Sawyer's Shred Spotlight: The Life & Times of Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Pt 1

As mentioned last week, today’s edition of Sawyer’s Shred Spotlight is going to be a discussion of one of the men most synonymous with the word shred, the Swede with speed, Mr. Yngwie Malmsteen himself. Now, first I just want to say that these articles won’t encompass every detail of Malmsteen’s 30+ year career, but many important aspects, as well as some of my own commentary on the whole deal (Also, I decided after writing this all out that it would probably be better to break it up into two chunks, so hopefully its not too long winded). So hit the jump, and we’ll get started!

How Relevant Are Live Albums To You?

There used to be a day when the live album was a nostalgic gem among album collections. Whether you even liked the live album or not, you just had to have it in order for your collection to be complete. Some music fans really dig live albums, while others, like myself, are very choosy when it comes to a live album.

These days it's a lot different in that most people, especially people that only buy or download digital albums, don't really care about live releases.

Real Time Review: The Final Frontier

Thanks to a virus infected PC that took up most of my day and a wedding anniversary to boot, I wasn't able to listen to this or do a real time review until now. I've read alot of other reviews and such and as always it's a mixed bag on whether or not the album is good. Mainly because there are different types of Iron Maiden fans out there.Some are pure old school, some are die hard Dickinson, and some like to compare the second wave of Dickinson/Smith to the old version. I'll weigh in with where I'm at in those terms after I've listened to this thing finally. So with that said lets' get to listening to this after the jump.

Satellite 15...The Final Frontier: So we start off with what's in essence the title track eh? Steve Harris kicks in with his signature bass and there is also Nicko's build up fill drumming with some weird reverb going on. The guitars are also kicking in with this creepy tone. Pretty long build up.Ok...get to the song already...which by looking at the song lengths...they're going for epics again like the last release.2 minutes 30 seconds in and Bruce pipes in.Not sure what to make of this....is it just a loooong intro? The lyrics are about being in space and about to crash into the sun. 4 minutes 40 seconds later and it's like another song. It finally gets to the meat of it.This part is alot like material from Bruce's Tyranny of Souls album. Except the chorus is repetitive as hell. I'll give this a 6 out of 10. I might have to go back and listen again because right now it's not sinking in with this two songs in one thing.

El Dorado: The first single and the song they played in concert. I was kind of 'meh' about this song when it leaked but it sounded pretty good live. Let's see if my opinions changed. Track starts off sort of like Wasted Years. Galloping bass line from Steve. Galloping crunchy riff.This song definitely has a more old school vibe to it.Song is about scamming people to find the City of gold. Maybe it's the quality of the track here but it sounds better then the leak.All three guitarist are getting their solos in which is eating up about a minute of time. Pretty straight forward track. 7 of 10 on this one.

Mother of Mercy: Harmonic intro, reminds of Seventh Son songs. Pretty calm way of Bruce singing though the material is pretty violent in the lyrics.Actually this song's lyrics could have fit on A Matter of Life and Death.Mid tempo track overall.I'm noticing that Bruce's voice is really starting to show wear in that he can't hit a certain pitch anymore. Like someone trying to hit notes that are just barely out of their reach. I noticed this on the last track too. Probably why I liked his solo albums because he wasn't trying to reach for those higher registers.Pretty decent song otherwise, it's a rocker not trying to do any frills. 7 of 10.

Coming Home: Ballad intro. Now this is reminding me alot of Bruce's solo work. Notably the song "Navigate the Seas of the Sun". Let's see if it's as catchy or melodic. It's not. But it's still a good track. Bruce's vocals aren't as grating on the high notes as previous tracks. The song seems to be a reflection on home as they're flying back to Britain. Strongest track so far. 7 of 10.

