2006: Strings

Hmm. Well, the boss wants a story and so here we go. I’ve never met this person; he is just some name floating out there in the Internet-ional ethos, some disembodied Russian who loves music and digs guitar players and wants to share that with the world. I like him for that, the notion of sharing something you care about. And he cares enough about what he cares about to do it right, to track down musicians and pick their brains and see what they’re thinking. And he wants to know what his writers are thinking and hence this little essay.

This is a year-end lookback, a retrospective, of 2006 and what it offered and what it didn’t. What resonated and what went thump, the worthwhile, the dull, the soporific, the super terrific, and everything in-between. Specifically this is supposed to be about “metal/guitar virtuosos,” but we’ll have to stray some and cover additional ground in order to try and put this whole picture in focus.

Before we really dive in here, maybe it might help to tell you a little about what I’ve done and why anyone would ask me to write about guitar players. And certainly, why anyone would ever want to read what I have to say about guitar players. For over thirty years, I’ve been talking to guitar players and writing about them and the magic some of them create – and some of them don’t.

I play guitar – not nearly as well as any of the people I write about – but adequately enough to lay down parts on demos of songs I’ve written. I am a songwriter and have had several things cut by various artists: Sic Vikki; Cold Sweat; Alcatrazz; Autograph. Not exactly Aerosmith and U2 but good bands who, in their day, sold a few records. I’ve done a little bit of work for television and films; Apple licensed a piece of music I co-wrote.

I’ve been interviewing musicians for over thirty years, digging into their brains in order to excavate the six-string secrets they possess. My work has appeared in all the major guitar periodicals: Guitar Player, Guitar World, Guitar For the Practicing Musician, Guitar One, Guitarist, Total Guitar, Player (Japan) and dozens of others. I’ve listened to their stories and watched them rehearse and record and play live and play while drunk and stoned and happy and miserable. And …

So what? you demand. Well, all of this has allowed me to develop an ear tuned to discern the musical machinations of the modern/classic guitar player. I can tell – not always unfailingly but more times than not – within two minutes of someone picking up his instrument and running through some perfunctory strums whether he/she:

Has a well-developed finger vibrato or just some aimless digital wiggling.

Possesses a defined sense of rhythm or scrambles about trying to keep time.

Understands how tone and technique is inextricably married or merely uses overdrive/distortion/gadget gimmickry to mask a feeble style.

Is capable of balancing technique with style and doesn’t use an abundance of the former to mask the non-existence of the latter (guitarists with true vision understand – in some ingrained/unspoken way – that playing is more about form [what you play] than function [how you play it]).

Those are my credentials and what I bring to bear when I talk to a guitar player. I know who they are and how they think; I know what they want to say and reveal about themselves; I can tell when they’re being honest or transparent. That being said, of the 30 or so musicians I’ve conversed with this year, virtually across the board every one of them had a deep and profound passion for what they were doing. They were eloquent in that special way that only a guitar player can be, describing this subconscious thing they do that cannot really be verbalized and attempting to reify this rare act of creation. GuitarSpeak. Each individual had a sweeping realization of what he/she did, talking at length about arriving at guitar sounds and how the instrument acts as a compositional tool. I was mightily impressed.

I have extraordinarily high standards and for good or bad, I can only judge the new metal player by what moves me. What moves me is that breathless exchange between finger and fret, the seamless merging of heart and head in producing a sound that astonishes you, awes you, kicks you in the face, numbs you, bleeds you. Makes you want to hear it again so that it can astonish you, awe you …

For me, those magicians hailed from a long-gone era thirty or forty years ago. In rock terms, an eon. Were they different than players today? I don’t know. Certainly they were filled with the same devotion to the instrument, wanting to build something new, write the ultimate riff, unleash a crushing solo. Each one was so unique and essential in his way. Maybe it had to do with the stratospheric level of songwriting. The guitarmanship was astonishing but set inside a wondrous harmonic foundation resonating with the voice boxes of angels, the instrument approached, well, perfection. Immortality.

