Review and Photography : Stephen Brophy for MPM
Twenty years on from his last show in Dublin, the legendary Guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen makes his long overdue return to the City and a sold out Button Factory feels like it just can’t wait to get reacquainted.
French 3 piece Spirt War are tonight’s opening band, and it must have been a very welcome sight for the guys to see a very busy venue in front of them.
They set about repaying that faith, powering through their set and not wasting any time, when you are opening you don’t have that long to grab the crowds attention, and they certainly manage to do that. Musically they are classic rock/metal, with a mix of old and new sounds in there, something reminds me of Accept or Krokus, but really enjoyable.
There is a very genuine appreciation on the bands faces both during and on completion of the set and they are interacting with people throughout. This is how you make a name for yourself, really good powerful music with a smile on your face playing it, I will look forward to seeing these guys again, fingers crossed.
After a brief break the next band up are ANDRY from Greece, there is definitely something Greek even about the look of the band, and with the name taken from the bands vocalist, Andry Lagiou. This five piece, I think, could cover pretty much any genre or style.
A really tight and energetic back with a very powerful and interesting singer is a great combination. Andry herself arrived out on stage with a horned headpiece that sparkled off the lights. Musically I think they are a modern metal sound with elements of power metal, but they can also definitely go heavier with the music if they were to decide to, the guitarist was another standout.
They may well build up a following over here having supported Dave Ellefson’s Kings Of Thrash late last year and making welcome returns like this can only help.
The band absolutely smash through a terrific cover or Deep Purple’s “Burn”, with the noise and excitement around the venue significantly picking up. A very good band that are trying to carve their own way among a plethora of bands and with their sound and the vocal range of their singer this is definitely a band I will look out for and check out on any lineup.
When their set does finish it feels a little abrupt, too early, which is great, always leave a crowd wanting more and they also got a terrific reaction from the crowd.
Onto the reason everyone is really here tonight, the man himself Mr Yngwie Malmsteen, celebrating 40 years as a solo artist, wow can that be right, how time moves along so quickly. With any artist that has been around for a long time and hasn’t played a show in your country in so long there will of course be people wondering if they still have that magic, for a guitar hero like Yngwie I guess the question is has he been able to main flexibility in those magic fingers, that question is rendered irrelevant within the first couple of minutes of the set, and continues to be throughout. Instrument wise it’s a rack of his own signature Fender Stratocastor’s, which sound great.
The set itself follows a flow, moving between songs and solos. There are certainly no significant gaps or mess ups as the set runs it’s course and he’s backed by a more than able band while he shares vocal duties with Keyboard player/ Vocalist Nick Marino and that also works really well. The content is just awesome, the songs are from right across his career with a smattering of Solo’s alongside a cover of “Smoke On The Water” which also provides a little variation in proceedings.
There is the rock & metal, the neoclassical some blues rock and a little bit more, who says you can’t have everything. Yngwie’s vocals are that bit deeper but he sounds really good. From beginning to end he is full of energy, moving or dancing around the stage, using kicks and flicks to deliver a never ending stream of plectrums to the crowd, swinging guitars around his body and playing behind his head, he’s lost none of his flair, none of the showmanship and the fans are loving ever minute of it.
The audience for a show like this is always going to be a little different, there will be a larger percentage of Guitar players in attendance, looking around during the set it’s impressive to see just have invested the audience are his playing, following every note, this does not mean that there isn’t crowd involvement. I certainly was not alone in singing the classic “You Don’t Remember, I’ll Never Forget” from the Trilogy album.
The man has always been a big of an enigma, but in 2025 Yngwie looks fit and healthy, seems to be enjoying what he’s doing, he’s playing brilliantly and appears to have worked out exactly what he needs to add up to a terrific show for his fans.
For the last few songs I tried to move around the venue to just make sure that the atmosphere was the same everywhere, and it was, wasn’t easy to move around as the place was so packed, front to back upstairs and down, it was great to see. Had he played longer people would have still stood in awe, but after a 2 song encore including some beautiful acoustic playing, it’s all over. My eyes can now relax from concentrating on the fret board speed show, but it will also live long in the memory.
What a great night, everyone that hits the stage put’s in 100% and it shows, the music is mesmerising, the solos rock and fall, meandering across the skies and if you are a fan of guitar playing this has been something we have missed in Dublin for far too long, with a bit of luck it will not be 20 more years before he makes a return to see us.
I’m certainly no guitar expert, but when you are in the presence of someone this good you recognise it, it wasn’t boring in anyway, it was a joy to be a part of.
Yngwie Malmsteen Setlist –
Toccata
Fire & Ice
Evil Eye
Smoke On The Water
Trilogy – Vengeance
Guitar Solo (1000 cuts) – Overture
Magic City
Fugue – Guitar Solo 2
Drum Solo
You Don’t Remember, I’ll Never Forget
Encore –
Black Star
I’ll See The Light Tonight