The Alchemist: Maybe this track will be some more good old fashioned Maiden style historical storytelling. Wait a minute. Bruce Dickinson had a track called the Alchemist on his Chemical Wedding album. Is this the same song? No....so why did they title this track the same? I guess the casual fan wouldn't notice. The solo album song was bad ass so let's see what this is. Pretty basic riff start. Ok...this song is a far cry from the other one. And the lyrics are pretty stupid in the chorus. I am the Magus I am Dr. Dee and this is my house? What the fuck is a Dr. Dee? Not feeling this song. It's not completely horrible but not that great either. 4 of 10.

Isle of Avalon: Whoo...9 minute song. Hope this is epic and not an epic dud.So like with any epics it has a slow guitar build up. Bruce is singing pretty low.Another long intro. An increase in tempo. Bruce's annoying vocal range from earlier is back. Song is not very memorable and I feel like this is comparative to filler material on other releases. Pretty fast 9 minutes though. Very long vocal passages with the tone deaf pitch of Bruce on hear makes for a grueling listening experience.Bruce tries to close it out like epics of yore. Not enough. 5 of 10 on this. Kind of disappointing.

Starblind: Another calm intro before the main riff kicks in.I'm starting to wonder if Bruce's range is lower register and the attempt at alto. Appears to be another filler song. There is alot of lyrical content in this track. Another unmemorable riff moment except at the bridge where the riff line is kind of cool and the solos kick in. I'm at this point almost welcoming the instrumental interludes in these songs. Another 5 of 10.

The Talisman:Another 9 minute long song. Calm intro again. I hope this hits the epic levels that Isle did not.2 minutes and 20 seconds in the main riff kicks in. Bruces voice is really straining here. The worst vocal performance so far and the song is only a third of the way.I'm envisioning that arm swing thing he does as he's singing these verses. Song is about sailing in a armada away from some oppressive land. I'm assuming the pilgrims leaving England. Catchier tune then Isle.Oh a change 6 minutes in with sort of a wierd bluesy type riff. Not sure how this fits with the song. Steve's bass line is pretty bad ass here though.Pretty dull solo actually.I'll give this 6 of 10 because its somewhat interesting.

The Man Who would be King: I think almost every song has a calm intro on here.I used to like that from bands because the song would kick in all heavy with cool riffs. So far not so much. Well let's see what we have. Is it going to be 2 minutes of intro again too? Nope a minute and a half.This might be one of the only two songs that are actually catchy on the album.Bruce is singing in a lower register and its not bad.I'm dreading choruses. Wow that chorus was actually kind of dull. The meat of the song is not bad. 7 of 10.

When the Wild Wind Blows: The longest song so far at 11 minutes and it's the last one. Wind blowing at the beginning. Steve's bass riff is pretty cool. Another calm intro. I like this the best so far.Very catchy tune. Tempo slows back down with a groove riff over the solos. Song is about an old couple preparing for what they think is the end of the world. A very Shakespearean ending.Every riff change is awesome. By far my favorite song on the album. 9 of 10.

And so there we have it the 15th release by the mighty Iron Maiden. And I have to say (if you couldn't already tell) I'm pretty underwhelmed. There is a disturbing pattern here ever since Bruce and Adrian came back to the band and that is every other album seems to be a dud of sorts. A Brave New world was a refreshing return after the Blaze years but Dance of Death was a forgettable mediocre album with a couple of good songs. A Matter of Life and Death was a pseudo conceptual album that delved into prog metal territory but had good songs if not totally memorable. And now we have The Final Frontier which had problems that outweighed the good.

The Pros: Well the musicianship is good as usual.Each song is rich in lyrical content. Half the songs are long but the hour and fifteen minute run time is actually feels pretty quick.The last song was just amazing.

The Cons:Bruce's vocals on this were not that good.He can't hit the registers like he used to and at times it was almost tone deaf. Most of the songs were unmemorable. Maiden used to have such a laundry list of memorable songs and it's just not here. I think the three guitars element has run it's course. I got no sense except for solos of there being three guitars. Too many songs with the same pattern of soft and very long intros and then cut to the main riff which mostly had the same style of galloping riffs.

