"YNGWIE MALMSTEEN" (1984) VS "FASTEST GUITAR SHREDDERS" 

Back then they all were awesome players. We are so very fortunate that all these players and their incredible performances were recorded and are available now. Thank you for taking your time to put this video together.

1984 Malmsteen was a freaking monster …. But Holdsworth is from another planet altogether

Just think man..we were the luckiest bastards to have all those guys. I love them all.

Malmsteen around 1984 had the best skills and tone of his career. Also, he had a lot of finesse and musical charisma back then that sadly, diminished slightly as he aged.

Who really cares who was the fastest? Isn't it about who plays the most musically? :) I am a big fan of all the guitarists in the video and they have all inspired me a lot, but I have never thought, who is the fastest? It's not a competition even though many guitarists today seem to think it is a competition :)

Just basing on the video, Malmsteen wins hands down.🤘(I will immediately eliminate Jake E.Lee, EVH, Uli Roth and Blackmore - although fantastic guitar players, their technique are 2 notches below Yngwie's level.) The others are like "forcing" the speed...their playing sounds "wanting" to be fast for the sake of playing fast. (except Allan who is more of a Legato/fusion player.) YJM on the other hand simply FLOWS with natural speed. Just flawless organic speed, Truly one of a kind, special generational player, proof that his technique is above the task, you won't sound that if your technique is not on par with the sound you have in your head. As Guthrie Govan said in an interview, he admired Yngwie's technique more than his peers because his "speed has intention". He is right, It's not fast for the sake of being fast. He wanted to sound like the violin, like Bach and Paganini pieces. ❤‍🔥 Apart from the great speed, he has this "Godlike Vibrato" like no other. So clearly, Malmsteen rules and dominates.🎸

Yngwie Malmsteen and Michael Schenker...Giants.

I have a Yngwie Malmsteen's Fender, he's one of my favorite guitar players, but I do not see music as a competition between Yngwie and the others mentioned...we can learn with everyone of them and that's it. People have some attraction to things like 'the best of ever', 'the greatest', etc. That makes no sense to me in art. All of us have our favorite and that's all...our subjective lists. Days ago I saw something like "Shawn Lane X Yngwie'...well, Shawn was so brilliant (like the old Yngwie), but fans were fighting in the comments like soccer fans...I see no point about it, Shawn is not so famous outside the guitarrists and would not be in those Mojo lists, but he was outstanding like many others: Greg Howe, Jason Becker, Scott Henderson, Allan Holdswort, etc...all of these ones would not be mentioned in popular lists, like the one that put Brian May as the best of ever...Brian is a genius, I love him, but he put it rightly in an interview about the list...you can find it easily. He said he's not the best and you can't rank people...the meaning of lists: to sell a product. PS - George Harrison and Brian May are guitar players I love, they created beautiful guitar solos, few notes, a lot of passion and emotion. I love Gary Moore a lot too, great rock blues player, beautiful voice. One last note: M. A. Batio is the only guitar player in your video I do not like...he sounds like a metronome checker. To listen to him is like to appreciate a metronome...boring, no melody.

Jake E Lee is so underrated and but for getting stuffed by Sharon should have had a bigger career

no one can beat nygwie on 1980-1990

Different styles! And Jake is one of my top 5!!

Check Vinnie Vincent out, especially from the Vinnie Vincent Invasion album (1986). Very underrated. He could play very fast in a different style to Yngwie.

i think the big diference was that ingwye start using diferent stuff whit the armonic minor mode and devolope new sounds,diminiture arpegios etc.and the rest of the players was only pentatonic or eolian,natural modes.

