Yngwie Malmsteen missed out on a spot with Kiss because he gave his height as a metric measurement

Yngwie Malmsteen
(Image credit: Stephen J. Cohen/Getty Images)

Aside from a handful of high-profile guest spots, Yngwie Malmsteen has spent much of his career as a lone wolf – a fierce solo artist who has climbed the ranks of the guitar world’s illustrious community of electric guitar wizards, one blazing shred run at a time.

If things had turned out slightly differently, however, Malmsteen’s career may not have unfolded in quite the same way, and a handful of the most iconic rock bands may, with the help of Yngwie’s trademark style of dizzying guitar playing, have sounded totally unrecognizable.

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Matt Owen

Matt is a Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.