It has been said that Yngwie J. Malmsteen's 1984 debut album. Rising Force, changed the face of hard rock guitar forever. Instead of relying on patterned power chords to create a wall of sound, Malmsteen combined traditional hard rock riffs and lighting fast guitar solos with Gothic baroque influences drawn from classical composers such as Beethoven, Bach and Paganini.
Malmsteen went on to release a string of albums through the 1980s and 1990s. And while albums such his 1985 Marching and the 1988 Odyssey were well received by hard rock fans the world over, by the 1990s the Swede had fallen out of favor with heavy rock fans, one reason perhaps being the guitarist's talent and song-writing prowess was so progressive that it proved impossible to emulate.
While the long-haired, classically trained greaser has continued to release albums - his most recent being this year's Live At Budokan - none has enjoyed the same success at his early works.
For the guitarist's two up-coming Taipei performances, Malmsteen will give local audiences a chance to hear both classical-influenced and regular heavy rock. Tomorrow night the Swede will be teaming up with the Kaoshiung Symphony Orchestra for an evening of guitar-laden neo-classical tines. On Sunday the guitarists will cause jaws to drop with his trademark fast and furious noodling guitar solos and hard rock sound.
Yngwie J. Malmsteen will perform at the Taipei International Convention Center at 1 Hsinyi Rd., Sec. 3, Taipei (台北國際會議中心信義路三段一號) tomorrow and Sunday at 7:30pm. Tickets cost NT$900, NT$1,500, NT$1,800 and NT$2,000 and are available through ERA ticket outlets or at the door.
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