One of the world’s most captivating guitarists, Yngwie Malmsteen has announced his new studio album, Hell Or High Water” which will be released on November 13th through Music Theories Recordings/Artone Label Group. To whet your appetite, the Swedish-born musician has also revealed the first single from the album, Now Or Never, which you can hear below.
When we think of the greatest guitar players of all-time, specifically the crème de la crème musicians who invented a whole new style and sound on the instrument, Malmsteen is a name that sits comfortably alongside game-changers like Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page and Edward Van Halen.
The nine tracks that make up his latest triumph were crafted meticulously and purposefully, away from the distractions that stall the creative process in the modern age. This is something he first tried with 2021’s Parabellum — mainly because of the state of the world at that time — and the results were so strong, he decided to stick with this as his modus operandi moving forward.
“When I started making records, I would just take the songs I had lying around,” Yngwie admits. “Later on, I fell into a schedule — make a record, tour the record and then write the next record. Over the pandemic, I realized it was better to focus completely uninterrupted, so I stayed at home to write this album over the course of eight months. I had around 80 or 90 tracks finished, and then I had to decide which ones were the strongest.”
For a man born with a gift to conjure up overtures “out of nowhere”, the science behind writing a song is something that’s hard to explain. But, in any case, he’s grateful for the abundance of gold-standard ideas that do arrive — the kind that would take other musicians months or even years to realize into actuality. For Yngwie J. Malmsteen, this is simply what he was born to do.
“Even without a guitar in my hands, the music just comes to me,” Yngwie reasons. “It’s like that movie Amadeus. Mozart was getting music given to him in complete form. I understand the building blocks and can therefore build you anything you like. If you asked me to write you a death metal song, call me back in five minutes, and I’d have it ready for you. You want country and western or reggae? No problem. I can give you whatever you want. The language of music is simple. There are certain notes that belong together in whatever stylistic direction and sound pleasant to the ear. The ideas don’t come all the time, but when they do, it’s like an avalanche. The pieces I choose for my records are like gifts that I capture because they amaze me. I’m very lucky in that sense.”
Lead single Now Or Never is a perfect storm of palm-muted riffing, baroque counterpart melodies, soaring vocals and mind-blowing dexterity. If you’re looking for Yngwie in a nutshell, this is very much it, and similar things could be said of the second track and instrumental pièce de résistance Am Caprice/Hell Or High Water.
(On The) Battlefield and Eye For An Eye feature some of the singer/guitarist’s strongest vocal performances to date, alongside the stunning instrumentals Antikythera and Beyond Zeta Reticuli — which were both named after important scientific breakthroughs and discoveries.
Hell Or High Water is an album that’s bursting with emotion from all corners, but the closing track Father is undoubtedly the most spirited of them all, written in tribute to the guitar legend’s dad, who passed away last year.
“He was an amazing man,” remembers Yngwie. “I was proud to have him as a father, and I loved him. I wanted to dedicate all of this to him, and that one particular track is for him. I wanted others to feel what I felt when they hear it. Niccolò Paganini once said, ‘One must feel strongly in order to make others feel strongly’. It’s one thing to be a typewriter and another thing to be someone who writes stories that can touch people. That was always the point.”
Hell Or High Water track listing:
- Now Or Never
- Am Caprice/Hell Or High Water
- (He Is) Living A Lie
- Antikythera
- (On The) Battlefield
- Beyond Zeta Reticuli
- Prestissimo In Bm/Adagio
- Eye For An Eye
- Father
11 Responses
Nothing new here then…..
As I said on here many moons ago, I saw Yngwie live once – three times.
Cleverly written statement.
Dana, thank you once again as always.
Don’t get me wrong, I do like Yngwie. But I haven’t bought an album of his since 2005, which was the last one he did with Doogie White on vocals. When that solo in this new song started, it was exactly the same as one I’ve heard somewhere before on an earlier album.
I know that Yngwie is a legend (and he knows it), but if he is to continue making music, I think that he really needs to pull the ego back a bit. For me the last really good album he did was ‘Facing the Animal’ – that came out in 1998. That also had a producer, and was not produce by Yngwie himself. That producer? The late Chris Tsangarides – who produced Judas Priest’s Painkiller amongst others (Thin Lizzy, Helloween, Anvil….)
Not that Yngwie working with a producer is going to happen again though, I’m sure.
No, I get it, redundancy can turn some people off. I suppose it depends on the music that is being duplicated.
Over the years, I have heard the same complaint made about AC/DC. Even Angus Young made a quip about it, stating that is very difficult to write the same song over and over and over…However, in AC/DC‘s defense, it is one hell of song with a great upbeat groove.
Malmsteen, while incredibly talented, tends to go overboard. For the most part, it’s the same Paganini fast riffs, and those types of songs, can only be appreciated in small doses. Otherwise, believe it or not, that sound can become boring, and somewhat irritating, quite easily.
The guy is a wanker. Super talented guitarist, but a lousy musician (Imo).
Hi Rattlehead
Being from England, I understand the term that you used. Can I ask though: Do you mean it in the true sense of the word or do you actually mean ‘Fret-Wanker’ due to the OTT playing?! :()
Hi DJH, i meant a “fret wanker”, “guitar neck wanker”….somebody who strangles the guitar. I did not mean “a pork puller” or “twirling the flesh baton”, which i believe is how you may have interpreted it?
Yngwie is a brilliant guitar shredder, but he does not know how to be a musician or how to be a member of a band. It’s all about Yngwie….But, I will admit, I love his work with Steeler, Alcatrazz, and his first debut album “Rising Force”.
Hi Rattlehead
I thought as much. “Twirling the flesh baton” – That’s a good one, I’ve never heard that before!
Love the term wanker.
‘Petting the Chimp’ is another fun euphemism
It’s his gimmick along with being a great guitarist.
Yngwie is a great guitarist. He had many great vocalist through out the years. Unfortunately he made a decision to sing himself. He made a comment a few years back that no one pays to hear his vocalist sing. One thing is for sure, people don’t day to hear him sing.