Yngwie Malsteen Tour Kicks Off Tonight

He can play guitar better than you, and admit it, if you played as good as Yngwie played, you'd wear frilly pirate shirts and show off all the time too.

And two dates in the Chicagoland area!

Got Yngwie...If you can afford the ticket prices.

Jesus.

Finally, judging by all of the sequential dates that Mr. Malsteen appears to be doing, he will be going through a lot of boxed wine.

From the inbox:

(New York, NY) - The king of neo-classical shred guitar, legendary guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen, will soon return to stages across North America for a headlining tour in support of his new album Spellbound.

Spellbound was released in December, 2012. The trek will kick off in Cleveland, OH at the House Of Blues on Wednesday, April 24th and will feature an eclectic mix of classic tracks, as well as new material from Spellbound and his previous studio album, Relentless. Please see below for the itinerary, more dates to be announced.

In other news, Malmsteen will soon add another achievement to his already impressive career: his first-ever book, the official autobiography Relentless: A Memoir. Written by Malmsteen himself, the book chronicles his journey from humble beginnings in Sweden to contemporary life as one of the world's greatest guitarists. The book will be released on Monday, May 6th via Wiley Publishing and can be pre-ordered here. Of the new book, Malmsteen commented, "I've been very fortunate to have a career with extraordinary highlights. It's been a life-long dream to document these stories. I can't wait for the release of my book so that fans can read my story in my own words." As if a new record, new tour and new book weren't enough to keep the guitar legend busy, Malmsteen is also very proud to introduce www.relentlessshred.com, his brand new guitar tutorial website. At www.relentlesshsred.com fans and players worldwide at every level can log on to learn from the master himself.

For nearly three decades, Grammy-nominated Swedish guitar icon Yngwie Malmsteen has been amazing audiences with dazzling technical speed and ability. Malmsteen's signature style of playing, which combines elements of seemingly disparate styles of music - metal and classical, spawned the now commonplace genres of heavy metal known as "shred guitar" and "neo classical" and earned Malmsteen the title "the Paganini of heavy metal". Malmsteen was the first guitarist to have his own Fender signature guitar model (even before Eric Clapton). He has graced the cover of more than 200 magazines worldwide, has won every guitar award imaginable and to date, has sold millions of records. Time named Malmsteen one of the "Top Ten Greatest Electric Guitar Players", an honor he shared with the likes of Les Paul, Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix. "Guitar Hero" enthusiasts know they have arrived when they are bestowed with the Yngwie Malmsteen award in the Xbox 360 version of "Guitar Hero 2". The award signifies a 1000+ note streak in succession.

Yngwie Malmsteen North American headlining tour:

APRIL
24 Cleveland, OH House Of Blues
25 Detroit, MI St. Andrew's Hall
26 Toronto, ON Phoenix Theatre
27 Hartford, CT Webster Theatre
28 Munhall, PA Carnegie Music Hall
29 Boston, MA The Wilbur Theatre
30 New York, NY Irving Plaza
MAY
3 Memphis, TN Beale Street Festival
4 Chicago, IL House Of Blues
5 St. Charles, IL Arcada Theatre
7 Denver, CO Summit Music Hall
9 Anaheim, CA House Of Blues
10 West Hollywood, CA House Of Blues
11 Fresno, CA Tower Theatre
12 Ventura, CA Majestic Venture Theatre
13 San Francisco, CA The Regency Ballroom
14 San Diego, CA House Of Blues
16 Dallas, TX Granada Theater
17 San Antonio, TX Backstage Live - Out Doors
18 Houston, TX Outdoors Houston Guitar Festival