Yngwie J. Malmsteen
Trilogy

Yngwie Johan Malmsteen is a Swedish guitarist born in 1963; he's undoubtedly destined for greatness. Despite being the son of musicians, he taught himself to play the guitar, struck in some way by the broadcast of the funeral of his illustrious predecessor, Jimi Hendrix. He must have sensed it as a sign of destiny, a sort of divine initiation, so much so that on that day, the young man decided he would become the new music legend, particularly in the world of guitarists. Yngwie takes himself very seriously; humility is certainly not his strong suit. It even makes one smile a bit, the fact that he feels compelled to include in the notes of his albums thanks for the "collaboration" towards great artists of the past, less ostentatious names like Vivaldi, Da Vinci, Beethoven, Paganini, personalities he feels can be among the few worthy of his attention and can somehow be considered at his level. In the end, there might be some truth, as Malmsteen indeed tortures his Stratocaster incredibly and makes it emit melodies at an astonishing speed, never before reached by anyone else, all with an incredibly clean sound, and don’t be deceived by the fact that it's studio-recorded music, the Swedish artist will achieve the same performances in his Live shows; the influence of great masters of the past is evident in many of the phrases offered by Yngwie. Fender will even release a model called "Malmsteen," featuring the characteristic scallops near the frets, and I don't think all guitarists in the world can say the same. Another great passion of the artist is Ferrari, frequently remembering his garage full of them, with the modesty that distinguishes him; in later years, some of his songs would be dedicated precisely to the Prancing Horse of Maranello.
Now, however, it is time to review Trilogy, in my opinion, his album that best pairs his amazing performances with a melodically respectable level.
The lineup for this album sees Malmsteen himself also venturing on bass, with objectively excellent results; on vocals, the great Mark Boals, who will perform very well in the unenviable role of singer without a frontman, accompanying in an exemplary way the melodies of his Leader; completing the formation are the Johansson brothers (Jens and Anders) on keyboards and drums, respectively. Don't be fooled by the intensive use of keyboards; the album has the right dose of rock grit and still maintains significant distances from the sound of neighbors Europe, with whom they share not only flowing blonde hair but also some atmospheric elements not exactly metal.
The album includes a total of nine tracks, of which "only" two are completely instrumental, the beautifully slow "Crying" with its heart-wrenching melody and the majestic final track "Trilogy Suite Op. 5," incredibly long and endless, alternating between acoustic and electric instruments, truly two high-level pieces. In all the songs, however, a solo from our hero is always guaranteed, and it's really difficult to choose just one, starting with "You Don't Remember, I'll Never Forget," continuing with "Liar" and "Queen in Love." Perhaps the most beautiful solo is from "Fire," but even "Magic Mirror" will have countless attempts of replication by budding guitarists worldwide in the years to follow. The only song slightly below average, I would say, is "Dark Ages," with its somewhat noir atmosphere and a slightly too measured rhythm (though it does not lack the usual superlative solo from Yngwie).
This album is delightfully devoured in about forty minutes; it is not strictly necessary to be a fan of the guitar hero genre to put it on your shelf, certainly, no one will be disappointed; in my opinion, in his other works (both prior and subsequent), he will never reach the same level as Trilogy.