Paul Kossoff. Robin Trower. Beck/Page/Clapton (nothing after Blind Faith). Ritchie Blackmore. Jimi. Randy California.

Edward Van Halen. Eric Johnson.

There are too many names to mention but you understand. These are the people who make me feel, bring me joy, make me cry. These are my heroes. My notion of heavy is Robin Trower bashing out the lick to “Broken Barricades,” Paul Kossoff strumming the chords to the live version of “Fire and Water,” or Jeff Beck, playing, well, anything.

Metal/heavy is not a super-saturated guitar sound, a Marshall tweaked with hi-performance mods, guitars de-tuned, 7-strings, and double bass drums. Certainly these are the craftsman’s tools and some of this year’s metal crop wielded them with force and imagination and purpose.

Stephen Carpenter’s playing on The Deftones’ Saturday Night Wrist was inventive, clean, and understated. Yes, he plays 7-string ESP guitars and Marshalls, but he doesn’t slap you in the face with it. He truly seems to understand what a guitar needs to do in a contemporary metal band. And he does it. Bob Ezrin produced this and though Carpenter was less than pleased with his work, the producer has been involved in a litany of amazing albums by Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, and Alice Cooper. He brought to this alternative metal band classic values: melodic vocals and tight arrangements.

Lacuna Coil twisted the metal in such a way as to weld progressive to powerful. Guitarist Cristian Migliore presents a dark and dramatic figure on the Italian goth metal group’s latest Karmacode record. In our conversation he brought up bands like Pink Floyd, Dire Straits and Procol Harum as personal influences.

On the outer edges of metal were outfits like Primal Scream, Jet, Built To Spill, Reel Big Fish, Secret Machines, Eagles Of Death Metal and Wolfmother piecing together elements of blues rock, glam, funky rhythm stuff, the Stones, the Beatles, Zeppelin, Purple and a whole lot of classic rock.

On the inside were warhorses like Lamb Of God, Trivium (edging away from the screamo into more mainstream-sounding vocal styles), Avenged Sevenfold, DragonForce, and Children of Bodom. Every one of the bands sports a guitarist (or two) with ungodly technique, right hands capable of picking lightning fast rhythmic figures with down strokes only. Performed flawlessly and in time. Truly, remarkable feats. The solos here are as fast as anything ever recorded on record, faster than Alvin Lee (who at one time was the arbiter of all things speedy with his live Woodstock version of “Goin’ Home”), John McLaughlin, or Yngwie. Ridiculously fast. So fast they don’t even sound like guitars.

I could never play this fast, not in a million lifetimes. Would I like to be able to play this fast? Sure. Would I trade all the speed for Clapton’s marvelous touch on “Strange Brew?” That’s not even a choice.

What we’re really talking about is what makes up an effective solo? Nick Hornby, in his book of essays titled Songbook defined it this way: “…the ones that somehow show that the soloist has felt the song, words, music, and all, felt the song and understood its very being, so that the solo becomes not only an imaginative reinterpretation of it, but also a contribution to and articulation of its meaning and its essence.”

A solo should be able to stand alone, outside of the song, and still have meaning and impact. Maybe that’s part of what leaves me cold with a lot of today’s players – the solos seem arbitrary, unimportant pieces of a song that, left unplayed, would not affect the song in any way. Could you eliminate any of the solo sections from Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower” without disturbing the essential pulse of the song? Impossible. What about removing Paul Kossoff’s moving section in “All Right Now?” The track would be ruined. David Gilmour’s passage on “Money?” You may as well omit the track from the album.

