Yngwie Johan Malmsteen ; born 30 June 1963) is a Swedish guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical playing style in heavy metal, and has released 22 studio albums in a career spanning over 40 years. In August 2009, Time magazine named Malmsteen No. 9 on its list of the 10 best electric guitar players of all-time.
Rising Force is the first studio album by guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen, released in late 1984 through Polydor Records. This was originally planned as an instrumental side-project of his then-current band Alcatrazz, but due to singer Jeff Scott Soto's appearance on the album, Malmsteen opted to release it as a solo album. It reached No. 14 on the Swedish albums chart and No. 60 on the US Billboard 200, and received a nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance at the 1986 Grammy Awards. The album is regarded as a landmark release in the shred and neoclassical metal genres.
Neoclassical metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is heavily influenced by classical music and usually features very technical playing, consisting of elements borrowed from both classical and speed metal music. Deep Purple's Ritchie Blackmore and Jon Lord pioneered the subgenre by merging classical melodies and blues rock. Later, Yngwie Malmsteen became one of the most notable musicians in the subgenre, and contributed greatly to the development of the style in the 1980s. Other notable players in the genre are Randy Rhoads, John Petrucci, Michael Romeo, Jason Becker, Tony MacAlpine, Vinnie Moore, Alexi Laiho, Uli Jon Roth, Stéphan Forté, Wolf Hoffmann, Timo Tolkki, and Marty Friedman.
Jens Ola Johansson is a Swedish keyboardist and pianist. Jens got famous in the early 80's when he and his brother Anders (drums) joined Yngwie Malmsteen's "Rising Force". Jens is the son of the legendary Swedish Jazz pianist Jan Johansson. Jens have also worked with the legendary guitar player Allan Holdsworth.
Magnum Opus is the eighth studio album by guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen, released on 17 October 1995. The album reached No. 11 and 17 on the Finnish and Swedish albums chart respectively.
Mats Levén is a Swedish singer. Some of his most notable collaborations have been with guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen, symphonic metallers Therion and doom metallers Candlemass. In 2011, due to family issues on the part of Firewind's lead singer Apollo, Levén was called in to substitute for the rest of their European tour. He also started touring with Trans-Siberian Orchestra in 2016. In 2019, he released his first solo album under the name Skyblood. In 2022, he became a member of Vandenberg which is led by the well known guitarist, Adrian Vandenberg.
The Seventh Sign is the seventh studio album by Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen, released on 9 May 1994.
Marcel Karl Jacob was a Swedish musician, best known as the founder, chief songwriter, and bassist of the hard rock band Talisman. For a brief period, he also played in the band Europe and with Yngwie Malmsteen. Jacob was also a skilled lead guitarist, occasionally playing guitar solos on albums where he felt the guitarist did not perform to his standards.
Steeler was an early 1980s American heavy metal band that featured Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen upon his arrival in the United States. The band was founded in 1981 in Nashville, Tennessee, by vocalist Ron Keel and released one album on Shrapnel Records in 1983 before morphing into Keel.
Anders Johansson is a Swedish musician, best known as the former drummer of HammerFall and Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force. He currently plays in the power metal band Tungsten. He is the son of jazz pianist Jan Johansson, and brother of Stratovarius and Rainbow keyboardist Jens Johansson.
Divinefire is a Christian metal group founded in the spring of 2004 by Finnish guitarist Jani Stefanovic, and Swedish singer Christian Liljegren. Liljegren is the current frontman of the band Narnia.
Holy Hell is a heavy metal album released in 2005 by Rob Rock. It is his third solo release and is known for being his heaviest and most aggressive album to date. It was produced by Roy Z who is also known for producing solo albums by Rob Halford and Bruce Dickinson. Roy Z is also credited for performing some of the guitar and bass parts on the album. Other contributing musicians include guitarist Carl Johan Grimmark of Narnia fame, drummer Bobby Jarzombek who has played in bands such as Riot and Halford, and Edguy and Avantasia mainman Tobias Sammet who duets with Rob Rock on the closing track, "Move On".
Per Christian Liljegren, is a Swedish musician, best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist for the Christian melodic power metal band Narnia. Liljegren is also the frontman of the metal bands Audiovision, Divinefire, Flagship and Wisdom Call. He is also the owner of the Liljegren Records label which features bands such as Divinefire, Crimson Moonlight, Sanctifica, Grimmark, Harmony, Veni Domine and Majestic Vanguard. He changed his last name to Rivel by choosing to take his wife's last name when they were married. After the divorce in 2008 he changed his name back to Liljegren.
Audiovision was a Swedish metal band that produced two albums, the second in 2010.
Mark Robert Boals is an American heavy metal vocalist and occasional bassist, best known for his vocals with Yngwie Malmsteen. He is currently a member of the band Foundry.
The Covenant Progress is the first full-length album by the Swedish group Crimson Moonlight. The album was released in 2003 on Rivel Records. In 2010, HM Magazine ranked it #52 on the Top 100 Christian metal albums of all time list with Beck stating that it is "Well-produced symphonic black metal that rivals the best any other band in this subgenre can offer."
Sanctifica was a Swedish unblack metal band, formed in 1996, and disbanded in 2003. After releasing their EP, In the Bleak Midwinter, in 1997, they were considered to be one of the leading modern Christian black metal bands in the early 2000s with their album Spirit of Purity. Signed to Swedish Rivel Records and Finnish Little Rose Productions, the band played progressive death metal on their second and last album Negative B. They did a tour through Scandinavia to support that album, performing at some of the best known rock clubs in big cities. Hubertus Liljegren went to join Crimson Moonlight, while the rest formed a rock group called As a Reminder.
Johan Reinholdz is a progressive metal artist best known for his work with the Swedish progressive metal band Andromeda, Swedish death metal band NonExist and the melodic death metal band Skyfire. He composed Andromeda's debut album, Extension of the Wish. He has also released four more studio albums with Andromeda and one live-album. In 2004 he joined Skyfire on Esoteric in 2009. Since early 2017 he plays with Dark Tranquillity, going from live member to full time member in 2020, replacing original guitarist Martin Henriksson.
Chris Brooks is an Australian author, rock, metal and fusion guitarist most noted for his debut instrumental album The Master Plan and his subsequent work with members of Yngwie Malmsteen, Black Sabbath, Lana Lane, and fellow Australians LORD.
Narnia is a Swedish metal band founded by guitarist Carl Johan Grimmark and singer Christian Liljegren. The band formed in Sweden in 1996, disbanded in 2010, and reformed in 2014. Their music references The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis.
