Review Summary: A stunning and groundbreaking debut from a 21-year old Swedish virtuoso that he would never quite match again.
YNGWIE J. MALMSTEEN’S RISING FORCE was the debut solo album from a then 21-year old Swedish guitar prodigy/virtuoso. This album was tremendously inspiring to me and gave me the fuel to really practice hard and with monk-like devotion for the rest of my teenage years. Incidentally, it was also the very first album I purchased in the Compact Disk format.
It’s a mostly instrumental album which fuses heavy metal with “neo-classical shred”. His approach is very reminiscent of Al di Meola, but more the flamenco than jazz phrasing. Although Ritchie Blackmore and Michael Schenker were obvious influences for him, Malmsteen doesn’t just add some classical flavoring to his guitar solos. He weaves that Bach influence into the very tapestry of his song structures in a way that even his idols rarely ever managed to achieve.
I’d first heard Yngwie with Alcatrazz on the radio back in 1983. His approach and overall style were a revelation to me, much in the same way as Randy Rhoads affected me. I can vividly remember extracting his picture from a Guitar magazine and placing it upon my wall. That was my way of setting the bar for myself. If I could play as fast and eloquently as this guy, I would be a satisfied guitar player.
I also remember playing their song “Too Young To Die, Too Drunk To Live” for my father, who was dismissive and relatively unimpressed. He instead cited Eric Clapton as a better player. I just scoffed at his short sightedness. Hell, I could play some Clapton licks even at age 14, but I know even Eric couldn’t come near this stuff. To be fair, they are two completely different kinds of artists, but even Yngwie’s contemporaries at the time would have conceded this was no act they could truly follow.
This album really stunned me with its blend of neo-classical melodic phrasing and blazing, but cleanly executed guitar solos. Even at such blinding velocity, every note he played could be heard ever so clearly. His approach was in stark contrast to Van Halen influenced players who utilized flashy tricks for their own sake, but did not necessarily serve the song. Yngwie’s playing was clearly on a higher level both technically and musically. Although I was able to absorb many of the elements in his style, most of these songs remain untouchable to me even now.
It’s important not to overlook the contributions of Jens Johannsen (keyboards) and guest drummer Barriemore Barlow from Jethro Tull. Yngwie actually played the bass parts himself on this album. The only criticisms I’d make here is that the production does make the album sound a bit hollow. Also, the vocals spots by Jeff Scott Soto are decent, but really down to a matter of taste. Soto’s style just seems a little too cartoonish and overwrought, not unlike Eric Adams of Manowar. But he does achieve that “marching gloriously into Valhalla” vibe that Yngwie seemed to want for those songs (“Now Your Ships Are Burned” and “As Above So Below”.
Yngwie’s virtuosity is seeping through every nook and cranny of this album, but seems most notable on the soaring “Far Beyond The Sun”, the stop/start intensity of “Evil Eye” and the beautiful “Icarus Dream Suite Opus 4” (written for his cat, Moje) which is possibly his most tasteful and restrained moment on the album. Although his following albums boasted improved production and plenty of noteworthy moments, nothing else he did ever quite lived up to his magical debut. It was like he was trying to improve on perfection, but just wound up repeating himself over and over again. It’s a fabulous album that will probably find greater appeal among musicians and fans of neo-classical metal.