So word on the street says they'll debut with this at number 2 or 3. And that's cool but I would not recommend this to a brand new fan. The introductory albums should still be anything from the 80's. But if you're a long time fan or a completest then by all means go out and pick this up. Otherwise if you're not a fan of Dance of Death then pass this one up.

Here is the video for Final Frontier if you haven't seen it yet. You probably won't get the sense of the first track like I did because of the bleed over from the sound effects.



Here is El Dorado, one of only two memorable songs.



And here is my favorite track on the album

An Evening with Iron Maiden

To say this year has been horrible for me attending concerts is an understatement. I've been sick, had no money,show cancellations and rescheduled on my son's birthday to name a few reasons. But luckily Draeden has the uncanny knack of being able to win tickets out from radio stations and came through again. So last night with my wife as my date I was able to go see Iron Maiden with special guest Dream Theater. I've wanted to see DT for quite some time now and it finally arrived. And Iron Maiden always delivers. So being free and all was it worth it? Let's find out after the jump.



Well the evening started by just making sure we got to the Concord Pavilion on time(I refuse to call it my it's corporate name now. Since these tickets were won through a radio promotion I knew we would have to hike to the box office and then possibly stand in line forever so I wanted to get there in time for Dream Theater. I have never been to a DT show and I didn't want to miss this.

Well all things considering we got to our spots a few minutes before the opening track " As I am" finished so it was sort of a victory though the song started 10 minutes early. Overall I'd have to say Dream Theater's performance was a let down. I knew that the set was only going to be 50 minutes or so and that there was only going to be 6 songs. So you would think that Dream Theater would have ramped up their show seeing as Iron Maiden was one of their heroes and a larger audience was going to be present to check them out. Nope. It turned into a glorified medley with only twice did James Labrie acknowledging the crowd. The first time was to say hello three songs in and the second time was to try and get the crowd pumped up for the final number "Pull Me Under". Not even a mention or thank you to Iron Maiden (which my friend Martin pointed out and I realized..hey..you're right).

The other thing I noticed and it may have been because of where we were sitting but Labries vocals were ok through most of their set but fell flat during Pull Me Under, in fact the whole band seemed to slow down on that tune like it was a grind to play.Musically they sounded great and I had no problems with that it's just their performance up there just seemed kind of flat. This fact was further amplified when Maiden took the stage.
Dream Theater's setlist in all of it's brief glory is:

Edit this setlist | More Dream Theater setlists

Here is clip from my wife's much superior Iphone to any thing I had(more on that later) just before it died of Pull Me Under.





This was my third time seeing IM and my wife's first time. And each time they never fail to deliver. The set mostly comprised of newer stuff over the past 10 years which I was ok with because I'd seen the classics performed on the Somewhere Back in Time tour 2 years ago. In fact here is the setlist from the show.

Edit this setlist | More Iron Maiden setlists

As you can see they did mix in 3 pre-Dickinson tracks in there and a few classic Dickinson era tunes so there was a balance of sorts. I heard a lot of complaining about the set list with a lot of unknown tunes but honestly, that's not really the bands fault that people have chosen to not follow them throughout their career or get familiar with newer stuff.They still put on a kick ass show with Bruce running all over and engaging the crowd in banter and getting them pumped as usual. The rest of the band sounded great as usual.

One interesting side note and a touch of irony is that it looked like there were more people there this time then the last tour. And the last tour is where all of the classics were played. In fact Bruce pointed out more then once how many people were there so you know it was something if he noticed it out of all the places they've been too.

Here is my lame phones attempt to record some of the show.I swear this phone is the biggest piece of shit when it comes to picture taking or video making. It's my work phone also but still.



So we stayed until Eddie popped up during the last song and had to bail before the encore but if my wife who has never really listened to Iron Maiden can make comments like" I don't know why I've never listened to these guys before" and "How old is he?" in reference to Dickinson running all over the place then it has to be a good show.

