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Class 6(66)
Yngwie Malmsteen: Rising force
29/08/07 || Lord K Philipson
Released: 1984
Introduction
Yngve Malmsten (yeah, that’s how it was spelled before he moved to the States and decided to become a rockstar de luxe. And rockstars need flashier spellings of their names) is the only true rockstar to ever emerge out of Swedish soil. He’s got it all; money, cars, 60000 guitars (all Fender’s, and we all know they suck arse), poodle hairdo, jewelry, domestic violence charges, car crashes, a nail polish (though not Polish) assistant, Rolex watches and a serious amount of other very important things needed to be a true rockstar. But most of all, he’s got a talent when it comes to playing guitar that all of us can only dream of. And he showed that already back in 1984. That’s like alot of years ago, and still to this day he hasn’t managed to master the triumph that is this album, even if the fantastic follow-up, “Marching out”, is close.
Songwriting
9,5. Half of the tunes are instrumentals, and it doesn’t matter for shit as the guitars are what’s in focus here, duh. Just listen to opener “Black star”. I get goosebumps/chickenskin/gonorrhea each and every time I listen to this muthafucken tune. And seriously, that goes for all of the remaining songs as well. Yngve was not only an extra-ordinary guitarist at this exact moment in time, he also knew how to write some fantastic songs, something virtuosos usually fucken forget becoz they are too damn ego’d up to play as nifty and shit as they possibly can. But not Yngve, not here anyways.
Production
9. You have to take into consideration that this was recorded some 23 fucken years ago… It’s all crystal clear, the bass, the solos, the drums. It’s all perfectly balanced. There’s absolutely no punch whatsoever in the production but it’s such a warm and honest sound I can do nothing but take a bow to Yngve and whoever produced this fucken masterpiece of guitar masturbation.
Guitars
11. Unmatched. Yep, that’s a fucken 11. I should give it a “666” but it doesn’t work coz Yngve is not simply evil enough. I have never heard anyone play with this much feeling or conviction. Ever. The warmth in his playing, the honesty in the notes – it’s genuine. It’s downright fucken genuine… And I can’t stress this enough: 23 GODDAMNED YEARS AGO!? While Yngve nowadays does nothing but recreate what he once initially created, there is no one who can ever claim to have more feeling in his playing than what Yngve displays here. Go fuck yourself if you disagree, coz you are wrong.
Vocals
8,5. Jeff Scott Soto is doing some good shit on this grandiose recording, though it stands in the shadows on the guitars, of course. I wouldn’t have mind if the vocals weren’t here considering the material itself (as it sure stands on its own two feet), but this guy delivers in what he was handed. Without a doubt the best vocalist Yngve ever used for a fucken album. And you have to remember he used them all. Except for Chris Barnes, coz Chris Barnes sucks dreadlocked goat semen.
Bass
8. Yngve can play bass as well. Are you surprised? Keeping a steady pace, backing up the guitars, and that’s pretty much it. It’s very audible and has a nice clean tone to it. It’s secondary without a doubt, but nonetheless adding excellence to the music. When I think about it, I’m sure Yngve could get beautiful notes out of a fucken hen if needed, so it’s no surprise he masters the bass as well.
Drums
8. Barrimore Barlow plays what he’s told. There’s nothing remotely technical or anything here (technical in the early 80’s? I don’t think that term existed back then), but it’s there with the bass, creating a fucken solid background for Yngve’s ego. The sound is fine though the kicks could have been a bit higher. Then again, this album was never about the drums being the primary issue. Really, it’s actually all about guitars.
Keyboards
8,5. Jens Johansson is doing what he does best… eh… well… that would be keyboards. He’s got some room here for some impressive soloing, with a very typical 80’s sound, I might add.
Lyrics
5. It wasn’t too advanced in the 80’s…
I’m trying to fight
For what is right
But evil spirits pass me by
They do what they want
They just don’t care
What you feel or what you say
But he sure fucken tried, at least.
Cover art
5. It explains what it’ all about, at least. Painted red fingernails. Or not. It’s a fucken guitar held up by some whore’s hand. It gets the message across: this album will not be about drums, keyboards, vocals or bass.
Logo
9. Beautiful and classic font. In gold. Looks killer.
Booklet
Here we go again. I borrowed this cd (yeah, not LP) from TPH-guitarist Mazza some years ago but still can’t remember what it looks like. I guess it’s black with a lot of pictures of dildos in it.
Overall and ending rant
9. Fantastic, fantastic album. Yngwie (there you go) became the legend he is with this piece. To this day, no one comes close to what’s achieved here when it comes to guitars. There’s not a weak tune during its whole running time. There’s not even a single weak riff. There’s simply no flaws on this recording. And again, it’s fucken 23 years old. No matter how uninspired he is today, he can always tell you that he did this album in 1984 and then tell you and me to go fuck ourselves. And I would still respect him.
