YNGWIE MALMSTEEN's 'Perpetual Flame' Getting Dimmer?

"Perpetual Flame", the new album from the legendary Swedish guitarist YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, sold around 2,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Short audio samples of all 12 tracks that appear on "Perpetual Flame" can be found on the 7digital.com web site.

The cover artwork for "Perpetual Flame" can be viewed below. Released on October 14, the CD is the first-ever Yngwie effort to be issued via Rising Force Records (distributed via Koch) and it marks the debut of Malmsteen's new singer, ex-JUDAS PRIEST/ICED EARTH frontman Tim "Ripper" Owens.

Featuring twelve tracks of "pure six-string metallic bliss" (which stretches to almost 70 minutes total),the album was produced and engineered by Yngwie himself, and mixed by Roy Z (who has previously worked with JUDAS PRIEST and BRUCE DICKINSON, among others). Joining Yngwie and Ripper on the album are keyboardist Derek Sherinian and drummer Patrick Johansson (Yngwie contributed bass, additional keyboards, and vocals, as well),but on tour, Michael Troy is supplying keyboards, and Bjorn Englen is laying down the bass.

In a recent interview with FuryRocks, Yngwie was asked about the inspiration for the new CD. "The music takes me on the ride and I follow it," he replied. "I just go with it. It may sound bizarre and I have no explanation for it. The lyrics are a different story. I really have to work on them. It's a story in time and rhythm which is challenging. I like to write stuff that is symbolic and has more than one meaning. I got some inspiration for this CD from a book by Clive Barker called 'Damnation Game'. I typically don't like to write songs like 'C'mon, girl, let's get it on.' In the past, when I was with singers that wrote like that, I came away really regretting it. I'm not saying that their style was bad; it just didn't work for me. I would love to let someone handle all the work and write the lyrics, but at the end of the day you have to be satisfied with the work you put out."

When asked if he had any favorite tracks on the new CD, Yngwie replied, "I can't say. They are all like my children and I just can't pick a favorite. It's funny, every time I hear one of the songs start to play, I say I love it. They have different vibes but it all works on the CD. They all flow together to form a cohesive collection. For example, 'Red Devil' is a fun song, but 'Priest of the Unholy' is a dark and heavy song. When we finished mixing it, I went out on the road in Europe for two months. I hadn't listened to it during that time and when I came back, with a fresh set of ears, it was very rewarding to hear how great it sounds."

Yngwie Malmsteen was inducted into Hollywood's RockWalk on October 13 in front of the Guitar Center at 7425 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California.