Marching Out

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Yngwie J. Malmsteen's Rising Force

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Marching Out (1985). Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force's second album.

From the early to mid 80s, heavy metal took off as a new and expanding form of what rock music was truly capable of doing. First in the 80s there was the new wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) scene, followed by a split direction in the mid 80s with the lighter glam metal and the heavier thrash metal movements. However, there was also a category which falls right inbetween the two called Power Metal. It combines the themes and heaviness of real heavy metal bands with the melodic and mainstream stylings of glam metal into an unbeatable synthesis. Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force was one of the forerunners of modern power metal, appearing in the mid 80s with an excellent trio of masterpiece albums. Unlike thrash, NWOBHM, and glam, power metal was a genre which did not take off in America nor England, but rather it thrived in lesser countries of Europe such as Finland and Sweden. To this day, power metal is the ONLY remaining form of true metal music, not that rap/metal poser junk which plagues modern American radio.

Rising Force consists of members Jeff Scott Soto on vocals, Yngwie J. Malmsteen on guitars, Marcel Jacob on bass, Anders Johansson on drums, and Jens Johansson on keyboards (for those who didn't know, Jens eventually joined Dio and then in the mid 90s teamed up with Stratovarius). Everyone performs reasonably well on here, from Soto's soaring vocals to Jens Johansson's melodic keyboard textures and harpsichord solos (which he would be later famous for in Stratovarius). While everyone plays well, IT'S YNGWIE'S GUITAR PLAYING THAT TRULY STANDS OUT PHENOMENALLY. When I first heard the minute-long solo in track two, my jaw dropped in utter awe. I'm absolutely serious when I say that he is possibly one of the most talented guitar soloists in the history of metal. I'm even tempted to say that he is greater than the legendary George Lynch, Kirk Hammett, and Eddie Van Halen (which is saying a lot because these three are damn perfect guitar soloists!). Just listen to one of the many wild rollercoaster solos and it will all become clear.

Marching Out is a direct continuation of the 1984 debut's style, though this time there aren't nearly as many instrumentals, and sadly the number would continue to drop with every progressing album. Here's a brief lowdown:

1) Prelude- Just a boring minute-long intro of nothing which should have been ommitted from the album. Thankfully, you can skip it. 2/10

2) I'll See The Light Tonight- An incredible melodic rocker with soaring vocals and excellent guitar work. I won't go into much detail about the guitar solos on this album because all of them are played with god-like precision. 10/10

3) Don't Let It End- Good song which starts out fairly lightweight and then changes into another rocker similar to ISTLT. 8/10

4) Disciples Of Hell- AWESOME! AWESOME! AWESOME! One of the album's two best tracks. Starts off with a minute-long accoustic guitar solo, and then explodes into a dark, mid-tempo rocker with nearly perfect verses and chorus. 10/10

5) I Am A Viking- A slow, heavy song which proves to be very worthwhile, if just a little goofy on the subject matter. Definitely worth NOT skipping. 9/10

6) Overture 1383- This short instrumental starts out heavy like the middle of DoH, but then the drums and guitars die and turn the song into a light and melodic ballad-type section. Pretty good. 8/10

7) Anguish and Fear- Fastest song on the album. One thing that stands out is the alternating guitar and keyboard solos in the middle which make this track a real pleasure to listen to. 9/10

8) On The Run Again- Another great melodic track in the same vein as ISTLT. It is actually quite excellent even though a bit underrated, and it will never fail to please. 9/10

9) Soldier Without Faith- AN ABSOLUTE MASTERPIECE EPIC! Great usage of background keyboards before the guitars, drums, and vocals kick in. Throughout the song and up to the end, the bandmembers all play at their best here. It's probably my favorite Malmsteen track. 10/10

10) Caught In The Middle- A good, but not outstanding track. It doesn't really do anything to warrant any real attention to it, but at the same time this track shouldn't be skipped either. Worth a listen. 8/10

11) Marching Out- This instrumental is slow, dark, and engaging with its background keyboard wash and Yngwie's soloing. Very brief and a great way to close out the album. 9/10

Overall, Marching Out is an excellent album and my personal favorite of the early Malmsteen albums. 5 stars for over the top virtuoso musicianship, and songwriting. The only complaint I really have is that the production is a little thin sounding, but thankfully it was fixed in later albums. They continued on with the next album Trilogy(1986) and ditched the dark overtone that the first two albums had, but it was still no less solid. After the first three albums though, the band was never this good again. So if you see Rising Force, Marching Out, or Trilogy sitting around in the stores, PICK IT UP!! Otherwise you will be missing out on some of the greatest guitar soloing to ever be conceived.

Also, if you like this band be sure to check out other similar bands which are still around: Stratovarius, Dream Theater (Images & Words album specifically), Gamma Ray, Hammerfall, Sonata Artica, Rhapsody, Blind Guardian, and Symphony X.

Having been released in 1985, Marching Out is Yngwie Malmsteen's second full-length album. There are 11 tracks; three of these are instrumentals--"Prelude," "Overture 1383," and "Marching Out." The album does not contain any power ballads. The material is in a straight-ahead hard rock musical direction. Overall, the album sports solid songwriting, tight musicianship, and pleasant sound quality. When it comes to the guitar playing, Malmsteen does an impressive job; throughout, his rhythm guitar work displays a gritty tone. Jeff Scott Soto turns out an effective, commanding vocal performance, while Jens Johansson does well with the keyboard work. The compositions that I consider to be favorites are "I'll See the Light, Tonight," "I Am a Viking," "Overture 1383," "Soldier Without Faith," and "Marching Out." The energetic "I'll See the Light, Tonight" has nice rhythm guitar playing from Malmsteen. "I Am a Viking" is a stately song with cool rhythm guitar work from Malmsteen. The smooth instrumental "Overture 1383" exhibits Malmsteen's pretty guitar playing. "Soldier Without Faith" presents engaging singing from Soto, a pleasing guitar solo from Malmsteen, and a nicely tailored, mysterious-sounding keyboard intro from Johansson. The memorable instrumental "Marching Out" features touching guitar work from Malmsteen. The CD insert does not include the song lyrics but does display a black-and-white photo of Malmsteen posed with his guitar. The disc is just over 45 minutes. Marching Out is a good piece of work.