Fire & Ice [Import]

Yngwie Malmsteen | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 14, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Elektra Records
• ASIN: B0000071UJ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #34,577 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #12 in Music > Rock > Rock Guitarists > Shred

Editorial Reviews

The heavy metal guitar virtuoso's 1992 album, originally issued on Elektra/Asylum, features 14 tracks. Warner.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great album!, February 1, 2000

By 

"krakatau" (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fire & Ice (Audio CD)

Man, this CD is great. Yngwie really went for songwriting on this album. Perpetual is a great instrumental. I'm getting used to Dragonfly and Teaser, but they're still pretty good. How Many Miles to Babylon gets better with each listen. Cry No More was a bit different than what I was expecting, it's a bit more bluesy, but great nonetheless. Every time No Mercy comes on, I find myself cranking up the volume. That Bach interlude is perfect. C'est La Vie is a classic. Leviathan features one of the most beautiful intros I've ever heard, and when the drums kick in it's just awesome. Fire and Ice is a great title track, I always sing along when I can. Forever is a Long Time is a song that kind of reminds me of the title track off Magnum Opus. It's and incredible song, especially with the violin interlude. I'm My Own Enemy is kind of a sad, beautiful song that I could listen to over and over. All I Want is Everything is pretty good, but not as good as some of the other songs on here. Golden Dawn is a great acoustic ditty, not very long song, though. Final Curtain is probably one of my favorite songs ever--it's perfect. The bonus track is the one that I was expecting just to be kind of "there", but how wrong I was. Broken Glass is great--I feel fortunate to have this song. Very rare album. Another big highlight is the lyrics--they're very personal and emotional. I can relate to the themes. Whereas some of his other albums are more of the fire and demons and dragons theme, this is really his lyrical peak as far as I'm concerned. All in all, an awesome album, worth every penny.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Great "Lost" Yngwie Album, November 27, 2000

By 

Ursin J. DeRoche III (Baton Rouge, LA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fire & Ice (Audio CD)

To say that Yngwie had mastered the guitar would be a big understatement. But by 1992, the man who had single handedly re-invented the instrument was under severe fire from most U.S fans and critics who were referring to Yngwie as a "sellout" for making an attempt at commercial accessability or as an artist whose creative juices were all dried up. Nevertheless, it was time for Yngwie to right the ship and conjure up another testament to his guitar heroics. The slumping sales of ECLIPSE caused Yngwie to leave Polydor/Polygram, his label since his first solo outing, and strike up a deal with the record giant Elektra. That Elektra saw any purpose in this is beyond me because it was obvious from all the media venom that Yngwie was on a one way street (in the U.S anyway) to the "out of print" file. Ultimately, that was this albums fate. Which is truly a shame, because the same ECLIPSE line-up was back sans Michael Von Knorring (who only plays on one track). He was replaced by the talented Bo Werner on drums. With the 1992 release of FIRE AND ICE on Elektra records, Yngwie would push his music further classically than he had since RISING FORCE and had crafted a true epic that should have fared better. Not much different from other outings (except for minor production twists and a heavily processed guitar tone) FIRE AND ICE boasts a plethora of great tracks and great instrumentals like the opening "Perpetual", the bluesy "Dragonfly", the radio ready "Teaser", the crafty "Cry No More", the sitar laden "C'est La Vie", the beautiful ballad "I'm My Own Enemy", another blues rocker "All I Want Is Everything" and the tranquil "Golden Dawn". The epic piece "How Many Miles To Babylon" is also a true gem. Yngwie also acquired the duties of a small string section for the great and hard rocking "No Mercy" and "Forever Is A Long Time", both high points for the album and for Yngwie. The title track "Fire And Ice" is another great song featuring a wild arpeggio intro and the concluding "Final Curtain" is really odd seeing as this album did mark the end for Yngwie's stateside career. But the ultimate track here is the instrumental "Leviathan". Harkening back to the classic instrumentals of his early days, "Levithan" is a non stop juggernaut of guitar mastery and makes an apt statement for both Malmsteen and instrumental guitar music which he had helped popularize in the 1980's. Boiling with state of the art guitar playing and an overall epic scope, FIRE AND ICE would be Malmsteen's first and last album on Elektra records. The disc would be out of print just a short time later and still as of 2000 has not seen re-release possibly due to Elektra's stonghold. Later, Malmsteen himself would denounce the album and it's single "Teaser". Folks in Japan were treated to bonus track "Broken Glass" which is a stellar song and should have seen the light of day here. FIRE AND ICE marked the end of one part of Yngwie's career, but another was right around the corner. With the grunge revolution on it's way, Yngwie would soon return to his underground cult status and put forth his best album in almost a decade, THE SEVENTH SIGN

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Malmsteem's masterpiece, September 30, 2000

By 

"moonknight_of_twilight" (somewhere) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fire & Ice (Audio CD)

this is in my opinion the best Malmsteem album of all time,plain and simple. if you don't know why..the guitar intro to the fire and ice track is absolutely impressive and speaks for itself. here Malmsteem demonstrates why he's considered the most virtuous guitar player of today...and then some...not just anyone can play these songs. on this album there is a greater emphasis on the combination of classical and metal music than in the ones that came before it,this is probably one of the most classicaly influenced metal cd's you'll ever hear. there are some brilliant orchestral parts with guitar solos that can blow your mind yet as always it mantains a very melodic and elaborated feel,all around sublime. this is simply a perfect expression of musical virtuosity,its defenitely among my top 10 favorite cd's. I wish he'd release another masterpiece like this,..but it would be a very dificult task to surpass the excelence of this majestic opus. It is absolutely imperative to have this cd in your collection