For the last couple of months, we've had our devil's horns at the ready for Parabellum, the "extreme" new album from neoclassical shred god Yngwie Malmsteen.
Having promised that he'd play "faster than ever" on the album a few months ago, Malmsteen has lived up to his word with the album's first two singles, the title track and the very aptly titled Relentless Fury.
Malmsteen still seems to be keeping his promise with the album's just-released third single, (Si Vis Pacem) Parabellum, too.
Latin for 'if you want peace, prepare for war,' the instrumental is a six-minute feast of speed, with light-speed palm-muted chugging, dramatic six-string harmonies, and how-does-he-do-it feats of picking skill. In others words? Classic Yngwie.
"(Si Vis Pacem) Parabellum is a piece of great difficulty," Malmsteen writes in the video's caption. "Starting in B harmonic minor, it transposes to D natural major and then into F# Phrygian. It is a natural flow within the chord progression of relative keys and modes.
"It was very challenging and exciting to perform this piece and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do."
Parabellum is set for a July 23 release via Music Theories Recordings / Mascot Label Group.
You can check out the album's cover art and track list below, and preorder it here.
Yngwie Malmsteen – Parabellum:
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
“It’s been an incredibly intense year – even my closest friends didn’t know what we were doing. I can’t believe we were able to keep it a secret”: Brad Delson on Linkin Park’s miraculous comeback, why he quit touring, and how he trained his replacement
“He showed me the Rickenbacker he used with the Beatles at Shea Stadium. It still had the song list taped to the side”: Released weeks before his murder, John Lennon’s final album paired him with some of the era’s finest session guitarists
