747. Yngwie J. Malmsteen's Rising Force / Marching Out. 1985. 5/5

Those of you who are long time followers of this podcast will be aware that my original iteration of Music from a Lifetime was taken down for supposed transgressions in regards to the music I was using on those episodes. 3.5 years of hard work down the drain. After some thoughts of abandoning the concept, I decided to start again, and episode 3 of that resurrection dealt with Yngwie J. Malmsteen’s debut studio solo album titled “Rising Force”, which was released in December 1984. It had come on the back of journeying to the US and playing in the bands Keel and then Alcatrazz, and discovering that his ego didn’t always fit in with the egos of others in the bands he played in. It had been on the back of leaving Alcatrazz that he has decided to release his own solo album, and the response was enormous. What had originally been planned as an instrumental side project to his work with Alcatrazz had become his sole focus, and the addition of two songs with vocals from Jeff Scott Soto had given it the ability to transcend just the guitar geeks who wanted to fanboy about his guitaring skills. “Rising Force” went on to win Guitar Player's award for Best Rock Album and was nominated for a Grammy Award for 'Best Rock Instrumental', reaching no. 60 on the US Billboard album chart.
This success convinced Malmsteen that he was on the right path, but in order to gain to kind of commercial success that he was looking for, he knew that he would have to create songs that focused as much on the lyrics as they did the music. Having utilised Soto on his first release, he was retained for the follow up album as well. Jens Johanssen, who had played keyboards on the debut album also returned, as well as bringing along his brother Anders as the new drummer. The majority of the songs and lyrics were composed by Malmsteen himself with some input from Soto.
Riding on the crest of the wave following that critically acclaimed debut album, Yngwie decided to name the project Yngwie J. Malmsteen’s Rising Force, and with the more lyrics-focused songs combined with Soto’s wonderful vocals and Malmsteen’s shredding guitar, they ticked practically every box in the quest for the mainstream success that he craved, with the sophomore album titled “Marching Out”.

When this album was released, and probably even more so today given the way they somewhat date the album to its mid-1980's release, some fans and reviewers alike tend to be critical of the lyrics than have been written for this album. And that is all a matter of personal taste, but to be honest, are lyrics the be all and end all of a song? Not everyone can write lyrics that are meaningful on several levels in order to appease the majority of listeners, or want to make a statement with their songs, be it political or empirical. Some of these same fans and reviewers are critical of the structure of the songs, not focusing on the lyrics but on how the music is structured and arranged, focusing as it would on the guitar of Yngwie Malmsteen as the main product. These two views led to a swathe of music listeners not taking this release seriously, and yet in the same breath heaping praise on the glam metal genre rising out of the US at the time. I don’t have a problem with the second part in the slightest, but I do when it comes at the expense of this album.
The opening minute of “Prelude” creates the anticipation of the opening, perhaps seen as unnecessary when it comes to the album but still performing its duty as requested by its composer, which all comes to pass as the opening track “I’ll See the Light, Tonight” opens with the squeal of Malmsteen’s guitar and the prescient scream of Jeff Scott Soto to bring the album to life from the outset. Simple lyrics, enhanced by Soto’s wonderful vocals, give the song the additional ability to be sung along to at the top of your voice, and still perform the main act of the vehicle which is to showcase Yngwie’s guitar work, which is in top form here. It’s a great fast paced classic to open the album. This is followed by “Don’t Let It End”, with Yngwie’s clear guitar under Jeff’s beautiful vocal bursting into the passionate and energetic leap into the song proper, the hard hitting rhythm giving Yngwie his basis to riff over the top, into the pre-chorus where the melodic guitar and Jeff’s harmonic vocals combine to create that beautiful combination that these two create for the entire album. Yngwie’s solo captures the mood as well, and the song ends in a powerful conclusion that signs off in style. Another fantastic song to headline the beginning of the album.
The following two tracks are arguably the best on the album, showcasing Yngwie at his finest. His quiet guitar opening shows off his amazing ability on the six string in an almost classical opening slot, before bursting into the harder riffing quality he brings to this album, driving the energy that is then captured by Jeff which he powers into his vocal delivery. Singing about ritualistic dealings is off putting to many people, either as being satanic or childish, but the mood of the music perfectly captures the feeling of the lyrics and makes this another great track, driven by Anders Johanssen’s double kick drumming underneath Yngwie’s terrific soloing. This flows in the same way into “I Am a Viking”, great lyrics and the music suits them perfectly, taking you back to the days of the Vikings on the ocean, it draws that picture and has you rocking on the waves on one of those dragon boats as you listen. Yngwie’s guitaring and especially solo piece is a great match once again.
For those fans out there who are only interested as Malmsteen as a guitarist, the first of two instrumentals follows with “Overture 1383”, a song that combines both the faster pace and the subtle quiet guitar interlude that Yngwie does so well. Malmsteen combines his guitars here to create almost a symphony through the middle of the track, beautifully drawing in all of his prowess on the instrument to create the kind of track that only he can. This crashes back into the heart of the album with “Anguish and Fear”, backed by the solid rhythm set by the Johanssen brothers, giving Yngwie the ability to wander around with his guitar and add his pieces as he sees fit, and Jeff crooning his lyrics over the top. The solo section has a terrific playoff between Malmsteen's guitar and Johanssen’s keyboards in a fashion reminiscent of Deep Purple in their heyday which really adds to this track in particular. This is followed y another of the best songs here in “On the Run Again”. This is actually a remake of the song "Victim of the City” by Malmsteen’s former band Steeler. Jeff Scott Soto wrote new lyrics for this version and also the new title. It is a rollicking track and Jeff’s vocals excel on this song, going from sublime to high pitch scream, all while Yngwie unleashes his best. A terrific track. Then comes “Soldier Without Faith” that combines a beautifully heavy riff from Yngwie to introduce the song before he unloads into another great solo piece, and then a passionate performance from Soto again on vocals. Another great combination of performances here from all the players, showcasing their mixing of styles and abilities. That riff that comes in before the vocals, and is repeated after Yngwie’s solo into the next section of vocals, is superb.
Another of the fastest tracks of the album comes next in “Caught in the Middle”, great melodic riff followed up by Jeff’s incredible vocals again almost stealing the show, something he goes close to doing on most songs – until Yngwie starts soloing, and you remember what you came into the album for. However, I do particularly like Jeff’s vocals on this song. The album then concludes with the instrumental title-track “Marching Out”, another wonderful showcasing of the guitarist Yngwie is, a style that does not suit everyone’s taste but surely allows everyone to appreciate that he is some talent on the instrument.

