Yngwie Malmsteen

Yngwie Malmsteen (born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck on June 30, 1963 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a virtuoso guitarist, and one of the great guitarists of contemporary heavy metal and hard rock. He is known for having popularized neoclassical metal, a form of heavy metal inspired by classical music. Raised in a family of musicians, Yngwie Malmsteen decided to learn to play guitar on September 18, 1970, the day of Jimi Hendrix's death. It was the American producer Mike Varney of Shrapnel Records (California) who discovered Yngwie Malmsteen and asked him to come to the United States to join the band Steeler and record an album for his label. Malmsteen then joined the band Alcatrazz to record two albums, No Parole from Rock 'n' Roll and Live Sentence, before embarking on a solo career.