What can I honestly say about Yngwie Malmsteen that I have not said before? Yngwie raised me, not personally, but sonically! His music, along with a few other familiar names- Satch, Vai, Gilbert and Bettencourt dragged me through my teens to make me the man I am today, abused at every gig I attend for having awful taste in music, according to some!
But like the big man himself, this runs off me like water off a duck’s back; as with Yngwie, you are either all in or all out and when it comes to YJM, as the man himself says, “More is More”
I was introduced to Yngwie back on a summer holiday in Dublin while visiting my older brother who also plays guitar. I would rummage through his collection, and I found this one recording and thought… ” Who the fuck is Yngwie Malmsteen”? Who knew life would never be the same again!
That fateful day led me down a rabbit hole, into a veritable rabbit hole via The Sound Cellar in Dublin, a tiny goldmine of a record store in the heart of Dublin city centre, hunting YJM albums; there they were, all on display; my heart was happy!
Fast forward mucho years, and Yngwie and I have been besties (he doesn’t know this) for the best part of 40-odd years. So when a new YJM album drops on your desk, it would be rude not to review.
Hell Or High Water is Yngwie’s 23rd studio album, I think? Wow! Just wow- so many bands and artists struggle to get beyond double digits across a career, so that in itself is amazing. His thirst for creativity is simply astounding. Continuously pushing himself after all these years, still at the very top of his game, is quite an achievement.
The album opener ‘Now Or Never’ is beautifully comforting; it takes me back to early Yngwie, as he dances across the fretboard with his signature licks that feel like a warm blanket on a cold winter’s night. This one really does sound old-school Yngwie- early Marching Out vibes for me, which is my happy place as a Malmsteen fan. The solo is equally as glorious, so on point; the arpeggios ripping into the first solo on the album just make the heart swell. This one is an absolute beauty!
AM Caprice // Hell Or High Water is where Yngwie hits stratospheric heights, no surprise there. Track two: you can’t keep this beast back! It is a glorious exercise in everything that makes the man who he is, the most majestic, explosive technical work that leaves you salivating at the mouth. This is why Yngwie will always be talked about; he will always be part of the conversation when we talk about the G.OA.T.
(He Is) Living A Lie is giving me total Eclipse & Fire & Ice vibes- another killer track that just rips from start to finish. ‘Anitkythera’ booooom, another beauty of an instrumental to take the breath away. This album just delivers again and again. Yngwie is on fire track after track, and if you are in, you will love this! It’s a glorious homage to old-school Yngwie, where the riffs, melodies, and even the solos bring back early-day vibes that put Yngwie’s name on everyone’s lips.
Where do you go from there? ‘Beyond Zeta Reticuli ’- mamma mia, Yngwie, what are you doing to me!!! I forgot just how much I love Yngwie’s intensity and his ability to deliver way beyond your expectations! ‘Presstissimo In BM/Adagio’ dude, enough already! This one is a beaut!
We’re right back into the truly old-school flavour once again with ‘Eye For An Eye’ harking back to Jeff Scott Soto days- that warm blanket I was talking about earlier; well, now I am sweating! And then there was one!
The album wraps up with ‘Father ’, a poignant track packed with emotive melody and feel; this one gives me ‘Rising Force’ vibes, mesmerising from the first note to the last.
What can I say, Yngwie has outdone himself in 2026. Reminding us that he is still here, still cutting heads like he was 19 years of age in L.A., this album is classic Malmsteen from start to finish, one you will have on repeat for sure, getting lost in the note count and furious fret-blazing technique that only Yngwie has.
There is only one Yngwie J. Malmsteen.
He’s back, bigger, bolder and better than ever in 2026.
Review: Mark ‘N’ Load
Hell Or High Water lands Friday, Nov 13th, courtesy of Music Theories Recordings
Pre-Order/Stream HERE.
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