My erstwhile high school heavy metal music dealer always seemed to find me the good stuff, and Yngwie Malmsteen was certainly one of those. My first experience with Yngwie was the songs “Black Star” and “As Above So Below” from his debut solo album, the aforementioned “Rising Force”, which were taped at the end of another cassette on which he had recorded albums for me. From here I had insisted on getting that entire album, which soon came my way. Once I have digested all of that, and discovered that Yngwie indeed had two more albums out at that time, I soon had yet another C90 cassette in his hands, in order to get both of those albums recorded for me. One of those albums was “Marching Out”. The other? “Trilogy”, his third solo album. And yes, you will get to hear all about that in about 12 months time.
From the superb opening of "I'll See the Light, Tonight", into "Don't Let it End" and the brilliant "Disciples of Hell", Yngwie and his band mates are right on song. Jeff Scott Soto stars on these opening tracks, his soaring vocals adding to the spectacle of each song. "I Am a Viking" sounds like you are on the ocean, rolling with the waves on one of those dragon boats, Yngwie's guitaring is superb here in its illustration. Yngwie still has his instrumental break with "Overture 1383", to remind his fans he can still do it all without vocals. "Anguish and Fear" and "On the Run Again" continue the high standard that has already been set. “Soldier Without Faith”, “Caught in the Middle”... I just love every single piece of this album. And look, If I was to critically assess this album and the material it contains, I don’t disagree that I could find parts of how it is written and recorded that might appear a little cheesy, that the rhythm might all sound a bit samey and that it really only acts in most cases as the platform for the guitarist and vocalist to showcase their own skills. That perhaps the lyrics are not terrifically exciting, that maybe the album sounds dated and anchored to the date of its release. But I don't want to do that, because I have been listening to this album pretty much since its release in 1985, and it is a part of the furniture of the album, and each piece makes up the brilliance of the whole. Personally, I love these songs, lyrics and all. The best part of them for me is that they are almost anthemic in their theme and performance. And when you are in your teenage years, sitting around listening to this album with a few beers, there is nothing better than singing, "I'll see the light tonight! Flashing through the sky!" and "Nobody knows who's the disciples of hell!" and "I am a Viking! I'm going off to war!". They are just great songs, which you sing at the top of your voice, before sitting back and listening to Yngwie and his guitar weave a spell through the midsection of the songs. I don’t know how Yngwie wrote these songs, whether by riff or bridge or lyrics. I know he always seems annoyed when people ask him about why his albums don't seem to be well planned. I would argue that it appears everything is planned, from opening riff to introductory vocals, then solo spot, where keyboards and guitars sometimes trade riffs, and sometimes harmonise together. They tend to be different from a normal song structure, but what is so wrong with that? Yngwie has always done things on his terms, and that applies here as well.
I have had this album on again for this review, and it has delighted me for days on end once again, as it always does. It is a mood lifter, it makes everything else tolerable for 45 minutes. For me this album has little or no weak points. Building on the strengths that came from the first album, and making it more accessible to the masses by having lyrics on the majority of songs here, this is a showcase of talent. Jeff Scott Soto soars on vocals, emoting in all of the right places to make songs such as "I'll See the Light, Tonight" and "I Am a Viking" such brilliant pieces. The brothers Jens Johansson on keyboards and Anders Johansson on drums are also perfect, combining together to help contribute to a wonderful album. And of course Yngwie, who just shreds on guitar in a way no one did before he came along. His rolling guitar riffs can both send a song careering along at a fearful pace or sedately move from intro to conclusion without missing a beat.
“Marching Out” represents to me one of the peaks of Yngwie J. Malmsteen's career, and always holds a place close to my heart from the era it came from. And the memories it evokes are just as important and enjoyable as the album itself.