I wouldn't even go as far as comparing his technique with other shredders, a lot of guys are more technical than him, more versatile and even faster. Yngwie himself said he slowed down his picking technique to emphasize the articulation, leaving space between notes. That's why guys like Impeliteri suck, the notes are just too blurry to make any harmonic or melodic sense, compared to Yngwie. That's another secret. Yngwie has superior melody compared to most players. And he uses pull offs unique only to his own style, he doesn't alternate pick all his lines. Tha's why he sounds more fluid than any shredder who alternate picks everything and sound robotic. He has the Best Rock Vibrato in the world, has the best tone in the world. For stylistic reasons he still leaves most good and great guitar players in the dust, or simply outshines them. You guys have seen it on G3, G7 or whatever. Everone steps back for Yngwie, one is even a fan boy, another played rhythm, others just stood and watched. There is just no one as dominant as him on any live stage jam setting. It will never happen in this lifetime or ever. He will always be the show stopper. I think that more than answers your question. His music has iconicly stood the test of time atleast in the world of guitar shred. On a live stage everyone is a puppy compared to the Wolf that is Yngwie

Yngwie is my heroe my god since 1983 But there is one guitarist that did get to his level and more " Vinnie moore" But still yngwie is the boss and the master of all the shreders of the 80s and even today.

Yngwie Malmsteen … love the guy as a person and guitarist I won’t say all the typicals but when Alkatrazz came out and then live in Japan the song Evil eye was on my radar and as a local guitar enthusiast with gigs and tours ahead of me this was going to be my secret inspiration I had already been studying Al DiMeola and Paganini and Bach. Who was this guy anyway no one will ever know … I still study him have recorded with the man. Been on tour with him as rivals offered me 100k to do an album with him On two occasions we got close. Closer on the phone but the enthusiasm in this man… I know a bit about the subject I’d you’d like to gab a bit ..my band” called Guitar ZEUS, featured some of our friends and associates to fill in for John Sykes who had needed a rest from music as not to burn completely out. We auditioned a few then started recording them.. Carmine took it to the end of our combined prolific box set of material where he was still finding long lost material we had tossed he found on the reel of analog sony tape in his vault of historical stuff accumulated over the years …the body of work spans over 5 albums of material some remixes easy featuring another GuitarZeus each one not playing as they usually do.. as they aren’t the writers. I wrote these songs for my solo albums and for what was blue Murder the trio TonY Carmine John and myself Keeling. First album was accumulation of the three years of my time with maestro js and it wasn’t great but looking back all alternative tunings. I found it easier to write anything unique genuine to have Chords I had not played in variations not often heard with one guitar all borne from Mother Nature inventing necessary fat sound while recording with cassette tape four track recorder demos … one performance live should sound like that. Chris Cornel was good at this option … all these Albums had a different tuning for each song and none in the same key Either flat or sharp. It matters when listening in sequence. Yngwie did an ok solo on the song “This Time Around “ I was doing my vocal during the first album process drawing from another hot inspiration dUg Pinnick of kings x he and Ty Jerry kings x big influence on me and music early on … and mentioned this one is very kings x isn’t it. Is it too close. Should we do this the critics will get an idea we are trying to .. then Phill Kaffel our engineer at Sound City said I just saw him at zitos doing Jimi Hendrix tribute with buddy Miles .. no way. See if you can catch him.. he did that I finished the song and wrote the lyrics and did another pass .. by the time I was walking out of the studio Vocal booth there is dUg with a cold drinking chocolate milk. All into it … no way. So he listened to it found my lyrics I went for a walk to get a quart of beer to calm my self by the time I was back it was done. I don’t even think I heard it that night … wasn’t until I heard the album without my vocal on it How could I oppose. It was awesome and another good suggestion they used My Good buddy Yngwie Malmsteen ,. Carmine flew to him and brought the reel to reel tape and added old wingnut to the track It’s not as musical as I’m used to hearing him but the riff is Chromatic and in those days that year. For me at least I was over solos. Especially live as was the rest of the population of popular music so trio with Music sounding that fat with no solos worked add solos to that. .. some times it didn’t work I rather hear the band driving with no vocals as a trio. It was really bad ass band we had there for a little while where all of our influences and communication was very sharp and the peak of our abilities all around … proud time in my career that … oh and wingsy and I did the opening track for deep purple tribute album which stared us on years quest to associate. This happened in order next after a John norum Keeling solo tour of Sweden. With the band supporting George Lynch following an album I also guested on Called “Furious George “ another great soloist .. we went out with Yingles’s band co headline tour, some nights we lost early in the front then it was war. Wanna hear more stories any questions interviews maybe .. to follow was a long few years with Michael Schenker beginning with the Unforgiven MSG and live world tour - I was the lead vocalist and songwriter during this period.. last experience as guitar gods ? Ask me. He is leader of the highest grossing band in world history. I was lead singer of this band couple of years back … a Amazing musician human over all accomplished smartest musician I know. Look at that monster TSO. Kelly Keeling MindRadioArtists LLC Bassinger1976@gmail.com Siberianradio1@gmail.com

