Thursday, November 30, 2017

Throwback Thursday: "Marching Out", by Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force



In 1985 the world had already gotten a decent taste of a young hotshot neo-classical guitarist from Sweden by the name of Yngwie Malmsteen through his work with Alcatrazz and as a solo artist having released his own solo album. To carry on the momentum he had going, Malmsteen went back into the studio with his band to write and record what is arguably one of his most popular albums to date: Marching Out.

Marching Out is pretty much everything you would expect from an Yngwie Malmsteen album. It's loud, heavy, and full of tons of neo-classical melodic shredding. The lyrics are pretty fantasy themed, but that is no surprise considering Malmsteen's obsession with being like Ritchie Blackmore. What really makes this album as good as it is though is vocalist Jeff Scott Soto. The man's vocals could get ridiculously high while still staying in his range and sounding melodic. This was his second album with Malmsteen and you can tell that the two of them by this point were really in sync with one another.

I'll See the Light Tonight is the track that drew me in to Marching Out. Overall it reminds me a bit of We Rock, by Dio, but it's still very much its own thing. I love its fast intensity while at certain moments it will have a lightning fast set of melodic notes thrown in. This is definitely Malmsteen staying in his wheelhouse, but this was at the time when said wheelhouse was freshly built and not an overused cliche. I can definitely appreciate this song for what it is.

For a track that is much more its own thing, check out Soldier Without Faith. It starts off with a tension building synth intro which leads into an aggressive guitar riff with some fretwork fireworks following shortly after. What makes the song do it for me though is that verse riff and Soto's vocals. It's absolutely intense and will make your jaw hit the floor if you have never heard anything like it before. It's a longer song, but that's ok. Nothing wrong with some extended soloing here and there.

I'll be honest with you. I'm not Yngwie Malmsteen's biggest fan. Quite frankly I think he is smug, over rated, arrogant, and full of himself. He also isn't as great of a player as he thinks he is considering he never leaves the E flat Phrygian scale and plays fairly sloppily. That aside, there was a point in time where his playing was actually a little bit dazzling and pleasing to the ear. I feel Marching Out is one of the best things to come out of that period even if it too was somewhat repetitive. It has its moments and will have you coming back to at least maybe two or three of its songs. The whole album is worth checking out at least once, though.

Marching Out, by Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force receives 2.7 out of 5 stars.

Track List:

1. Prelude
2. I'll See the Light Tonight
3. Don't Let it End
4. Disciples of Hell
5. I am a Viking
6. Overture 1383
7. Anguish and Fear
8. On the Run Again
9. Soldier Without Faith
10. Caught in the Middle
11. Marching Out

Buy the album on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Marching-Yngwie-MalmsteenS-Rising-Force/dp/B000V63BEA/ref=ice_ac_b_dpb?ie=UTF8&qid=1512092578&sr=8-1&keywords=yngwie+malmsteen+marching+out

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