Welcome to the LOUDEST DOT COM ON THE PLANET!
KNAC.COM News Reviews and More Watch The Latest Videos Buy KNAC T-shirts and More


YNGWIE MALMSTEEN Reveals New Album, Blue Lightning, 2019 US Tour

By Larry Petro, News Monkey
Saturday, February 2, 2019 @ 12:52 AM


Out March 29 Via Mascot Records; “Sun’s Up Top’s Down” Streaming

- advertisement -
Yngwie Malmsteen will release BLUE LIGHTNING globally on March 29 via Mascot Records/Mascot Label Group. To call Yngwie Malmsteen a 'maestro' or 'virtuoso' is to state the obvious. But such terms don't do sufficient justice to either his talent or impact. There are innumerable guitarists who have copied a small part of the vast musical spectrum that defines him, but nobody comes close to achieving what he has over a period of nearly four decades.

This man is an undoubted pioneer, someone whose style and creativity has inspired so many others. While he first came to everybody's notice in Los Angeles with STEELER's self-titled album (1983), followed by ALCATRAZZ's No Parole From Rock 'N' Roll the same year and Live Sentence ('84), it's been what he's done since in a distinguished and far ranging career as a solo performer and band leader that has momentously shown Malmsteen's craft and worth as one of the elite guitarists on the planet. Combining skills that span a vast spectrum of inspirations, he stands as a giant, melding melody, technique and an epic scope in a unique and inclusive fashion.

Now, with Blue Lightning, the man highlights not only his enduring dexterity and diversity, but also pays homage to those from the Blues world who have fueled his artistic spirit for so long.

“I have always played around with old songs, both live and also in the studio. I did a similar album called Inspiration a while ago (1996), and it was Mascot who came to me and suggested I do a Blues record.”

“Now, I grew up in a classically trained family, and people know me for playing in what is called a neo classical style. But when I got a guitar for my fifth birthday, what I would try to emulate were John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers – I would jam along to what they did on record with Eric Clapton (Bluesbreakers With Eric Clapton album). That's something people don't realize about me – I do have a strong interest in the Blues. So, when Mascot came to me with the suggestion of doing an album of songs in this style, it didn't faze me at all. In fact, it seemed so natural.”

What Malmsteen has done here is combine choices which might seem almost obvious with some that will turn heads. He shares, “There were songs that were immediately clear I wanted to do. These were the likes of “Purple Haze” and “Smoke On The Water” which I have been playing since I was a kid. But then I also went for something like “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” which I wasn't sure I could do. In this case, it's about trial and error. I am delighted that I was able to do justice to the original.”

Anyone who is expecting Malmsteen to copy exactly the way the original versions sound is in for a shock. Because that is not what he has done. He reflects, “I have never been one of those people who wants to sit down and mimic the way in which a song sounds on record. I don't see the point in doing that. If all you want to hear is a song the way you remember it, then the originals are there for you. What I have done is add in my own vibe and personality, while paying tribute to what you already know. That way I feel I am being myself, yet also being respectful to those artists.”

One thing this album has allowed Malmsteen to do is to challenge himself, which is certainly the case of Eric Clapton's “Forever Man”. He offers, “I heard this on the radio, and honestly I didn't know whether I could do it for this album. But I sat down and tried things, and they worked out. I had to rise to the occasion and am delighted to have done exactly that.” This track showcases not only Malmsteen's celebrated guitar qualities, but also his maturing individual vocal confidence. He reflects, “On the singing side with "Forever Man", I did it all in one take. I got the lyrics through, went into the studio, and just got them done. I am not someone who likes to do take after take. I feel you should be able to get it right the first time around. That applies to the vocal parts and also my guitar playing. And for the most part, this is the way I did Blue Lightning.”

The man has also paid homage to a particular favorite. He shares, “When I was ten years old, I got DEEP PURPLE's Fireball album, which I have always thought was very undervalued. And the song that really killed me was "Demon's Eye". And I was very keen to do it for the album. Thankfully, the key was just right for my voice, and I had so much fun doing it. In fact, I would say that I had a great time doing all the songs here.”

Aside from the covers, there are also four original tracks included. And these clearly bring to the fore Malmsteen's abiding love for the Blues, as well as his capacity for doing interpretations possessed of emotion and depth. He offers, “I have always featured songs with a Blues groove on albums. So, having my own material in this vein was very natural for me.”