All these other players are trying to sound like YJM . You can hear it without YJM they would be doing their pentatonic blues box . So YJM is still the best

He might have been the best guitar player in 1984!!!! But he didn't influence me in playing guitar!!!! 😕 I did, however, got entranced and moved by Blackstar and Far Beyond The Sun!!!! 😊😊😊😂❤ Bottom line!!!! 80s guitar players blew me away!!!! Malmsteen was like in another planet!!!! 😮😊😊😊

Damn! You brought all of the heavy hitters even Michael Angelo with his real hair!

Yngwie is obviously one of the greats he is fast, clean, and good tone...BUT he a niche style that he rarely deviates from, he stays in the neo classical style of scales, arpeggios, etc...for me Steve Vai is best because if the diversity of guitar stunts, scales, weird bends and ,making guitars talk etc..

What about Chris Impellitteri ? 😊

the thing i like about Malmsteen is that he was the original . he didn't just play fast he had great tone and energy. it was rare for him to play fast just to play fast. man you are bringing me back to when i first started playing guitar. i was 16 and seen Eddie ,Vivian cambell and Yngwie .the same clips your playing. i used to go in my basement and pretend i was rob halford why i sang with the video. pretty much everyday. i thought i did damn good for singing that high. but yeah idk if Yngwie is the best of that year when he's up against so many monsters like Holdsworth.eddie,richie and the like. i know holdsworth does shit loads of hammer ons and pull offs while Yngwie is picking most everything.🙅

Did you hear about the 80s era Namm show where Gambale was on the same stage as Yngwie? First, they had a jam in E minor and YJM ruled. Gambale “hey let’s play some bop” Yngwie had to leave the stage. Hmmmm?

Yngwie is great and was so unique and a force of nature in 1984. What a tone too.. But Holdsworth is on a different planet to everyone with maybe the exception of Vai..imho

Ingwie and Steve and many others plays in the same league. But my favorit on this time was Steve Morse and later Vinnie Moore, Joe Satriani and John Petrucci.

Not spamming this comment section, but Shawn Lane RIP would own pretty much everyone.

Considering Yngwie is playing a Japanese Squier here in evil eye that he is about to smash and still sounds better just wins it for me. YJM for the win

Where is John McLaughlin????

Holdsworth is that kind of guy that everyone says “he’s a god” but no one really listens to! It’s more like “I don’t understand what he’s playing, so he might be a genius.” It's like a fashion. Makes you sound like a "guitar intellectual"

COOL VIDEO ! ALL GREAT GUITARIST ! YNGWIE WINS ....

I like almost all theses guys, but Yngwie is a great composer, so musical, Power riffs. Yngwie is like Hendrix + Blackmore + Uli Jon Roth, but more more powerfull. He's My principal influence. Ps: Allan Holdsworth are incredible, but diferent style. And Tony Macalpine so it's a Monster player on guitar and piano too, This vídeo dont show the total macalpine player skills. Search for vídeo of him playing piano. Ps2: yngwie like al dimeola too, another amazing guitar player

Can't name 1 song yngwie ever wrote. I'm a huge metalhead.

If you look at the live performance only, YJM are clean as a whistle in comparision to many of the others..! I still think you can't compete in guitarplaying but YJM are one of a kind..& yes I know people LOVE to hate YJM, but I still don't know one guy who wouldn't love to have his skills, money & fame..! Rock on!! 🤘

They all have more skills than they know what to do with

È inutile girarci in torno!!!!!!!! YNGWEY è il più grande di tutti i tempi..gli addetti a i lavori lo sanno...

Yngwie, Eddie , Vai......the pedestrians.

