himself as a painter and said the following:
“Nobody is perfect. But people really don’t understand what I’m doing. This is not a band. It hasn’t been a band since 1984. That’s strange for rock’n’roll people to comprehend, but it’s how I work. I’m a painter. I won’t do half a painting and call you up and say: ‘Dave, please finish it for me.'”
Why Malmsteen Won’t Work With Other Rockers
Malmsteen mainly focused on his solo career. Although he collaborated with many names, such as Dio, Joe Lynn Turner, and Jeff Scott Soto, he decided not to embark on his music career with a band. In the following minutes of the interview, the rocker clarified that working solo is not egotism and continued:
“Working with others, I felt like I was subtracting something, and not adding. That’s often mistaken for egotism, but really it isn’t. Singers have a real problem with the fact that they are part of the ensemble, performing my music. They just don’t get it.”
Why Other Rockers Hate Yngwie Malmsteen
In addition to the unending hatred he received throughout the years, the hatred of people he has been in bad terms also spoke about him. Jake E. Lee, best known for his work with Ozzy Osbourne, has called the virtuoso an ‘arrogant f*cking *sshole‘ in an earlier interview.
Although he continued admiring his work by calling him a ‘great guitar player,’ Lee was also one of the people to criticize both his personality and his guitar playing. Claiming that all Malmsteen can do is sweeps, arpeggios, and play fast, he finished off by calling him a ‘sh*tty rhythm player.’
Malmsteen has referred to himself as the dictator of the music earlier and said that he makes sure he ends up as the leader of the project he is in, thus being one of the possible reasons for the hatred.
You can read the recent interview here.