The album is self-produced, and Malmsteen has followed a traditional manner in the way this was recorded. He shares, “In the old days, a band would go into the studio, do a couple of songs, then go out on tour, before returning to the studio to do a couple more new tracks. That's the way I did things this time. I have been so busy on the road in recent times that it was the most pragmatic way to do the album. In all, it took me about ten months to get it done, but by going in the studio in between touring commitments, I feel it kept everything fresh.”

The complete track listing includes “Blue Lightning”, “Foxy Lady”, “Demon’s Eye”, “1911 Strut”, “Blue Jean Blues”, “Purple Haze”, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, “Sun’s Up Top’s Down”, “Peace, Please”, “Paint It Black”, “Smoke On The Water” and “Forever Man”.

Confirmed appearances include:

  • 4/13 - Dayton, OH - Oddbody’s
  • 4/25 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues
  • 4/26 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
  • 4/27 - Dallas, TX - Gas Monkey Live!
  • 4/28 - San Antonio, TX - Vibes Event Center
  • 5/01 - Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theatre
  • 5/02 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre
  • 5/03 - Santa Clarita, CA - The Canyon Events Center
  • 5/04 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues
  • 5/05 - Anaheim, CA - House of Blues
  • 5/07 - Fresno, CA - The Tower Theatre
  • 5/08 - Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues Las Vegas
  • 5/09 - Montclair, CA - The Canyon Events Center
  • 5/10 - Vallejo, CA - Empress Theatre
  • 5/11 - Pasadena, CA - The Rose
  • 5/14 - Denver, CO - The Oriental Theater
  • 5/15 - Lincoln, NE - Royal Grove
  • 5/16 - St. Charles, IL - Arcada Theatre
  • 5/17 - Turtle Lake, WI - St. Croix Casino Turtle Lake
  • 5/18 - Sioux City, IA - Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sioux City
  • 5/22 - New York, NY - PlaysStation Theater
  • 5/23 - Derry, NH - Tupelo Music Hall
  • 5/24 - Old Saybrook, CT - The Katherine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center
  • 5/25 - Ardmore, PA - The Ardmore Music Hall
  • 5/29 - Sellersville, PA - Sellersville Theater
  • 5/30 - Ridgefield, CT - Ridgefield Playhouse
  • 5/31 - Hartford, CT - Infinity Music Hall
  • 6/01 - Niagara Falls, NY - Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino
  • 6/02 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom
  • 6/04 - Milwaukee, WI - The Pabst Theater
  • 6/05 - Lexington, KY - Manchester Music Hall
  • 6/06 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade
  • 6/07 - Clearwater, FL - Capitol Theatre
  • 6/08 - Orlando, FL - The Plaza Live


Back to Top

 

 

