Thanks to his personality and musical genius, Angus Young has immensely contributed to AC/DC’s success as the lead guitarist. He has been known for his energetic personality, schoolboy-uniform style, and Chuck-Berry-inspired duckwalk while playing. In addition, the rocker created the timeless sound of his band in a partnership with his late brother, Malcolm Young.
Besides Young’s contributions to AC/DC’s distinctive sound with his guitar playing, he inspired the other guitarists. His solos in ‘Let There Be Rock,’ ‘Rocker,’ and ‘Hells Bells’ were just a few considered excellent. Therefore, many audiences advocated that Young should not be an underrated guitarist, and Yngwie Malmsteen was among those who supported this idea.
Yngwie Malmsteen Thinks Angus Young Is An Excellent Guitarist
In a past conversation with Music Radar, Yngwie Malmsteen counted Angus Young among the most influential guitarists by indicating that he should not have been ‘underrated.’ According to Malmsteen, Young has created classical sounds in a way nobody has done. The rocker said Young had adopted a new perspective on playing classical; thus, he had become a fantastic guitarist. Malmsteen also named his favorite AC/DC riff, ‘Hells Bells.’
Yngwie Malmsteen explained in his words:
“Angus is a very underrated player. He’s super-tasty and always good! It’s still blues, though, even when he does his big solo. Classical isn’t just little triplets here and there. It’s your entire mind being released from the pentatonic box, a linear kind of playing. And no one does that.
It’s all guitar players who listened to other guitar players who listened to other guitar players. That’s a very incestuous line, and what happens is people don’t leave the pentatonic boxes enough. To play classical, you need to throw everything away and think in a completely new manner. What’s my favorite AC/DC riff? I love them all, but ‘Hells Bells’ is amazing.”
Although people have different views about Angus Young’s playing, it is a fact that he has affected the whole music world. He has made a massive impact on the rock scene, especially with the sounds he created in AC/DC for years. Hence, many people like Malmsteen support that his name should appear among the most influential guitarists.
You can listen to ‘Hells Bells’ below.