In the end, there is no rationale about why you like or dislike a song. There are a lot of factors: radio; your friends listen it; it’s cool music to get stoned by. I’ve tried to tell you some of the reasons I like guitar players and what I don’t like about guitar players. When I hear a guitar player, I don’t want to think, “Wow, the dude has a fast right hand and can pick 128th notes like some crazed mouth on meth scurrying about the fretboard” I want to hear … the guitar player. I don’t want to think. I want to feel the blood in his veins pulsating through his body, engorging the capillaries in his hand (or whatever those stringy, blood-carrying vessels are), and whipping the hell out of his guitar. I want to be transported to a different place and I want to fly on the wings of the song and I want the vocal to make me crazy. That’s all I ask for. There are players out there capable of making the leap, of becoming the next modern day metal Moses. Someone to lead us out of this wasteland of pervasive sameness and sonic ennui.

If Edward Van Halen was the last one to bring us out of the desert (and I think he was), isn’t it time for a new musical Messiah to arrive? Maybe he’s already here, tuning up, plugging in, and ready to face – YOU. Because that’s where guitar heroes come from, from you and me loving what they do and buying their records and writing about them and being champions for them and believing in them and defending them. A lot of you lambasted, ridiculed, insulted, mildly threatened, and questioned my intelligence regarding various comments I may have made over the past year about your particular favorite. Whipped me like a mongrel dog. I say, “God Bless You.” You should love your heroes, idolize them, revere them, protect them. They are the most extraordinary people on the planet and they mean more to me than words. Some of the greatest moments of my life are linked to being around these people. If I don’t like what you like, it doesn’t matter. Hopefully, I’ve been able to explain why but ultimately, you’re going to listen to what you listen to and that’s a good thing.

Go crank Sacrament to ten, holler ‘til you’re hoarse, and scream along with “Walk With Me In Hell” and be reborn with “Again We Rise.” Trip out with Billy Talent II and try and keep up with Inhuman Rampage. In a slow moment, however, for a different kind of heavy, maybe you could check out a Free album or an early Jeff Beck record. Hendrix or the Yardbirds; Traffic, Procol Harum; Spirit, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Love. And maybe, just maybe, we can meet somewhere in the middle, some band, some guitar player providing the bridge from here to there, from me to you. And we can all go home …

Steven Rosen @ 2006. For Ultimate-Guitar Holiday Edition

POSTED: 12/23/2006 - 04:29 am

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Comments

[trainwreck666]

thts not a valid comment tho lol its been a good year for metal and this is a good round up

[kikoff101]

wow!! that was great!!

[charvel_man]

that was awesome

[Cardboard]

You definatly need to write more of these. WE LOVE YOU FFS !!!!!

[shugo449]

coolness

[sp0ckr0cks]

dude...that was cool

[ShazbotBen]

loved it. \m/

[kingjiyoon]

o.o interesting

[gus_metal_88]

Super kool dudes but one thing, after the marvelous work of the legendary EDV there were 2 more messiah:
KIRK HAMMETT
DIMEBAG DARRELL

dont u think?

[Leeviva]

the list is lacking a Tony Iommi.

[Devon_555]

That was a freakin awsome article. And no offence gus_metal_88, kirk hammett was an amazing guitar player in a 100000 ways, but the solo's never had an emotional depth that clapton, beck and the others had, thats why he didnt mention him the list.

[no mercy]

gus_metal_88 has it right, but what about Zakk Wylde? What about Dave Mustaine? How about the Armott Bros. from Arch Enemy?

[BulletCrazy]

I dig that.....

[BulletCrazy]

no mercy wrote:

gus_metal_88 has it right, but what about Zakk Wylde? What about Dave Mustaine? How about the Armott Bros. from Arch Enemy?

Eggzaktlee (exactly)!

Checked.

[S2S]

It really makes me feel good to see Stephen Carpenter get some appreciation for his his playing. Awesome article.

[classicrocker10]

good article, kinda repetitive but still really good writer. he had a lot of imagery to his writing i dig it. sounds like a pretty cool guy, really knows his stuff.

[Tyler17]

synyster rules...

