YNGWIE MALMSTEEN: Trilogy (MELODIC METAL): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

With "Trilogy", Yngwie Malmsteen will set up his trademark, the recipe of his success. This one is quite simple. To make a (very) good Yngwie Malmsteen album, you have to :
n° 1 : fire the previous singer (or the whole band if you're in shape)
n° 2 : design a hideous cover (or simply ridiculous, if you are not in shape)
3 : integrate 2 to 3 instrumentals in which the speed limits are blithely ignored
n° 4 : propose a clever musical cocktail of Hard FM, Heavy Melodic and Neo Classical

The instrumental period and the baroque style that prevailed in his first two albums are indeed over. With his third album, Yngwie Malmsteen opts for a more commercial style and much less original than at his beginnings.

The result is not less excellent for as much, and especially rather varied. Beside tracks written to be played on the radio ('You Don't Remember', 'I'll Never Forget', 'Queen In Love'"), there are heavier tracks ('Dark Ages') or faster ones ('Liar') and instrumentals like the very successful 'Trilogy Suite', which gives the album its name. This diversity gives to the whole a very balanced side. In all cases, the quality is there, Yngwie Malmsteen manages to reconcile virtuosity and quality of compositions.

"Trilogy" is the last one composed entirely by the flying Swede (except for the "Concerto" project), and as such, it can be considered as the benchmark record in Malmsteen's career. This omnipresence of the Swede is also felt in the lyrics which are rather poor and conventional. Malmsteen starts on this album with 'Liar', a settlement of account against his former live bass player, Marcel Jacob, which will be followed by a series of tracks in which he will say what he thinks of Jim Lewis, his Manager ('Crucify' on "War To End All Wars"), of John Lande ('Ship Of Fools' on "Attack !") or of Polydor ('Devil In Disguise' on "Eclipse")...

In spite of that, "Trilogy" remains an excellent album in which Yngwie Malmsteen finds the right balance between the different facets of his talent: virtuosity, power, melody, classical inspiration. The direction taken, which openly privileges commercial compositions, is very well negotiated and does not harm at all the artistic credibility of the master. A success to own absolutely! - Official website

YNGWIE MALMSTEEN

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MELODIC METAL