Yngwie Malmsteen: new album like an atom bomb!

News:
01-05-2008:
Blabbermouth exclusive!

Yngwie Malmsteen has told Guitar World magazine that his forthcoming solo album will feature his strongest lineup ever: Tim "Ripper" Owens on vocals, Bjorn Englen on bass, Michael Troy on keyboards, and Patrik Johansson on drums. "It's going to come down like a fucking atom bomb!" Malmsteen said. "We've already recorded 39 songs. I went full out. I've got strings from Istanbul, and the drums are the heaviest I've fucking heard. Ripper conveys the lyrics I write like no one else. I'll write something like 'divide and conquer' and when Ripper sings it, it really comes out that way. It's like Sparta!"

Malmsteen also told Guitar World that he recently gained the rights to all of his back catalogue with the exception of the first five studio albums he recorded for PolyGram. Remastered CDs from his back catalog will now be available from Rising Force Records as well as online.

When asked how he feels about the changes in the music industry and even guitar playing over the past 25 years, Malmsteen replied, "The business has changed dramatically from what it was even just a few years ago. Music isn't even distributed the same way any more. Even CDs are becoming a thing of the past. The Internet has made it easier to get my music out to anyone who wants it, but at the same time I feel like we're losing the mystique. When I was a kid, all I ever knew about Ritchie Blackmore was what I saw on a few small album cover photos. Now you can find out anything about an artist that you want to know, whether it's his shoe size or what he had for dinner last night. I learned a lot from other people and was inspired by what they did, but I didn't copy anyone. I put many different blocks together to become what I am. I don't know if that would have happened if everything was handed to me on a plate."

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