[LCount]

gus_metal_88 wrote:

Super kool dudes but one thing, after the marvelous work of the legendary EDV there were 2 more messiah:
KIRK HAMMETT
DIMEBAG DARRELL

dont u think?

no mercy wrote:

gus_metal_88 has it right, but what about Zakk Wylde? What about Dave Mustaine? How about the Armott Bros. from Arch Enemy?

Although I love all the above mentioned players, you guy's have to see that EVH is only considered so amazing because he brought a different kind of guitar playing to the scene at the time. Hammet and Dimebag, Zach and the Ammots are all amazingly great players and they may have put thier own special touch on the current, but they really havent brought us to anywhere new like Van Halen did at the time. And I really don't mean to rag on them, I'm a huge fan of them all.

[Havenspear]

I think it's cool you mentioned groups like Built to Spill alongside Lamb of God, haha. Built to Spill does have some pretty damn good solos. Listen to the song "Unconventional Wisdom" (Not the three minute radio version, the original eight minute one.) Pretty good list though, I agree with most of this.

[Orneblad]

THIS IS GREAT! Page, Hendrix, Kossoff, Clapton etc is the best, according to me. Really liked the text

[mercurymay]

synyster is mediocre. he wouldn't be where he is without his distortion pedal which allows him to hammeron about 200000 notes without picking. cut his right hand off and he'd sound the same. zacky on the other hand... now he's a guitarist. but synyster is a real rockstar so kudos to him :P

[Td_Nights]

no mercy wrote:

gus_metal_88 has it right, but what about Zakk Wylde? What about Dave Mustaine? How about the Armott Bros. from Arch Enemy?

Chris isn't in Arch Enemy anymore,Fredrik Akesson took his place.Chris is a great guitarist,though.

[iammetal]

stef is the man.

[AintMyBitch]

Devon_555 wrote:

That was a freakin awsome article. And no offence gus_metal_88, kirk hammett was an amazing guitar player in a 100000 ways, but the solo's never had an emotional depth that clapton, beck and the others had, thats why he didnt mention him the list.

Sure! I mean, there's no feeling AT ALL in the "intro solo's" to Fade to Black, One or maybe Nothing else matters.

But this is where most people think, "yeah but those are all slow songs"..well, if you haven't felt the insanity in the solos from "Whiplash", "Battery" or "The thing that should not be" (etc.) you haven't realized the (to me) godlyness of Kirk Hammett.

I NOT FLAMING ANYONE!

[gus_metal_88]

Sure! I mean, there's no feeling AT ALL in the "intro solo's" to Fade to Black, One or maybe Nothing else matters.

But this is where most people think, "yeah but those are all slow songs"..well, if you haven't felt the insanity in the solos from "Whiplash", "Battery" or "The thing that should not be" (etc.) you haven't realized the (to me) godlyness of Kirk Hammett.

I NOT FLAMING ANYONE!

This dude is so right!!! Finally i found some1 who agrees with me that Kirk is an exceptoinal player and my Hero

[dann_blood]

To me this is a bunch of filler... we all know how great metal is, why wasnt this like the other rock article? Dont talk about the great guitarists (although their wonderful), talk about the great bands of this year who made you feel something, who did insanely well!

[dave_slash]

AintMyBitch wrote:

Devon_555 wrote:

That was a freakin awsome article. And no offence gus_metal_88, kirk hammett was an amazing guitar player in a 100000 ways, but the solo's never had an emotional depth that clapton, beck and the others had, thats why he didnt mention him the list.

Sure! I mean, there's no feeling AT ALL in the "intro solo's" to Fade to Black, One or maybe Nothing else matters.

But this is where most people think, "yeah but those are all slow songs"..well, if you haven't felt the insanity in the solos from "Whiplash", "Battery" or "The thing that should not be" (etc.) you haven't realized the (to me) godlyness of Kirk Hammett.

