Editing Yngwie Malmsteen (section)

=== 1980s ===
From the late 1970s, Malmsteen played in local bands, sometimes together with future [[Talisman (band)|Talisman]] bassist [[Marcel Jacob]], [[Europe (band)|Europe]] bassist [[John Levén]] and [[architect]] [[Claesson Koivisto Rune|Eero Koivisto]]. They recorded various demos and a single for CBS Records but nothing was officially released from this era until the 2002 releases of [[Birth of the Sun|Rising Force - Birth of the Sun]] and Yngwie's own [[The Genesis]] album.

In early 1982, [[Mike Varney]] of [[Shrapnel Records]] first heard Yngwie Malmsteen's music through record store owner Bill Burkard, who played for him a demo tape of Malmsteen's early work (likely the 1978 "Powerhouse" demo) recorded when Yngwie was 15. Later in 1982, Malmsteen sent to Varney an untitled demo recording as a submission for Varney's ''[[Guitar Player]]'' magazine column. ''Guitar Player'' published this demo for the February 1983 edition of the magazine.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ozden |first=Elif |date=22 January 2023 |title=Mike Varney Admits Initially Refusing To Bring Yngwie Malmsteen To U.S.A. |url=https://rockcelebrities.net/mike-varney-admits-initially-refusing-to-bring-yngwie-malmsteen-to-u-s-a/ |access-date=13 March 2024 |website=Rock Celebrities |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Weiderhornpublished |first=Jon |date=20 February 2015 |title=Shrapnel Records: The House That Shred Built |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/shrapnel-records-the-house-that-shred-built |access-date=13 March 2024 |website=louder |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Wake |first=Matt |date=1 June 2022 |title=Yngwie Malmsteen, rock's ultimate shredder, on his origins, present, future |url=https://www.al.com/life/2022/06/the-ultimate-guitar-shredder-on-his-beginnings-present-and-future.html |access-date=13 March 2024 |website=al |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author1=Joe Lalaina |date=25 September 2013 |title=Yngwie Malmsteen Discusses his Roots, His Rep and his Latest Album in this 1986 Guitar World Interview |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/news/yngwie-malmsteen-discusses-his-roots-his-rep-and-his-latest-album-1986-guitar-world-interview |access-date=13 March 2024 |website=guitarworld |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author1=Guitar Player Staff |date=6 August 2019 |title=Yngwie Malmsteen Dishes on How He Went Back to His Roots on 'Blue Lightning' |url=https://www.guitarplayer.com/players/yngwie-malmsteen-dishes-on-how-he-went-back-to-his-roots-on-blue-lightning |access-date=13 March 2024 |website=Guitar Player |language=en}}</ref>

In 1983, Varney brought Malmsteen to the United States to play on the recording of Shrapnel recording artist [[Steeler (American band)|Steeler]], also featuring singer [[Ron Keel]] and bassist [[Rik Fox]] for its self-titled album.<ref name="LarkinGE">{{cite book |title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music]] |date=1992 |publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]] |isbn=0-85112-939-0 |editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]] |edition=First |page=1595}}</ref> He then appeared with [[Graham Bonnet]] in the band [[Alcatrazz]], playing on its 1983 debut ''[[No Parole from Rock 'n' Roll]]'' and the 1984 live album ''[[Live Sentence]]''.<ref name="LarkinGE" /> Bonnet and Malmsteen clashed about who was the frontman and had a fight during a show.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gaudiosi |first=Jeff |date=29 June 2021 |title=A Conversation with Iconic Vocalist Graham Bonnet |url=https://misplacedstraws.com/2021/06/a-conversation-with-iconic-vocalist-graham-bonnet.html |access-date=5 September 2024 |website=MisplacedStraws |language=en-US}}</ref> Malmsteen was fired on the spot from Alcatrazz and replaced by [[Steve Vai]]. Vai had one day to learn the songs for the ongoing tour.<ref name="Malmsteen out of Alcatrazz – Vai hired to finish tour">{{Cite web|url=https://www.vai.com/bands/|title=The Official Steve Vai Website|website=Vai.com|access-date=19 July 2021}}</ref>

In 1984, Malmsteen released his first solo album ''[[Rising Force]]'', which featured [[Barriemore Barlow|Barrie Barlow]] of [[Jethro Tull (band)|Jethro Tull]] on drums and keyboard player [[Jens Johansson]].<ref name="LarkinGE" /> His album was meant to be an instrumental side-project of Alcatrazz, but it ended up featuring vocals by [[Jeff Scott Soto]] and Malmsteen was fired from Alcatrazz in July 1984<ref name=":0" /> before the release of ''Rising Force''.<ref name="LarkinGE" />

''Rising Force'' won ''[[Guitar Player]]'''s award for Best Rock Album and was nominated for a [[Grammy Award]] for 'Best Rock Instrumental', reaching no. 60 on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' album chart. Yngwie J. Malmsteen's Rising Force (as his band was thereafter known) next released ''[[Marching Out]]'' (1985).<ref name="LarkinGE"/> Then he recruited Jens Johansson's brother [[Anders Johansson (drummer)|Anders]] to play drums and bassist [[Marcel Jacob]] to record and tour with the band.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> Jacob left in the middle of a tour and was replaced by [[Wally Voss]]. Malmsteen's third album, ''[[Trilogy (Yngwie J. Malmsteen album)|Trilogy]]'', featuring the vocals of [[Mark Boals]] (and Malmsteen on both guitar and bass), was released in 1986.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> Boals left the band in the middle of the tour and was replaced by the former singer Jeff Scott Soto.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> The tour was cancelled after Malmsteen was involved in a serious car accident,<ref name="LarkinGE"/> smashing his V12 [[Jaguar E-Type]] into a tree, which put him in a coma for a week. Nerve damage to his right hand was reported. During this time, Malmsteen's mother died from cancer. New line-up changes for the next album included former [[Rainbow (rock band)|Rainbow]] vocalist [[Joe Lynn Turner]] joining the band,<ref name="LarkinGE"/> along with session bassist [[Bob Daisley]], who was hired to record some bass parts and help with the lyrics. In April 1988, he released his fourth album ''[[Odyssey (Yngwie Malmsteen album)|Odyssey]]''.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> ''Odyssey'' was his most successful album, in part due to the success of its first single "Heaven Tonight". Shows in the [[Soviet Union]] during the Odyssey tour were recorded and released in 1989 as a fifth album ''[[Trial by Fire: Live in Leningrad]]''.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> The classic Rising Force line-up with Malmsteen and the Johansson brothers was dissolved in 1989 when both Anders and Jens left. That year later, Jens joined [[Dio (band)|Dio]] replacing keyboardist Claude Schnell.

Malmsteen's [[neoclassical metal|neoclassical]] style of metal became popular among hordes of guitarists during the mid-1980s, with contemporaries such as [[Jason Becker]], [[Marty Friedman (guitarist)|Marty Friedman]], [[Paul Gilbert]], [[Tony MacAlpine]], and [[Vinnie Moore]] becoming prominent.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}} In late 1988, Malmsteen's signature [[Fender Stratocaster]] guitar was released, making him and [[Eric Clapton]] the first artists to be honored by [[Fender Musical Instruments Corporation|Fender]].