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.
Stratovarius is a Finnish power metal band. Formed in 1984, they have released sixteen studio albums, five DVDs and six live albums. The band's line-up has changed many times, and after guitarist Timo Tolkki's departure in 2008, no founding members remain. Currently, the longest standing member is singer Timo Kotipelto, who joined in 1994.
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.
Allan Holdsworth was a British jazz fusion and progressive rock guitarist, violinist and composer.
Shawn Lane was an American musician who released two studio albums and collaborated with a variety of musicians including Ringo Starr, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Reggie Young, Joe Walsh, Jonas Hellborg, Anders Johansson, Jens Johansson and many others. After studying the piano, he learned to play the guitar, which he played with exceptional speed.
Jan Johansson was a Swedish jazz pianist. His album Jazz på svenska is the best selling jazz release ever in Sweden; it has sold over a quarter of a million copies and has been streamed more than 50 million times on Spotify. He was the father of former HammerFall drummer Anders Johansson and Stratovarius keyboardist Jens Johansson, who run Heptagon Records which keeps their father's recordings available.
Derek Sherinian is an American keyboardist of Armenian descent who has toured and recorded for Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, and Joe Bonamassa, among others. He was also a member of Dream Theater from 1994 to 1999, is the founder of Planet X and also one of the founding members of Black Country Communion, Sons of Apollo, and Whom Gods Destroy. He has released nine solo albums that have featured a variety of prominent guest musicians, including guitarists Slash, Yngwie Malmsteen, Allan Holdsworth, Steve Lukather, Joe Bonamassa, Michael Schenker, Steve Vai and Al Di Meola, and extensively drummer Simon Phillips.
Trilogy is the third studio album by guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen, released in October 1986 through Polydor Records. The album reached No. 44 on the US Billboard 200 and charted within the top 60 in the Netherlands and Sweden. In the liner notes, Malmsteen dedicates the album to the memory of the late Swedish prime minister Olof Palme, who was assassinated on 28 February 1986.
Janne Viljami "Warman" Wirman is a Finnish musician; he is the former keyboardist for the Finnish melodic death metal band Children of Bodom from 1997 to 2019 and currently collaborating with Warmen.
Marching Out is the second studio album by guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen, released on 19 August 1985 through Polydor Records. The album reached No. 52 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and remained on that chart for 28 weeks, as well as reaching the top 30 in two other countries.
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.
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.
Jörg Fischer is a German guitar player, primarily known for his work with the German band Accept. He joined the band at the end of the recording sessions for their self-titled debut and plays on the albums I'm a Rebel and Breaker until leaving before recording began for the fourth album Restless and Wild. After the recording of Balls to the Wall was completed he was asked to rejoin the band. Fischer appears on the albums Metal Heart and Russian Roulette. By this time his role had diminished mainly to rhythm guitarist, although he is featured as lead guitarist on the songs "Living for Tonite", "Wrong Is Right', "Aiming High", "Another Second to Be" and "Lay Down the Law". Fischer left the band again around 1988.
Art Metal is a progressive metal band based in Sweden and led by Jonas Hellborg. Some of their line-ups have included guitarist Mattias Eklundh of Freak Kitchen fame, the Johansson brothers who have both contributed to the solo career of Yngwie Malmsteen, and Jonas Hellborg, an influential musician and solo artist in the jazz music scene. The band's music also has plenty of Indian music influence.
Heavy Machinery is a collaborative studio album by guitarist Allan Holdsworth, keyboardist Jens Johansson and drummer Anders Johansson, released in 1996 through Heptagon Records (Sweden), and on 12 August 1997 through Shrapnel Records and Pony Canyon (Japan).
Fission is a studio album by keyboardist Jens Johansson, released in 1997 through Heptagon Records (Europe); February 18, 1998 through Pony Canyon (Japan); and on March 24, 1998, through Shrapnel Records. According to Johansson, the album went through an extremely troubled recording process due to several mishaps with Andy West's bass parts, which ultimately never made the album. On his website, Johansson also revealed that the indistinct image on the cover art is actually a heavily zoomed-in section of ice on a car window.
Circus Black is the fourth full-length album by Finnish symphonic power metal band Amberian Dawn.
Art Metal is an album by bass guitarist Jonas Hellborg, released in 2007 through Bardo Records. It is the debut recording by Hellborg's project of the same name, Art Metal, borrowing the aesthetic of contemporary metal expanded with Indian and jazz improvisational disciplines.
Stormcrow is the second studio album by Finnish power metal supergroup Cain's Offering, released on 19 May 2015. It is their first album with keyboardist Jens Johansson and bassist Jonas Kuhlberg. The first song to be made available was the title-track, streamed from 22 April on. Eight days later, the band streamed "The Best of Times".