Love Yngwie's playing, but Vai is by far my favorite. Musically, I think Vai blows them all away, and he can shred with the fastest when he wants to.

I like all of them ❤

For raw speed Gilbert and Angelo...for reals though their all guitar gods and would have to have a real shred off for anything to really matter....comparing footage doesn't do any of these guitarists justice...Yngwie is still my number one pick but damn that gilbert string skipping technique is just beast

EDDIE VAN HALEN IS GOD❤!!!!!

Malmstein was top o food chain

Just go with Ritchie Blackmore ready. Mount Rushmore guitarist easily top 3 in the world. 🎉

Yngwie KING!!!!!!

Yngwie malmsteen is god😮😊guitar👽

Just don’t compare him with George Bellas or Shawn Lane….

You forgot to include Kee and Rob Marcello. You could have left the other guys out😮

alex masi.? Michael harris.? jason Becker? chris imppliterri.? Buckethead.? uli jon roth.?

Batio, Gilbert and Vai are the only ones in that bunch that could have gone up against Yngwie, and he would of one.....at shredding. But who is my favorite of the 4? Steve Vai all day long. Their music is souless. Steve Vai on the other hand is outerworldy.

Yngwie - Richie Blackmore

Yngwie Johann Malmsteen is the best guitarist in the world forever and ever. ❤❤❤

How about Frank Gambale and Al Dimeola?

Definition of dominating till today !

A shame that you didn't add Shawn Lane..

Ed wins!!!

Damn! This Allen Holdsworth guy is pretty damned good, with the whole jazz fusion thing. Wowie zowie! 🤘

In those days Yngwie was a purist. Far cleaner and concise. His approach with tone , arpeggios, and clean sound was like that of the violin. Which he stated was a major influence.

Ritchie and Uli was playing those neoclassical stuffs already in 70's.. And Yngwie said he was heavily influenced by Uli in his books.

I dont know about speed but YJM sounds much more pleasing

Yngwie was the speedking at that age, but most of all an inspirator for the rest of the club of guitarslingers! 🎯

Yngwie unbelievable player but his songs were just okay. That’s why it’s hard to compare him to the great EVH and some of the other great players on this list. Speed solo’s doesn’t always translate to complementing the song. A lot of Yngwie’s songs are wildly overplayed.

I was never a big YM fan as it seemed to feel like his music always sounds the same to itself. The other guitar players provided here have more cemented history with my musical prowess BUT out of all the performances, YM was the cleanest and smoothest approach towards the scales in their respective presentations. They are all great guitar players but Malmsteen truly shines in this video with his notes all clearly defined, perfectly articulated and overall showmanship fit for a hall of fame. Its all about perspective and personal opinions may vary, but this is a good stepping stone to a worthy debate for either side of the table.

Rising Force changed my guitar playing forever. Thanks Yngwie.

Holdsworth is on a whole different level. Yngwie is a Rock God.

I saw Yngwie that tour in 84 at the Crest Theater in Sacramento. Me and my friends went to Warehouse records and got our Albums signed by him. Just seen him again on his recent tour. One of the great guitarist of our time.

When Yngwei was in his prime before the accident he shock the guitar world with hes way to play. Extreamly fast, clean, and exeptional vibrato. He was the first to really bring neo classic metal. He still is a fantastic guitarplayer. One thing is for sure. He will have his place in the history books. As a Swede my self I am proud this icon is from my country.

Yngwie sounds the cleanest to me and the last dude

Holdsworth was from another planet.

my favorit guitarist is one and only gary moore~

I'm just pleased I got to see most of those guys live during their peak. It's mainly the Americans I missed out on (Batio, Lynch, EVH, Jake, Gilbert) plus Sykes. For pure 'shred', Yngwie was the best, but T Mac's 'Maximum Security' is my all time favourite instrumental guitar album. I was knocked out at how good Uli JR was on that Electric Sun tour (Beyond the Astral Skies).