Thanks again to Draeden for coming through with the tickets and thanks to Martin for bailing me out with better pics then what I came up with.

Mark your Calendars

Iron Maiden's countdown on their website was revealed to be a package of cool news. The artwork for the album is shown above and it's probably the most brutal cover they've ever done. A release date for The Final Frontier is set for August 16th. Annnnnd....a free download of one of the tracks called El Dorado is up. Go the the Iron Maiden website to see all of the goodys yourself including track listings and such but good luck, I think all of South America has the site crippled at the moment trying to get on. Here is the Youtube track if you don't want to wait after the jump.



Not a particularly awesome song but still better then half of the crap being released by much younger dudes.

Memorial Day Metal Videos.

While you're enjoying your beer and steaks take a minute to actually honor the troops past and present who have died in order to allow the rest of us to live the kind of lives we want to live. Even if you hate the concept of war these men and women are where most of us would never have the courage to be. Have a safe holiday and a hearty /salute to all of soldiers who have given the ultimate sacrifice.

Iron Maiden are kind of a big deal

Iron Maiden is a legendary band. We can all agree to that right? Whether you like them or not there is no denying that they are legends. Well check this out.I had an opportunity to finally check out the DVD for Flight 666 recently and it's frankly amazing.

The film was put together by Sam Dunn who also did the well received documentary "Metal: A headbanger's Journey" and it basically chronicles the landmark Caught Somewhere Back in Time Tour of last year. Now at face value it was presented that it would detail the unique factor that Bruce Dickinson being an licensed airline pilot was going to do the flying of the band, crew, and gear to 21 shows over a 3 month period. I wonder if the band and filmmakers realized what they put together.

As I watched the film I found the above synopsis taking a backseat to the bigger picture of the power that Maiden holds in many countries around the world. The reception and crowd participation in some of these countries like Latin America and India is nothing short of amazing.Here are places around the world that are under living conditions that would be considered impoverished yet they come out by 50,000+ and chant their praises and sing every line of every song.

While the film documents their visit to the States, Japan and Australia you get the sense that it's just another show by the peoples favorite band.I was the Concord show for that tour and it's not documented but the air was very casual again like this is old hat and just another Iron Maiden show. During the segment on Colombia you'll see a huge differance. The things the fans endure there to get in and see Maiden is wild. The shot of the guy crying and praying to God because he received a drumstick amid all of the other people is pretty poignant and hammers home what I'm saying. Then the power of the masses to overrule the will of the church to lift the initial ban of the show in Chileis just incredible.

I'm only really touching on the finer points of this dvd but you really need to check it out. Every metal band out there now really needs to take stock over what Iron Maiden has built for themselves over the last 30 years. This is the kind of reception and following bands should strive for. Not just look at the audience attendance but what Iron Maiden has done to receive such a following. The members themselves truly have a great friendship and respect for each other and it's apparent in many of the shots between flights and concerts.

Alright so go check it out, buy the DVD or you can catch it on VH1 Classic as well. Here is the trailer for it. I highly recommend it.

The Greeks know their Metal Part IV

I want to get this over with so I'm mustering the energy and finishing this out.

25. METALLICA - "...And Justice for All" One of the good ones by them. Suffered from crap production with the bass being replaced with some low end distortion that rattled speakers and gave a muffled sound. Definatly a prog/thrash masterpiece though otherwise.

24. JUDAS PRIEST - "British Steel" More Priest for Greece. Ha! I'm a poet. Catchy but not particularly heavy. I consider this one of the top 3 favorites.

23. PARADISE LOST - "Draconian Times" Considered to be their masterpiece. Interesting that it's so high up on this poll.It doesn't suck but left me bored.

22. DEEP PURPLE - "Machine Head" Ok so Greeks consider influential metal. I'll stop harping on that.

21. AC/DC - "Highway to Hell" I won't stop harping about this though. AC/DC is not metal and never have been. Stop it world.

