The virtuoso Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen released “Now or Never”, the first single of his upcoming album “Hell or High Water” which will be out next November 13.
Hear the new Yngwie Malmsteen song “Now or Never”
“When I started making records, I would just take the songs I had lying around. Later on, I fell into a schedule — make a record, tour the record and then write the next record. Over the pandemic, I realized it was better to focus completely uninterrupted. So I stayed at home to write this album over the course of eight months. I had around 80 or 90 tracks finished, and then I had to decide which ones were the strongest.”
“Even without a guitar in my hands, the music just comes to me. It’s like that movie ‘Amadeus’. Mozart was getting music given to him in complete form. I understand the building blocks and can therefore build you anything you like. If you asked me to write you a death metal song, call me back in five minutes, and I’d have it ready for you.”
“You want country and western or reggae? No problem. I can give you whatever you want. The language of music is simple. There are certain notes that belong together in whatever stylistic direction and sound pleasant to the ear. The ideas don’t come all the time, but when they do, it’s like an avalanche. The pieces I choose for my records are like gifts that I capture because they amaze me. I’m very lucky in that sense,” the musician said.
In 1984 Malmsteen released “Rising Force”, which is still considered a landmark for “neoclassical metal” music and shredding technique. The record won the Guitar Player’s award for Best Rock Album. Also was nominated for a Grammy Award for “Best Rock Instrumental”, reaching no. 60 on the Billboard album chart. Since then he has released 22 studio albums, the most recent one being “Parabellum” (2021).