Yngwie Malmsteen doesn’t care about being perceived as a ‘difficult’ person to work with.
During a fan Q&A at this year’s Hellfest, the guitarist mentioned receiving offers from two bands on the same day but chose to negotiate with Graham Bonnet’s team because Phil Mogg wasn’t organized:
“I call up Graham Bonnet’s people. They weren’t called Alcatrazz [yet]. Nothing was in place. And I said, ‘Yeah, I’ll do your thing. Two conditions: I write the songs, and we get a new drummer.’ Day one conditions and I was just a f*cking kid, and he was this big-time guy. So, that’s how I’ve been rolling all my life. So I wrote all the music, and I decided which drummer we’re gonna have…”
Malmsteen continued:
“I’ve always been like that. I’ve always been very — call it difficult, whatever. Call it whatever you want. I know what I want. I know what I’m going for, and I don’t need someone to tell me what to do, and I’m still here 40 years later.”
How Does Malmsteen See Himself As A Musician?
The musician wants his music to be a true expression of himself. In his press conference on Loud TV, he reflected more on his approach to music, explaining:
“So basically I’m like a painter or an author like this. Like a painter, I paint half the painting and I call my friend, I say, ‘Hey, can you come up finish half of my painting?’ No. I don’t do that and that’s why I don’t have producers. That’s why I don’t have co-writers and so on, because when I did have that every single time I came out unhappy and I wasn’t pleased with the result.”
Then, Malmsteen shared his reasons for seeing singers as another instrument:
“I only live once so what I want to leave behind, what I want to create, what I want to put out on records, what I want to perform on stage is something that is purely my expression because I have so much inside. I want pure expression of myself, not diluted by having Elvis Presley in the band. Most singers think they’re Elvis Presley, they’re not. They’re just another instrument in my orchestra.”
In another earlier interview, Yngwie addressed the hate comments he receives. He explained that he sees himself as a solo artist rather than part of a band. He prefers to create his music alone, as he believes collaborating often takes away from his vision. Still, some people misunderstand it as ego.
You can watch his full Q&A session below.