20. METALLICA - "Kill 'em All" Hello world...we're Metallica and we're going to be the most successful metal band in the world until we go soft in the 90's only to attempt to return to form in 2008.

19. HELLOWEEN - "Keeper of the Seven Keys Part I" Really...these guys in the top 20. Ok.

18. METALLICA - "Ride the Lightning" Close second as my favorite album. They mastered their thrash sound here and then expanded later. Personally I think it should be higher.

17. DIO - "Holy Diver" My favorite solo Dio effort. The Greeks love their sword and sorcery, no doubt.

16. MEGADETH - "Rust in Peace" Megadeth's best all around album. Interesting that it's ahead of some of Metallica's greatest albums.

15. GUNS N' ROSES - "Appetite for Destruction" Borderline metal. But yeah I can see it being on this list. Would be a top 5 in the States. G n' R should have stuck with this sound.

14. LED ZEPPELIN - "[Untitled] (a.k.a. "Led Zeppelin IV")Sigh...not going there.

13. BLACK SABBATH - "Black Sabbath" Damn...thought this would be in the top 10. All things metal sprung from this.

12. IRON MAIDEN - "Powerslave" This is getting wierd how this is shaping up. I'd rank this lower though a very good album. One of their best.

11. MOTÖRHEAD - "Ace of Spades" More genres sprung from this. Classic stuff.

10. IRON MAIDEN - "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" Top 10 land. And no shit. The most underrated album in the states gets a top 10 in Greece. Wild.I love this album though.

09. BLACK SABBATH - "Paranoid" More Sabbath high up. I guess this ranks higher due to more popular songs then the debut?

08. BLACK SABBATH - "Heaven and Hell" Whoa a Dio fronted Sabbath beats the original and scores of other albums. This would be ranked waaaay lower in the States. Like I said Sword and sorcery ftw in Greece.

07. SLAYER - "Reign in Blood" Slayer ahead of Megadeth and Metallica. I feel like I'm in some alternate dimension. Slayers "we're maturing album".

06. QUEENSRŸCHE - "Operation: Mindcrime" Probably their best but 6th best of all time? Crazy.

05. METALLICA - "Metallica" (a.k.a. Black Album) No no no. Best selling is not the best. Oh well it's not my country.

04. AC/DC - "Back in Black" Moving on now.

03. Judas Priest - "Painkiller" Why do I have this compulsion to call these Greek voters idiots. Are you fucking kidding me? This as the 3rd greatest album of all time? Alright I want to get this done so I'm moving on. What a crock.

02. Iron Maiden - "The Number of the Beast" This doesn't make up for number 3 but yeah a solid choice.

01. METALLICA - "Master of Puppets" Interesting. I wonder what made the Greeks like this album more then any other on the list.It's going to add to my headache so there you go I'm done.

I will never do this again unless it's an American publication. then I can go all out and really lay into people there because I'm familiar with the culture here.
And by the way ,Greece a little suggestion. Go listen to some Testament and replace at least Painkiller with that. How could you have everybody on their but Testament? Or more Overkill, listen to more Opeth, and check out Kataonia. Entries from those would have replaced the glaring non metal shit you have on this list.

Oh well at least that country has topless beaches with hot chicks. We don't so what do I know?

The Greeks know their metal Part III

Ok. I'm rested and refreshed and ready to tackle the next 25 on this list of metal albums blessed by the gods of Olympus. Let's do it.

50. PARADISE LOST - "Icon" Melodic thrash stuff. I reeeally tried to like this group. Musically it's not as good as Opeth and his vocals fall short on both clean and cookie monster for me.

49. WHITESNAKE - "1987" Odd. I didn't realize they had a album titled this. If it's the self titled album from that year.....it's not metal. Whitesnake is and has always been hard rock.Period.

48. ANATHEMA - "Alternative 4" I should probably check these guy out since they're compared to Katatonia. Speaking of. Where is Katatonia on this list. Come on Greece.

