Yngwie Malmsteen Biography

The Swedish songwriter and guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen was born in 1963 in Stockholm. Malmsteen rose to fame in the 1980’s for his guitar playing style, which helped to popularize shred guitar. But long before that, Yngwie grew up in a musical family, where he was encouraged to learn to play guitar as a child. As a teenager, Yngwie became enamored with classical music, particularly classical violin, and he attributes this interest to his evolving playing style as a guitarist.

When Malmsteen was eighteen, one of his demos garnered the interest of Shrapnel Records, and the label brought him to the Untied States to begin work as a musician. At first, Yngwie Malmsteen contributed tracks to works by other artists, but in 1984, he released his own debut solo album, Rising Force. The album earned Yngwie a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Instrumental and won him the Best Rock Album award from Guitar Player Magazine.

Since that time, Yngwie Malmsteen has risen to become one of the era’s most notable guitar players and performers, releasing dozens of successful albums, including the top forty international hits: Marching Out (1985), Trilogy (1986), Odyseey (1988), Eclipse (1990), Fire & Ice (1992), The Seventh Sign (1994), Magnum Opus (1995), Facing the Animal (1997), Alchemy (1999), Unleash the Fury (2005), Relentless (2010), and Spellbound (2012.) His albums usually feature a blend of instrumental tracks and songs with vocals, assisted by his band members: Ralph Ciavolino (bass and vocals); Mark Ellis (drums); and Nick Marino (keyboards and vocals.)

Yngwie Malmsteen continues to perform and record. Although he has achieved moderate success in the United States, his albums continue to chart in Sweden and almost always reach into the top forty in Japan. Malmsteen recently announced that he would be entering the studio in 2015 to prepare for his next upcoming album, scheduled for release in 2016.