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Yngwie Malmsteen is one of the greatest guitarists ever. This album, Yngwie J. Malmsteen's Rising Force, happens to be not only his first but his greatest. With such tracks as Far Beyond the Sun to Black Star, ranked eighth among the all-time greatest guitar solo songs ever, Rising Force is definitely the epitome of shred. When this album was first released in 1982, it revolutionized the way guitars were played. Everyone acknowledged his playing ability instantly - I have personally never heard anyone play faster and with such precision than Yngwie does. Malmsteen's genre is "baroque-n-roll", a phrase he coined himself after his musical style. He plays songs not in a rock/metal sense, but in a classical sense like he was playing the piano. And he makes it work, giving his licks an ominous feel. I can guarantee that if you're a rock and metal fan, you've never heard anything like this. Yngwie Malmsteen will blow you away.Read full review
That was my impression of some of the work on this album by neo-classical metal guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen. I first heard of Yngwie when I was in Media Arts class in high school. A student had brought in a video of various guitarists and when Yngwie came on, no one knew who he was (including me). The teacher said that this guy Malmsteen is one of the fastest players in the world. I thought "cool!" then never gave it much thought for a while. Then one day, I read in a cd club magazine that he is, again, one of the fastest players around. That made me think of what my teacher had said, and I decided to order the album "Rising Force." Boy was I impressed! "Black Star" starts it off and sets a tone for the last song "Farewell." "Black Star" starts off with a nice soft intro and then goes into some very impressive and heartfelt melodies, while maintaining a hard edge. "Farewell" is a nice extension of the intro to "Black Star" and is a nice way to end such an awesome album. "Far Beyond the Sun" is the song that really blew me away. It is the perfect example of Yngwie's speediness and control. I was amazed at how he can unleash these lightspeed bursts of notes at any time. This is a simply amazing song! "Now Your Ships Are Burned" also features some great playing, but is unfortunately marred by typical goofy 80's metal lyrics (this song and "As Above So Below" are the only songs with vocals, thankfully). "Evil Eye" is somewhat similar to "Black Star" and is no less intense. "Icarus' Dream Suite Opus 4" is incredible. It has strings, acoustic playing, great drumming and is just amazing. It is hard to describe so you should check it out for yourself. "Little Savage" takes a while to get going, but gets pretty cool after a minute or so. Well, Yngwie himself is amazing, but so are his bandmates. The drumming is superb, as are the keyboards, which provide an excellent compliment to the axe hero without going overboard. This is a great album that deserves more recognition than just in guitar mags. It is absolutely essential for any guitar fan and neo-classical fan alike.Read full review
The sheer energy alone on this debut by the Maestro is overwhelming, but the musicianship will take one's breath away. Never mind all of the jealous "also-rans" and re-hashers that put this down as musical masturbation. This is music, and performance, that will stand the test of time. This is partially due to the fact that as one reads this, thousands of new players are trying to catch up, and that will take time. It may be prudent to make mention of the fact that wankers that put down the discipline of practice are the one's that will be forgotten, sometimes long before they start. This is music for musicians, and a civilian that can appreciate it is extremely rare. Later works may be more mature and polished, but this is a pre-cursor to something new.
YNGWIE USES A SCALLOPED NECK GUITAR. THIS MEANS THAT HE HAS CURVES CARVED INTO THE FRET INLAYS THAT GIVE HIM THE ABILITY TO STRETCH A NOTE FASTER BY PRESSING DOWN INSTEAD OF TAKING THE TIME TO STRETCH THE STRING BACK AND FORTH. WHEN THIS FIRST CAME OUT, IT WAS MIND BLOWING! HE IS SO FAST THAT IT UNBELIEVEABLE ( DO TO THE SCALLOPED NECK)! THIS MUSIC IS TWO CARS GOING DOWN THE ROAD AT 200 MPH. ONE WITH CLASSICAL MUSIC IN IT. THE OTHER, WITH ROCK-N-ROLL! THEY DO A HEAD ON COLLISION RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BUSIEST INTERSECTION IN THE WORLD!! CHECK IT OUT!!
good disc
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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