 Recent News
LACUNA COIL Reveal New Album Sleepless Empire
SPIRITBOX Unveil Cinematic Video For "Soft Spine"
TARJA Readies Second Volume Of Live Series, Rocking Heels: Live At Hellfest
LEAGUE OF DISTORTION Unleashes "Chainsaw" Video
GEOFF TATE Announces The 'Operation Mindcrime, The Final Chapter Tour'
SILENT RAGE Frontman JESSE DAMON To Release Anthology Limited Edition CD
KAT VON D Launches "I Am A Machine" Video, Featuring ALISSA WHITE GLUZ Of ARCH ENEMY
KING'S X Bassist DUG PINNICK Announces Newest Solo Album, Thingamajigger
CROSSBONE SKULLY Drop New Video For "High On You" Featuring MOTLEY CRUE's NIKKI SIXX
STICK TO YOUR GUNS Keep Planting Flowers With New Album
THE VEER UNION Share New Track "Is This How It Ends?"
MILWAUKEE METAL FEST Announces First Wave Of Bands For 2025 Edition
THE HALO EFFECT Set For New Album March Of The Unheard
SABATON's Concert Film, Sabaton - The Tour To End All Tours , Comes To North American Theaters In October
MARILYN MANSON Reveals New Studio Album, One Assassination Under God - Chapter 1
SKILLET Drops New Video For "All That Matters"
TESTAMENT Announce Florida In-Store Meet & Greet
HOUSE OF LORDS Launch New Single "Taking The Fall"
SICKSENSE Release New Video For "Wildfires"
SONIC TEMPLE ART & MUSIC FESTIVAL Announces Initial Bands & New Pass Types For 2025
NASTY SAVAGE Unveil First New Album In 20 Years, The Jeopardy Room
Drum Prodigy JOHN LONGSTRETH Releases Instructional Video, Drumming of a Madman: Experiments in Modern Metal Drumming
DEATH ANGEL Set For 9th Annual Bay Area X-Mas Shows
DGM Share New Video For Song "Final Call"
HEART Announces Additional North American Tour Dates For 2025
TAK MATSUMOTO GROUP Return With New Album TMG II
KAT VON D Announces 'My Side Of The Mountain' Tour
SEVEN KINGDOMS Ready New EP, The Square
VENDED Unleash Video For "Where The Honesty Lies"
RIOT V Vocalist TODD MICHAEL HALL Readies Sophomore Solo Album Off The Rails
SWALLOW THE SUN Drop New Video For "Melancholy"
SUNSTORM Returns with New Album Restless Fight
TREMONTI Launches Cinematic Video For "The Mother, The Earth and I"
RATT's Out Of The Cellar Gets 40th Anniversary Edition Vinyl
ALCEST Announce North American Tour
KINGS OF MERCIA Shares New Video For "Aftermath"
SEVENTH CRYSTAL Reveal New Studio Album Entity
ZAKK SABBATH Announce US Winter 2024/25 Tour
LORDS OF THE TRIDENT Share New Video "Jet Set City"
NANOWAR OF STEEL Set For Live Album, XX Years Of Steel
TROIS-RIVIERES METALFEST Announces 2024 Lineup
MYLES KENNEDY Releases Animated Video For "Miss You When You're Gone"
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, TRIVIUM Join For 2025 Co-Headline "The Poisoned Ascendancy Tour"
STYX Return To Las Vegas For Five-Night Engagement
METALLICA Announce 2025 North American "M72 World Tour" Dates
WHITECHAPEL Unleashes "A Visceral Retch" Single, Video
RORSCHACH TEST Announces First Leg Of 2025 "Fallen Tour"
ENSIFERUM Release New Single "Long Cold Winter Of Sorrow And Strife"
POWERFLO Return With New Album Gorilla Warfare
IRON MAIDEN Announce 'Run For Your Lives' World Tour 2025/26
NOTHING MORE Kicks Off SHIPROCKED Cruise Contest
TESTAMENT Releases New 'Brazen' Coffee Collaboration
GIRLSCHOOL Adds Additional Shows To Second Leg Of Final North American Tour
TRIBULATION Releases Video For "Hungry Waters"
METAL INJECTION FESTIVAL Announces Daily Set Times
MERCYFUL FATE Album Don't Break The Oath Gets 40th Anniversary Vinyl Repress
Puscifer Entertainment Presents 'SESSANTA V2.0' Spring 2025 Tour
DANCE WITH THE DEAD Launches "Neon Cross" Video
HIM Unveils Career-Spanning Anthology: When Love And Death Embrace - The Best Of HIM 1997-2003
GRAND MAGUS Share New Single "The Wheel Of Pain"
AS I LAY DYING Return With New Album Through Storms Ahead
FROZEN CROWN Drops New Album Title Track Video, "War Hearts"
JUDAS PRIEST's Rocka Rolla Gets 50th Anniversary Remixed, Remastered Version
DEFTONES Announces 2025 North American Tour
CASANDRA'S CROSSING, Featuring PARALANDRA Vocalist And GEORGE LYNCH, Releases "Impatient" Single