There are really great players in that video. Uli Jon Roth George Lynch EvH MacAlpine Jake E Lee John Sykes Steve Vai Holdsworth Shawn Lane Jason Becker Al DiMeola AND SOME MORE are on this level THERE IS NO GOAT!

you can´t compare malmsteen with anyone, he is second to none ;-)

That was a great (and bad) time to be a guitarist. You had to be really on top of your game. Mike Varney had a lot of new killer guitarists coming out too. Yngwie sent a lot of guys to the woodshed.

I prefer Allan Holdsworth, is not the fastest guitar player who lived, but i love his playing over YJM or EVH

Gary Moore could play notes that mattered and were harmonic...faster.

Love Malmsteen but in all fairness some of the clips from the other guitar players could have been better. Lynch certainly has clips where's he's killing it during the Wicked sensation album in the studio(retakes) but you play a piece of 'Alone again ' to compare??? Try remaking the Video & compare again but this time we see everyone playing at their Peak. Paul Gilbert can stand on the same stage as Yngwie

Yngwie, Holdsworth and a gentleman named Shawn Lane. Trifecta of legendary greatness.

yngwie can juggling around the fretboard, while the others are very systematic and like a robot sound style. i like yngwie

Yngwie was the best in that year. No doubt about it. That's not to say there weren't other great players but let's get real here.

Schenker on EVH: "I love Eddie's playing, you know, he's for me, by far the best guitar player. And even though I wasn't listening to music, you could never get away [from] hearing [it] anywhere... And so really, he was fascinating. I mean, he's my favorite guitar player."

Malmsteen is number 1

1984? It's Yngwie for sure. I was there, I know.

Yngwie and Eddie by far

Jack E Lee......a monster

Yngwie is what you dream you could sound like. Holdsworth is what you couldn't even imagine sounding like.

Speed and shredding is nice , but garbage if without heart, put together beautiful harmony, and notes structured to convey emotion .

Are you're comparing 1984 Yngwie with a lot of post 1984 footage from other players? I'd say the 70s era guys--Uli Jon Roth, Ritchie Blackmore, were just hopelessly outmatched And you'll find no bigger fan of the 80s than me. I'm a huge Jake E Lee and George Lynch fan and while they undoubtedly were great players ,Yngwie was just from another planet. It was like he was at least a generation ahead of them.

Malmsteen vs R Blackmore is just like Father with his Grand Father... Both were so classical

Jake e Lee ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Yngwie was never better than King Edward!!

Speed, its gonna be hard to beat yngwie, maybe gilbert could. As for playing music i want to hear they are all better with jake e. Lee coming in first followed by Vai, paul or gary more bepending on the day.

"Who cares?" some will say....but it's fun to look back and compare the greats! Thanks for watching @guitargodzunleashed

@15:50 that Holdsworth line is pure genius.

Yngwie Malmsteen may be fast but his music is lousy. I have read that he is egotistical and believes he is the best guitarist the world over. I am a fan of Jake E Lee but EVH is the best guitarist that has ever been.

Fun video 🤘 FWIW Edward is my personal North Star as a musician and guitarist -- YJM was great back then -- no question, saw him live MANY times -- but his style is not that difficult to emulate (if you practice enough) and it's a dead end road musically IMHO -- Uli Jon Roth is phenomenal -- anybody into that needs to hear Tokyo Tapes

I like the original Malmsteen better; Ritchie Blackmore!

YNGWIE 👑 is the best of all time🤘⚡

Yngwie definitely owned 1984! And Gary Moore was a true master.... Vai, Gilbert, Etc... So much great and innovative playing!

Yngwie is like Mike Tyson in they prime time no one can beat them!

"I don't fuckin sweep pick" YJM Al Di Meola was a huge influence on Yngwie in His formative years & now they're practically neighbors. Others in the race may have been Chris Impelliteri,Buckethead,Jeff Watson, Vinnie Moore,Mitch Perry ,Rob Marcello,John McLaughlin;Akira Takasaki..& soon to be famous guys like Jason Becker, Greg Howe & Warren Di Martini & Ron Thal.. etc. Shawn Lane was the fastest I ever witnessed back then.

In 84, probably only the Jazz guys (Benson, Holdsworth, Joe Pass), Uli, Steve Morse, Marty Friedman was as good as Yngwie