The Genesis

AMG Review of The Genesis

Greg Prato
All Music Guide

Despite what some Yngwie Malmsteen fanatics would like to believe, the Swedish guitarist did not just pick up the six-string and pen such classically tinged heavy metal epics as "I'll See the Light Tonight" -- he gradually worked his way up the ladder of speed-demon guitar wizardry. And while most admirers pick up Malmsteen's career from either his Steeler or Alcatrazz recordings, even earlier compositions exist, which have been compiled together for 2002's The Genesis. Although Ritchie Blackmore is often credited as being Malmsteen's prime six-string influence, Jimi Hendrix was also always at the top of the list, which is proven by an over 12-minute jam of "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)." Elsewhere, such instrumentals as "Plague in Lucifer's Mind" and "Black Magic Suite Op. 3" show that Malmsteen was doing the "classical metal thang" even earlier than many assume.