47. NEVERMORE - "Dead Heart in a Dead World" Cool. More Nevermore goodness though I wish their albums would be ranked higher on overseas polls. They're starting to really hit the underrated territory.

46. ACCEPT - "Restless and Wild" Interesting this album ranks higher then "Balls". It's good though for old school straight up metal.

45. PANTERA - "Cowboys From Hell" Classic stuff. This was a transition album that got people noticing.Pantera was getting away from the spandex and hairspray crap into thrash. A bit of both on this album.

44. OZZY OSBOURNE - "Diary of a Madman" Ozzy makes a appearance here solo finally. Ah the good old days when he was stoned, drunk and out of his fucking mind. I like this album better then Blizzard.

43. SLAYER - "Seasons in the Abyss" My favorite Slayer album. Songs like Skeletons of Society is the kind of thrash I like. Mid tempo with cool riffs and vocal phrasing instead of just constant shouting like on later releases.

42. CANDLEMASS - "Epicus Doomicus Metallicus" Wake me up when we get to 41.

41. JUDAS PRIEST - "Defenders of the Faith" My favorite Priest album. Everything else after sucked until Angels imo. Go ahead and bitch at me in comments.

40. JUDAS PRIEST - "Sad Wings of Destiny" Whoa back to back entries.Some classic tracks that get covered on in here like "the Ripper" and "Victim of Changes".This was when they were more prog then anything else and trying to find their identity. They're still looking.

39. SEPULTURA - "Arise" this got the boys from Brazil noticed and my second favorite album by them. Good guttural chugging thrash here.

38. OPETH - "Blackwater Park" Nice...Opeth finally makes it on here. Interesting that this is ranked above some serious classics. Mikael had finally started refining his grunts where they were more coherent. And music structures were getting more complex if that's possible for Opeth.

37. SAVATAGE - "Gutter Ballet" Great album. This pretty much set the tone for how 'Tage would be for the rest of their careers. Prog and power metal mixed but done well.

36. SYSTEM OF A DOWN - "Toxicity" Some nu metal besides Slipknot finally on here. Though their sound is more hardcore and punk influenced. Saw them once live and they were nuts.

35. EXODUS - "Bonded by Blood" Classic but I don't like it. Nice to see some other Bay area pioneers on here.

34. DEEP PURPLE - "In Rock" Influential but nowhere nears as popular as some of their peer's albums. I don't think there is a track from this album that gets radio play. At least here in the states. Odd that this is so high up.

33. DREAM THEATER - "Images and Words" DT's best selling album. Dropped right at the end of metal's existance on old MTV. Such a kick ass album.

32. HELLOWEEN - "Keeper of the Seven Keys Part II" Classic and must be more popular here then back at home. Otherwise I can't see why it ranks so high.

31. IRON MAIDEN - "Iron Maiden" Intro to Maiden with Paul Di'anno on vocals. I couldn't get into it because Di'anno was such a shitty vocalist.

30. RAINBOW - "Rising" Wow the Greeks are all over the map in what they like. Some of these albums are all but forgotten over here but they get top 30's there. Classic Dio stuff.

29. IRON MAIDEN - "Somewhere in Time" One of the best albums by them. Back when they had the power to write concept albums in one song.

28. IRON MAIDEN - "Piece of Mind" Double duty and a crap load of Maiden in this batch. This album is awesome except for the track Quest for Fire. God that song sucks.

27. OZZY OSBOURNE - "Blizzard of Ozz" Surprised that this doesn't rank higher but then again I shouldn't be. The Greeks are a bit bizzare I think.

26. MANOWAR - "Hail to England" The power these dudes hold in foreign countries is truly amazing. Especially since they're from the Bronx.

Ok. This is more work then I thought. But we're almost done. Check back later for the top 25 drunk on Ouzo selections by these wacky Gracians.

Sweet Iron Mashup

Now you and your grandparents can enjoy Iron Maiden together.