YNGWIE MALMSTEEN Says He Approaches Songwriting 'Much Like A Classical Composer' Would

Sleaze Roxx recently conducted an interview with legendary Swedish guitarist Yngie Malmsteen. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Sleaze Roxx: "Relentless" marks your second record with Tim "Ripper" Owens [JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH] as vocalist. As with previous albums, everything on "Perpetual Flame" was written prior to the singer coming in. Did Tim write for the new album?

Yngwie Malmsteen: Ah, no! It was done in the same way as you mentioned. I have to say that it's not necessarily a bad thing, because Tim has a lot of projects where he gets to write for. I like to write everything — I write the drum parts, I write the keyboard parts, I write the melodies, I write the guitar parts, lyrics and everything else. I approach it much like a classical composer — he wouldn't leave the cello parts for the cellists to write. The composer writes every part for everyone involved. I'm sure in reading this people are going to say, "What the hell is he talking about?" That's the way that I have done this, that is what works best for me and it's a personal thing. It's how I create.

Sleaze Roxx: This way you write isn't the norm. Have you met anyone in the rock world that writes in the manner you described?

Yngwie Malmsteen: I'm not sure. The only person that I can think of is Frank Zappa. I think that how he wrote that way as well. In the past when I've used an outside producer I've had singers come up with the melodies but it never felt complete. Let me put it to you this way — it's like a painter, I paint the landscape and the clouds and I just can't hand it over for someone else to finish it.

Sleaze Roxx: You mentioned that you are receptive to feedback and one of your biggest critics is your wife. Was it open for Tim to give feedback during the recording of the album?

Yngwie Malmsteen: Coming in, they know how I work, so they don't do that. They don't give any suggestions. I know that it sounds strict, but it's not. The musicians I work with know that their role is to come in and deliver the best possible performance. I see it like Robert De Niro playing a role — it's his task to bring that character to life. I know that in rock and roll that's not the traditional way of making records. I don't have a guitar riff and have the drummer play along and then bring in the singer to come up with his part over it. I just don't work that way at all. I have to add that with Tim he has the voice that I have been looking for. I don't have to push him hard because he gets it and knows what I'm looking for and it works brilliantly.

Read the entire interview from Sleaze Roxx.