I NOT FLAMING ANYONE!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Doesn't the Black album dvd show that James, not Kirk, wrote/played the solo for Nothing Else Matters? I may be wrong, perhaps that's just live. Great article though, incredibly insightful

[skindred]

Devon_555 wrote:

That was a freakin awsome article. And no offence gus_metal_88, kirk hammett was an amazing guitar player in a 100000 ways, but the solo's never had an emotional depth that clapton, beck and the others had, thats why he didnt mention him the list.

yeah but dude, dimebag.

[outlaw metaler]

this artcle barley mentions metal where the hel is christs illousion or shot to hell

[italyjerry]

This is one of the greatest articles I've ever read. Everything is completely true.

But to answer the question of who is bringing us out of the dark ages, its John Frusciate of the red hot chili peppers. Listen to Stadium Arcadium a few times and tell me he isnt a complete god.

[fluffylump2]

EVH is mentioned because he created a genre of guitar playing. While all the greats - Dime, Zakk Wylde, the Amott brothers, Tony Iommi, etc. - didn't really do the same. They are incredible, and I love them all, but they did not create a style of guitar that has lasted over almost thirty years.

[kurtmb]

I am the only one who did not like this. I don't give a flying **** about who wrote the article, who WAS a good guitaist and what this guy thinks. Its supposed to be a ****ing review of metal music this year. Very misleading article, I was expecting something more along the line of the rock year in review article.

[jerock21]

that was very well written. I enjoyed that a lot.

[MelbaToast]

Your writing style is fantastic, keep it up.

[dr . disturbed]

pretty good. bt wat about Mick Thomson

[powerage225]

ok, not trying to bitch about what the article is saying, but basically its a long article about 'feel over speed'. waste of my time.
I've heard this a million times and everytime I hear it, the writer/speaker thinks its so profound, but its just as redundant as the mindless solos that the argument is speaking of.

[AintMyBitch]

dave_slash wrote:

AintMyBitch wrote:

Devon_555 wrote:

That was a freakin awsome article. And no offence gus_metal_88, kirk hammett was an amazing guitar player in a 100000 ways, but the solo's never had an emotional depth that clapton, beck and the others had, thats why he didnt mention him the list.

Sure! I mean, there's no feeling AT ALL in the "intro solo's" to Fade to Black, One or maybe Nothing else matters.

But this is where most people think, "yeah but those are all slow songs"..well, if you haven't felt the insanity in the solos from "Whiplash", "Battery" or "The thing that should not be" (etc.) you haven't realized the (to me) godlyness of Kirk Hammett.

I NOT FLAMING ANYONE!


Correct me if I'm wrong, but Doesn't the Black album dvd show that James, not Kirk, wrote/played the solo for Nothing Else Matters? I may be wrong, perhaps that's just live. Great article though, incredibly insightful

Yep you are right, I was a little pissed off when I had red stuff about Kirk's solo not having any emotional depth. My fault.

[Riffmast]

Interesting how he only mentioned about three metal bands in this article, and about 15 no metal bands. For **** sakes.

[halo00zero]

i am not a huge metal fan, and only read this to see if adam jones {tool} was mentioned. but this was an AMAZING article. very well written, and it made a topic i am not super-interested in {compared to my other music fanatacisms} absolutely fascinating. i give it a 10.9

[EatsP1es]

great article. kudos.

[Metal_Injection]

shocking, uve left out sooooo many underated shredders that literally would "shred" some of the so called shredders u listed!
wheres
Joe Satriani
Steve Vai
Paul Gilbert
Luca Turilli
Gus G
John Petrucci
Zak Wylde
Dimebag
Kiko Louriero
Dave Mustaine
Kai Hansen?

uve left out so many absolutely talented people and stayed in with mainstream trash!! Lacuna Coil?? goth metal? huh? wtf these bands (cept CoB and DF) have done nothing to progresse metal to any extent at all!!
shocking, I give it a -10 because the author has just jackedoff everyone elses opinion and not applied his own.

