Yngwie Malmsteen (born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck) is a Swedish guitarist and bandleader who rose to prominence in the 1980s as a result of his neoclassical metal playing style within heavy metal.
Quick Facts
| Celebrated Name: | Yngwie Malmsteen |
|---|---|
| Real Name/Full Name: | Yngwie Johan Malmsteen |
| Gender: | Male |
| Age: | 60 years old |
| Birth Date: | 30 June 1963 |
| Birth Place: | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Nationality: | Swedish |
| Height: | 1.9 m |
| Weight: | 75 kg |
| Sexual Orientation: | Straight |
| Marital Status: | Married |
| Wife/Spouse (Name): | April Malmsteen (m. 1999), Amber Dawn Landin (m. 1993) |
| Children: | Yes (Antonio Malmsteen) |
| Profession: | Swedish guitarist, songwriter, composer, and bandleader |
| Net Worth in 2024: | $12 Million |
Yngwie Malmsteen Biography
Yngwie Malmsteen was born in the Swedish city of Stockholm in 1963. He is well-known for being the third child of a musical family. When he was ten years old, he formed his first band, “Track on Earth,” which consisted of himself and one schoolmate who played the drums.
When he was twelve, he accepted his mother’s maiden name, Malmsten, as his surname, then slightly altered it to Malmsteen and changed his third offered name, Yngve, to “Yngwie.”
When he was a teenager, he was greatly influenced by classical music, particularly the 19th-century violinist-composer Niccol Paganini, and he even discovered his greatest significant guitar influence, Ritchie Blackmore. Furthermore, he cites Uli Jon Roth and Brian May as significant influences.
Yngwie Malmsteen Age, Height, Weight
Yngwie Malmsteen was born on June 30, 1963, and will be 60 years old on 2024. His height is 1.9 meters and his weight is 75 kilograms.
Career
Yngwie Malmsteen’s career began in early 1982 (at the age of 18), when Mike Varney from Shrapnel Records, who had heard a demo tape of him playing from 1978 titled Demo Powerhouse, brought Malmsteen to the United States.
Furthermore, he briefly performed with Steeler on the share of its 1983 self-titled album, later performed with Graham Bonnet within a band named Alcatrazz, its 1983 debut entitled No Parole from Rock ‘n’ Roll, and its 1984 live album entitled Live Sentence.
In addition, in 1984, he released his first solo album, Rising Force, which featured Jethro Tull drummer Barrie Barlow and Jens Johansson on keyboards.
He released the albums Eclipse, The Yngwie Malmsteen Collection, Fire & Ice, and The Seventh Sign in the early 1990s. Despite his initial and ongoing success in Asia and Europe, by the early 1990s, heavy metal styles such as neoclassical metal and shredding had fallen out of favor in the United States.
In 2003, he also joined Joe Satriani and Steve Vai as part of the G3 supergroup, which was on tour depicting guitar performances. In 2007, he was honored with the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II. Furthermore, players can earn the “Yngwie Malmsteen” award by hitting 1000 or higher notes in a series.
Yngwie Malmsteen Achievements and Awards
Rising Force won him the Guitar Player Magazine award for Best Rock Album, and it was also nominated for a Grammy for ‘Best Rock Instrumental,’ peaking at number 60 on the Billboard album chart.
Yngwie Malmsteen’s Net Worth in 2024
Yngwie Malmsteen’s net worth is estimated to be $12 million as of February 2024. His fortune comes from his work as a guitarist and bandleader.
His performance style appears to be very similar to that of more well-known “rock gods,” but he is widely regarded as a top artist in his field, as well as a true rock master playing on a technical level. During the 1980s and 1990s, he rose to prominence in Europe and Asia after his style of “shredding” guitar solos became unfashionable in the United States. This guitarist’s first solo album was released in 1984, and he began earning a lot of money after that.
Rising Force, the album, was primarily regarded as an instrumental side project. However, it eventually developed into a full-fledged solo album for him, increasing his income.
Yngwie Malmsteen continues to perform live as well as release successful studio and compilation albums to this day. His fame is well-known, as Time magazine named him one of the top ten electric guitar players of all time in 2009.
