“I must have rewound that solo on cassette 300 times, trying to understand what I had just heard”: Nuno Bettencourt pays tribute to Yngwie Malmsteen – and names the one thing most people get wrong about his playing

Nuno Bettencourt is continuing to use his social media to champion the best guitar players in the business, and this time, he’s waxed lyrical about Yngwie Malmsteen, because he wants to clear up a misconception about the virtuoso.

The Extreme guitarist, who recently launched his own brand of guitars, has called the arpeggio machine “one of the greatest players of all time” and he has the receipts to back up his claim.

“When he burst onto the scene, he sent guitar playing into the fucking stratosphere,” Bettencourt writes on Instagram.

A young Malmsteen famously arrived in the US with nothing but a guitar and a toothbrush – hygiene matters – and went on to play with Steeler and Alcatrazz. He was eventually replaced in the latter band by Steve Vai as he went solo. A Guitar Player column helped shine a spotlight on his talents, and his 1984 solo debut, Rising Force, did the rest.

“Those who came after him in his genre of classically driven guitar tried for his speed, his technique, his insane vibrato,” Bettencourt continues, “and while they were all trying to do it faster, playing it perfectly, they misunderstood that Yngwie’s technical prowess was not his super power.

In Bettencourt's eyes, Malmsteen's speed wasn't his most important attribute. Yes, he could shred like hell, but there was more to it than that. Bettencourt says too many people have put too much focus on speed alone. The heart of Malmsteen's playing was what really mattered – and deserves more credit.

“It was the fire you could feel with every phrase, the passion and emotion with every bend, as if the string was always gonna burst.

“It was dangerous,” he notes, “not precise. Dirty, not clean. The same lick that violently ripped your face off could also send chills.

Bettencourt, who once turned down a spot in Ozzy’s band, first heard Malmsteen during his Alcatrazz days, with his guitar solo on Jet to Jet a clear standout.

“I must have rewound that solo on cassette 300 times, trying to understand what I had just heard,” he recalls. “Much like Edward [Van Halen] before him, but in a completely different way.

“Rising Force is his bible,” Bettencourt then adds. “Some will say it’s just shredding. But for me, it was when I realized you can shred whilst having emotion.”

The post comes shortly after Bettencourt named the up-and-coming player who has blown his mind. He’s also formed an unexpected guitar tandem with Rick Beato, playing a Thin Lizzy Classic together in Las Vegas.

In related news, Bettencourt also dismissed the solo of the century claims bandied his way, and discussed how Extreme are finally getting their dues, in a new interview with Guitar World.