[Metal_Injection]

Wolf Bitch and Avenged gayfold arent even metal,
but then i guess in ur opinion anything with distortion has gotta be metal!

[AudioHawk]

this is the most stupid article ive read on this site. I came here to see a metal roundup of the year. For example:

Best metal albums of 06
Best players of 06
Best metal live act 06
Metal guitarists/bands to look out for in 07

etc...

but no. I get here to see nothing more than some guy winging about how "he" doesn't believe metal players have any "feeling" anymore. Fair enough, thats your own opinion. But a ****ing roundup of the year isn't supposed to be an opinion piece.

and the points you did raise were just vague and filled with crap about "metal of old". Nobody came here to read an essay comparing "your favourites" to the acts of today. And your knowlege of current acts seems very lacking, with only pretty mainstream names being mentioned, and even then only briefly.

poor article. and extremely irrelevant

[someguy1]

that article was alright but u left out a lot of the true gods of the axe
kirk hammet
Joe Satriani
Steve Vai
Paul Gilbert
John Petrucci
Zak Wylde
Dimebag
Dave Mustaine
james hetfeild (gotta give the the sick rythimists some respect)
slash
john freschiante

[someguy1]

^^
and theres shit loads more im glad clapton, paige and eddy van halen got mentions though

[myguitarskucks1]

AudioHawk wrote:

this is the most stupid article ive read on this site. I came here to see a metal roundup of the year. For example:

i agree

Best metal albums of 06
Best players of 06
Best metal live act 06
Metal guitarists/bands to look out for in 07

etc...

but no. I get here to see nothing more than some guy winging about how "he" doesn't believe metal players have any "feeling" anymore. Fair enough, thats your own opinion. But a ****ing roundup of the year isn't supposed to be an opinion piece.

and the points you did raise were just vague and filled with crap about "metal of old". Nobody came here to read an essay comparing "your favourites" to the acts of today. And your knowlege of current acts seems very lacking, with only pretty mainstream names being mentioned, and even then only briefly.

poor article. and extremely irrelevant

[myguitarskucks1]

oops it didnt show that i put i agree(my first post right above this

[DaddyTwoFoot]

What was the point of this article? All it is is "the classics play better than the new guys," and we honestly don't need any more people with that attitude on this site.

[kurtmb]

AudioHawk wrote:

this is the most stupid article ive read on this site. I came here to see a metal roundup of the year. For example:

Best metal albums of 06
Best players of 06
Best metal live act 06
Metal guitarists/bands to look out for in 07

etc...

but no. I get here to see nothing more than some guy winging about how "he" doesn't believe metal players have any "feeling" anymore. Fair enough, thats your own opinion. But a ****ing roundup of the year isn't supposed to be an opinion piece.

and the points you did raise were just vague and filled with crap about "metal of old". Nobody came here to read an essay comparing "your favourites" to the acts of today. And your knowlege of current acts seems very lacking, with only pretty mainstream names being mentioned, and even then only briefly.

poor article. and extremely irrelevant

Precisely, thats exactly what I thought, terrible article.

[Snakexe]

That was the most pretentious article I've read for ages, and like people have said before, vastly irrelevant as a roundup of 2006.

[dave_slash]

AintMyBitch wrote:

dave_slash wrote:

AintMyBitch wrote:

Devon_555 wrote:

That was a freakin awsome article. And no offence gus_metal_88, kirk hammett was an amazing guitar player in a 100000 ways, but the solo's never had an emotional depth that clapton, beck and the others had, thats why he didnt mention him the list.

Sure! I mean, there's no feeling AT ALL in the "intro solo's" to Fade to Black, One or maybe Nothing else matters.

But this is where most people think, "yeah but those are all slow songs"..well, if you haven't felt the insanity in the solos from "Whiplash", "Battery" or "The thing that should not be" (etc.) you haven't realized the (to me) godlyness of Kirk Hammett.

I NOT FLAMING ANYONE!


