‘Parabellum’, the new album from Yngwie Malmsteen, will be released on 23 July 2021 through Music Theories Recordings / Mascot Label Group. The first track, ‘Wolves At The Door’, is available to watch below.
The album title ‘Parabellum’ is Latin and translates as ‘Prepare For War’. With one track on the album called ‘(Si Vis Pacem) Parabellum’, which translates as “if you want peace, then prepare for war”, Malmsteen told us that it “was a last-minute decision to make ‘Parabellum’ the album title, but I think it fits very well.”
With a catalogue of 21 albums and a career that spans more than 40 years, the magnificent Malmsteen has always been a poster boy for uncompromising excellence, striving to bring out all colour, shade and hue embedded in each one of his compositions.
Covid means more time
Like some musicians, the period of inactivity throughout the COVID-19 phase has given him the gift of being able to spend more time creating.
Yngwie told MetalTalk: “I always try to push myself on every album I do, and attempt things which are more extreme than previously. But what has helped this time is that I couldn’t go on the road because of the pandemic.
“It meant I could take much longer in the studio, both to write and record. Because I am usually on tour, which is great, I haven’t had the luxury of spending a lot of time working on new music for more than 20 years. But I suddenly had no pressure at all on that front. And I feel the album has benefited enormously as a result.
“I am the sort of person who doesn’t like to do take after take after take of any track. If something isn’t to my satisfaction, I’ll move on. But there were occasions with this album when I dismissed something because I thought it was a stinker. I went back a couple of days later, listened to it and wondered why I thought it stank in the first place!
“That’s the beauty of having everything available you’ve done through Pro Tools. Nothing is lost. Things were changing all the time. Song titles, tempos. Everything was fluid. I would listen to a part I had done for one specific song and realise it worked better if I transposed it into another track.”
‘Parabellum’ contains four tracks that feature vocals, and, as usual, Yngwie had not scoped this before working on the album. He says “I love to listen back to what I’ve done in the car. Sometimes I find myself singing along to what was supposed to be an instrumental. That’s when I realise this song does need vocals. The opposite happens as well.”
Mark Weiss and David Benegas
Cover artwork is by the acclaimed artist David Benegas, which was, as Yngwie told us, an idea of his wife, April. “David lives near us in Florida, and we were talking to him about other projects. I did a photo shoot with Mark Weiss, who I think is a great photographer and someone I’ve worked with for a long time. Then David based the portrait on this. The painting itself is huge, and we’ve had the idea to use it to raise money for the April Way Children’s Foundation.”
With a long and excellent career, Malmsteen is still fresh, enthusiastic and approaching his music with a passion that many lack. “The bottom line for me is that the passion I feel for the music I make has to be obvious. I am the sort of person who lives in the moment.
“I wanted this album to have a joyous, spontaneous atmosphere. This must never sound as if it’s been rehearsed so much that it becomes routine. I hope people will put on this record at the start and listen right through to the end, from start to finish. I recorded this as a singular piece of art. Not as a collection of 10 tracks you can hear in any order you want.
“I view this album as having a natural flow from start to finish. It’s not to be cut up into little pieces.
“I want fans to experience the delight I had in making it.”
‘Parabellum’ is released 23 July 2021 and can be pre-ordered from smarturl.it/Yngwie_Malmsteen
The April Way Children’s Foundation is dedicated to bringing the artists of the world together to give hope to kids, teens, and young adults that have been orphaned or are in foster care all across the world.
For more details visit aprilwaychildren.org
Parabellum – Track Listing
1. Wolves At The Door
2. Presto Vivace in C# Minor
3. Relentless Fury
4. (Si Vis Pacem) Parabellum
5. Eternal Bliss
6. Toccata
7. God Particle
8. Magic Bullet
9. (Fight) The Good Fight
10. Sea Of Tranquility