HEART Announces Rescheduled North America Shows For 2025
ENFORCED Announce New EP A Leap Into The Dark
1349 Premieres Blistering New Single, "Inferior Pathways"
DREAM THEATER Confirm 40th Anniversary North American Tour For 2025
MOTORHEAD Announce We Take No Prisoners - The Singles 1995-2006 Box Set
MEMPHIS MAY FIRE Share New Video For "Infection"
THUNDERMOTHER Get Dirty & Divine With New Album
OPETH Unveils New Single, "§3"
SODOM's Tapping The Vein Gets Deluxe Expanded Reissue
IMPELLITTERI Announce New Album War Machine
JERRY CANTRELL Drops New Video For "Afterglow"
DELAIN Announce New EP, Dance With The Devil
BEASTO BLANCO Releases New Video For "Unreal"
TRAPEZE To Release Lost Tapes Vol. 2
MARKO HIETALA Unveils New Video For "Frankenstein's Wife"
MOTLEY CRUE Celebrate 35th Anniversary Of Dr. Feelgood With Limited Edition Box Set
KK'S PRIEST Unleash "The Sinner Rides Again" Video
LOUDER THAN LIFE Festival Announces Set Times, Mobile App, Onsite Experiences & Local Shows
STORACE Returns with New Single "Rock This City"
PUNK IN THE PARK: SAN DIEGO Announces 2024 Lineup
BEHEMOTH Ready 30th Anniversary Live Show Release, XXX Years Ov Blasphemy
BLESSTHEFALL Drop Video For "Drag Me Under"
STARCHASER Unveil Into The Great Unknown Album
HELL'S HEROES Festival Reveals Full 2025 Band Lineup
SAINT Returns With New Album Immortalizer
WIND ROSE Releases New Video "To Be a Dwarf"
HOUSE OF LORDS Reveal New Album Full Tilt Overdrive
GIRLSCHOOL Announces Second Leg Of Final North American Tour
CRAZY LIXX Drop "Call Of The Wild" Video
AD INFINITUM Set For New Album Abyss
SWALLOW THE SUN Announce 2025 North American Headline Tour
LEAGUE OF DISTORTION Announce Sophomore Album, Galvanize
MICHAEL SCHENKER Streams "Only You Can Rock Me" Single
CHARLOTTE WESSELS Releases "The Crying Room" Video
DGM Return With New Album Endless
MAYHEM Announces Special 40th Anniversary Tour In North America
ZEAL & ARDOR Launch "Kilonova" Video
CLEANBREAK Reveal New Album We Are The Fire
HYPERSPACE METALFEST Announces Initial 2025 Lineup
BraveWords Records Releases Rhett Forrester & Rob Robbins - The Complete Dr. Dirty Sessions 1992-1993
A DAY TO REMEMBER Announce Fall "Couple More Shows" Headline Tour
ONI Shares New Video For "Walk Away" (Feat. lil aaron)
THE VEER UNION Release New Single "Empirical"
GHOUL Announces October West Coast 'Weapons Of Mosh Destruction V Tour'
WITHIN THE RUINS Unleashes "Demon Killer" Video
PROPHETS OF ADDICTION Face The Music With New Album
FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE Drop "Morphine Waltz" Video
SEPTICFLESH Announce 'Infernus Sinfonica II' Show Live At Pepsi Center WTC In Mexico
FOREIGNER Announces Career-Spanning Set Turning Back The Time, Previously Unreleased Song By MICK JONES And LOU GRAMM, "Turning Back The Time" Streaming
MIKE TRAMP Shares New Single "Out With The Boys"
PAGANFEST Returns in 2025 After 10 Year Hiatus
VOODOO CIRCLE Unveil New Album Hail To The King
BABYLON A.D. Drop Third Single, Video For ​"Sometimes Love Is Hell"
DEVIN TOWNSEND Readies New Studio Album Powernerd
DIAMANTE Returns With New Single, Video "All For The Glory"
POP EVIL, BAD WOLVES Announce 2024 Co-Headline "The Animal Instinct Tour"
HATCHET Cover Classic W.A.S.P. Song "Hellion"
IN THIS MOMENT Launch "Sanctify Me" Video, Announce Fall 'Godmode Tour Part 2'
ECLIPSE Share New Single, Video For "Still My Hero"
TESLA Bassist BRIAN WHEAT, Rising Star ALEX Form New Band VIOLET BREED
W.A.S.P. Announce 'Album One Alive' 2024 US Tour Contest
GRAND SLAM Release THIN LIZZY Cover Video For "Whiskey In The Jar"
FALLING IN REVERSE Release New Video For Track "Prequel"
DARK FUNERAL Announces Headlining Off-Day Performances During Upcoming Tour With GWAR
STRIKER Launches "Live To Fight Another Day Video
2024 METAL INJECTION FESTIVAL Reveals Daily Lineups
KINGS OF MERCIA Return With Second Album, Battle Scars



HOME | MAGAZINE | VIDS | STORE | HELP/POLICIES

©2024 KNAC.COM. All Rights Reserved.    Link to us    Advertise with us    Privacy policy
 Latest News