“I can write anything... Just tell me what you want. You want death metal in C? Okay, here it is. A little country and western? Reggae, blues, whatever”: Yngwie Malmsteen on classical epiphanies, modern art and why he embraces the cliff edge

Yngwie Malmsteen works his hamstrings as he takes a high kick onstage. He plays his signature Fender Stratocaster and the stage is lit up in green.

Looking back, Yngwie Malmsteen admits that never in his wildest dreams did he think he would have been 40 years as a solo artist, but in truth there was never really a credible alternative path.

This was the kid who got curious about the guitar aged five, picked it up in anger aged seven after seeing a televised performance from Jimi Hendrix, played it 24/7 to the exclusion of almost all over activities and emerged to change the face of the electric guitar, bringing words such as “neoclassical shred” into everyday usage.