Correct me if I'm wrong, but Doesn't the Black album dvd show that James, not Kirk, wrote/played the solo for Nothing Else Matters? I may be wrong, perhaps that's just live. Great article though, incredibly insightful

Yep you are right, I was a little pissed off when I had red stuff about Kirk's solo not having any emotional depth. My fault.

Neh, I reckon you're right, there's emotion in Kirk's playing. He's not a bloody robot. Maybe not as much emotion as SRV or Steve Vai, but it's there

[ShadowsFallFan]

AudioHawk wrote:

this is the most stupid article ive read on this site. I came here to see a metal roundup of the year. For example:

Best metal albums of 06
Best players of 06
Best metal live act 06
Metal guitarists/bands to look out for in 07

etc...

but no. I get here to see nothing more than some guy winging about how "he" doesn't believe metal players have any "feeling" anymore. Fair enough, thats your own opinion. But a ****ing roundup of the year isn't supposed to be an opinion piece.

and the points you did raise were just vague and filled with crap about "metal of old". Nobody came here to read an essay comparing "your favourites" to the acts of today. And your knowlege of current acts seems very lacking, with only pretty mainstream names being mentioned, and even then only briefly.

poor article. and extremely irrelevant

my thoughts exactly, he talked about all the old guys(who i still love) and how the are much better than the guys today, and ALL he talked about was guitar!!i know this is a guitar website but he didnt even talk about any ablums of 2006, he barely even talked about any metal artists. it was a good article, butit pisses me off how i love metal and i want to hear about the metal of 2006, not van halen and all the old guys, its like asking for chocolate and getting carrots. this guy wrote a good article but it is completely irrevelant to the topic he was supposed to write about

[Devon_555]

Lol, in response to AintMYBitch, I never said that kirk hammet didnt have any emotion in his solos, cause i will be the 1st to admit that he does, but i meant the depth and consistancy that clapton and van halen had. This is my opinion tho, i find theres always more emotion in a slightly slower song that the insanity that hammet pulls off (no pun inteanded). But to relate back to the article, it was kinda crappy, i was expecting more out of it, instead of, I like metal, but i like these people better.

[metalman05]

I agree with what other people are saying that this wasn't a good article. He did't even talk about metal that much and when he did he just said the most of the new stuff isn't any good and he only mentioned the more popular mainstream metal and didn't say anything about any of the more underground metal.

Calm down, people.

Checked... err... kinda...

[Metal_Injection]

pooooor effort, this guy knows nothing about metal

[chimairakid]

when did reel big fish or billy tallent involve metal?

[AintMyBitch]

Devon_555 wrote:

Lol, in response to AintMYBitch, I never said that kirk hammet didnt have any emotion in his solos, cause i will be the 1st to admit that he does, but i meant the depth and consistancy that clapton and van halen had. This is my opinion tho, i find theres always more emotion in a slightly slower song that the insanity that hammet pulls off (no pun inteanded).

Okay, well it was the vision I got from reading your comment.. no harm done I hope ?

However, I can see how people can feel the emotional depth in Clapton's playing even though I don't. But, EVH? What?! If someone would have asked me about artists who had solos in their songs just to have solo's like everyone else and to show of, the first one's I'd name would be EVH, most megadeth, and trivium..

[Jawshuwa]

Alright, I love Steve Vai, he's one of my favorite guitarists and in my top ten most inspirational guitarists for me. But, to be honest, some of the "emotion" he displays in his playing does seem a bit...exaggerated. Nothing against him, as he's a musical genius, but sometimes he does seem a little fake...such as the G3 tour with Satriani and Malmsteen.

I too was surprised at Carpenter's mention; everyone thinks that if a seven string guitar is involved, it's automatically bad. Vai plays one, John Petrucci plays one, Corey and Matt of Trivium introduced The Crusade with seven strings on around half of the tracks on the album, and they all sound great. Seriously, if seven is such a lucky number, why does everyone love to hate the seven string guitar ?

