Black Star

Yngwie Malmsteen, 1984. Solo by Yngwie Malmsteen.

Neoclassical shred defined: harmonic minor, sweep picking and arpeggios.

The track opens with a short nylon-string prelude, a handful of sparse notes that act like a classical overture, before the band enters and the electric guitar states a singing main theme. From there Malmsteen breaks into long runs built on harmonic-minor lines and sweep-picked arpeggios, the vocabulary his early records helped spread through 1980s metal. His scalloped Stratocaster and his vibrato control, with both fingers and whammy bar, give the notes a vocal edge even at speed. He wrote, arranged and produced it, and even overdubbed the bass. Listen for the main theme after the prelude; the fast runs grab attention, but the melody is what holds the piece together.

Black Star by Yngwie Malmsteen is ranked #45 in our consensus of 79 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Yngwie Malmsteen and the song was released in 1984. It appears on 13 lists, placing as high as #14 (GuitarMetrics).

The story of Black Star

Yngwie Malmsteen reached the US from Sweden as a teenage prodigy and moved quickly through two bands. In early 1983 he joined the Los Angeles group Steeler, staying roughly four months and playing only nine shows, yet his playing was widely seen as the best thing on their lone album. He then teamed with singer Graham Bonnet in Alcatrazz, recording the studio debut No Parole from Rock 'n' Roll and the Tokyo live album Live Sentence in early 1984.

While still in Alcatrazz, Malmsteen began work on a mostly instrumental record intended as a side project. His influences were classical rather than blues: he has named Bach and the violinist Paganini as his formative heroes. When a split with Alcatrazz came in mid-1984, the side project became the launch pad for a solo career, and Jeff Scott Soto was brought in to sing on two tracks.

Rising Force was cut at the Record Plant in Los Angeles with former Jethro Tull drummer Barriemore Barlow and keyboardist Jens Johansson. Malmsteen produced the album himself and also handled the bass and Moog Taurus pedals. 'Black Star' was chosen to open the record, setting out his manifesto in under five minutes: a quiet classical prelude followed by a driving, melodic electric instrumental.

Polydor issued the album in 1984; AllMusic dates it to March, while other listings place it later in the year. It reached No. 60 on the Billboard 200, No. 14 in Sweden and No. 19 in Japan, and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. 'Black Star' and its companion 'Far Beyond the Sun' became the two pieces most closely identified with Malmsteen.

The solo

Everything on 'Black Star' is played by Malmsteen, who wrote, arranged and produced it. The track opens with a short fingerstyle prelude on a nylon-string guitar, a handful of sparse, carefully placed notes that act like a classical overture. The full band then enters and the electric guitar states a singing main theme before breaking into long runs. Reviews of the album point to the scalloped Stratocaster that became his trademark and to his control of vibrato with both fingers and the whammy bar. AllMusic credits Rising Force with popularising sweep-picked arpeggios and harmonic-minor lines in 1980s metal, and 'Black Star' is a showcase of that vocabulary. Barriemore Barlow's drums and Jens Johansson's keyboards support the melody, while Malmsteen overdubbed the bass himself.

Legacy

Rising Force is regarded as the record that defined neoclassical shred, and Guitar World ranked it first among all-time shred albums in 2009. AllMusic's Steve Huey called it a revelation that inaugurated the age of the shredder. 'Black Star' in particular has stayed in Malmsteen's live sets for four decades; he has said he will probably play it and 'Far Beyond the Sun' until the day he dies. The acoustic intro has become a common study piece for guitarists, widely transcribed and taught.

Top 10 facts about Black Star

'Black Star' is the opening track of Rising Force, Malmsteen's first solo album.
Wikipedia
Rising Force started life as an instrumental side project while Malmsteen was still a member of Alcatrazz.
Wikipedia
Malmsteen played guitar, bass and Moog Taurus bass pedals on the album and produced it himself.
Wikipedia
Drums on the album were played by Barriemore Barlow, formerly of Jethro Tull, with Jens Johansson on keyboards.
Wikipedia
Malmsteen has said he expects to play 'Black Star' and 'Far Beyond the Sun' for the rest of his life.
Wikipedia
The album was nominated for Best Rock Instrumental Performance at the 1986 Grammy Awards.
Wikipedia
The song's intro is played fingerstyle on a nylon-string guitar using only a few notes.
Andrea Fortuna
Before going solo, Malmsteen spent about four months in Steeler in 1983, playing just nine shows.
Wikipedia
Malmsteen has cited Paganini and Bach as his key teenage influences and said he was not drawn from blues.
Wikipedia
A 6:09 live 'Black Star' was recorded in February 1989 at Leningrad's SKK Stadium for Trial by Fire.
Wikipedia

Live versions

Trial by Fire: Live in Leningrad (1989) Recorded in the Soviet Union in February 1989 with Joe Lynn Turner's band; the song stretches to about six minutes.
Live!! (São Paulo / Rio de Janeiro) (1998) Recorded in Brazil in May 1998; a 7:18 reading, later reissued in the US as Double Live.

In our lists

See Them Live — #12
Deep Cuts — #14
The 25 Greatest Guitar Instrumentals — #8
The 25 Greatest Metal Guitar Solos — #10
The 25 Greatest Shred Guitar Solos — #6
The 1980s — #11
Instrumentals — #7
Played on a Stratocaster — #20

Sources

What guitar was used on the Black Star solo?

A fender stratocaster (scalloped) through a Marshall amp, according to widely reported accounts.

Where does Black Star rank among the greatest guitar solos?

#45 in the GreatestSolos consensus of 79 published lists; it appears on 13 of them.

What album is Black Star by Yngwie Malmsteen on?

It is the opening track of his 1984 debut solo album, Rising Force.

Who wrote Black Star?

Yngwie Malmsteen wrote it, as he did every track on Rising Force.

Is Black Star an instrumental?

Yes, it is fully instrumental, beginning with a nylon-string classical intro before the band comes in.

Who played drums on Black Star?

Barriemore Barlow, formerly of Jethro Tull, played drums on Rising Force.

Was Rising Force nominated for a Grammy?

Yes, it received a nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance at the 1986 Grammys.