In 1984, to the best of my knowledge, there was no such thing as “classical metal.” We were still beginning to wrap our heads around the concepts of thrash and speed metal in those early days of the genre’s popularity. There were obviously virtuosos on the guitar—Eddie Van Halen quickly comes to mind.
And then, there was Yngwie J. Malmsteen. Schooled in the world of classical music but drawn by the allure of such rock musicians as Jimi Hendrix, it seemed as if Malmsteen had one goal in mind: to become the de facto classical musician of heavy metal.
Rising Force, his debut effort for the cause, found Malmsteen shortly after he had been fired from Alcatrazz, and he seemed as if he had a score to settle. If anything, this disc featured Malmsteen finding his musical footing, but he hadn’t quite gotten firm grips just yet.
Featuring appearances from drummer Barriemore Barlow (who seemed eternally removed from his time with Jethro Tull), keyboardist Jens Johannson and—for two tracks—vocalist Jeff Scott Soto, Malmsteen tries to be a jack of all trades musically over the course of these eight songs. And, I believe, therein lies the overall weakness with this disc.
It’s not that Malmsteen isn’t talented; heaven knows he proved time and time again on tracks like “Black Star,” “Far Beyond The Sun” and “As Above, So Below” that his skill on guitar put him on a platform all his own. But, add in him covering the bass, using bass pedals and producing the album, and it sometimes feels as if he’s trying to do a bit too much. Maybe it’s that Malmsteen couldn’t find other musicians who were on the same level as he was, or just couldn’t match his musical vision. But one has to wonder if he had released a little control, how it would have shaped other songs like “Icarus’ Dream Suite (Op. 1)” or “Little Savage.”
As things stand, Rising Force often feels like it’s dangerously approaching becoming background music—and for an artist like Malmsteen, that would be the worst possible fate. His skill on the guitar demands that the listener sit up and take notice. Sometimes, that’s fairly simple to do… but, despite the fact I’ve spent over four decades listening to this disc (and have had it in my player almost non-stop the last few days to capture the nuances), there were times that I found the music wasn’t capturing my attention like it should have been.
I’m not insinuating that Rising Force is by any means a bad album; there’s a reason that this still ranks as a must-own disc for any respectable fan of heavy metal. But for what is essentially the birth cry of a new genre of metal, one kinda wishes it had been a little more interesting at times. Still, it’s worth checking out.