I also liked Trivium's mention in the article, aside from the notation of the "mainstream"-esque vocals, even if it wasn't meant to be derogatory. Mainstream isn't bad, so long as you stay true to what you're playing, and Corey and Matt do that amazingly well. I envy their talent.

I also liked that everyone pitched in to give Kirk Hammett and Dimebag Darrel mention. Most say Kirk is an overrated guitarist, and to be honest, I don't think he is; I simply think he's rated...like, in between. The solo to The Thing That Should Not Be is so terrifyingly cool, and the Fade to Black solos (all of them, mind you) are so amazingly emotion-packed. Master of Puppets was of course, a masterpiece, and Hammett even displayed sweep picking in Leper Messiah, adding onto his already credible playing style.

I also liked most of the other mentioned guitarists; Petrucci, Mustaine (not a fan of him, but I'm definitely not going to say that he's a bad guitarist), Zakk Wylde, Joe Satriani, James Hetfield (I agree with the amazing rhythm), Slash, and Hell, I'll throw in Marty Friedman.

R.I.P:
- Randy Rhoads.
- Dimebag Darrel.
- Cliff Burton.

[WiKiD]

i'll tell you this:: as a songwriter/composer i believe solos are overrated. i'd trade the fastest speed and technique in the world for a decent rhythm/lead guitarist.

you're right that being an amazing guitarist is good, but being an amazing musician is better. don't idolize a guitarist for their skills but rather idolize them for their music.

nuff said.

[maximus69er]

i belive that bands such as dragonforce, children of bodom etc or any other melodic metal band are strating a new set of legends. these people take their intruments to a new level of skill and mastery(if thats a word). sure poeple like jimmy hendrics etc are very good at song writing, but the pople of these power and melodic metal bands have made a new standard of guitar. why shouldent these people be a second class of legend to the golden oldies. and if you listen to any dragonforce solo you will here parts of them nearly setting the guitar on fire. and there are parts where the guitarist has focused on creating a melodic and harmonic line toward the music.

i mam not for one second suggesting that the greats are bad but the new legends are not getting enough recognition for the skill that they have playing their instrument.

[eddie/randy_101]

finally some1 who understands music the way i do!!! i hope 1 day steve i will have a band that will not disappoint u!!!

[EET_FUK_BASS]

A Couple Comments:

First: To all the Wylde/Li/Whoever fanboys out there. While fantastic technically, these guys have no idea how to *play* the guitar. Especially Wylde. In listening to BLS I learned three things about Zakk's ability: he knows how to mindlessly shred, pitch harmonic, and play power chords. Great stage presence though. As for Herman Li (Dragonforce), just watch their 'Betcha Can't Play This' (find it on You Tube). I was big fans of them until I watched that, and it just shows how pathetic their playing is. While Jeff Loomis, one of my favorite guitar players, falls into this category (minus the mindless powerchords of BLS), he takes wanking to a whole new level that Li and Wylde dream of.

Second: Like many have mentioned, the article itself was a terrible 'recap' article. ALL the contemporary bands mentioned (with the exception of Lamb of God, Children of Bodom, and Dragonforce) aren't even actual metal bands, but just on the heavy side of hard rock. While some mentioned the need for more 'underground metal' coverage, I'll specify some exact albums/bands that had great releases in 06. Dream Theater's Score was a great DVD that is probably their best live work to date. Evergrey's Monday Morning Apocalypse is a perfect example of great songwriting and solos that really fit in the song. Blind Guardian's A Twist in the Myth, while slightly similar to their old work, had great tracks like 'Fly' and 'This Will Never End'. Nevermore's This Godless Endeavor (or did this come out in 05...I can never remember) was a genious work that contains truly impressive songs in both technicality and songwriting.

^That was just a tiny sample of a what a true recap would've looked like.

[EET_FUK_BASS]

Here's a link on that video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2qY_Rn_qKs

[RIP Dime]

kurtmb wrote:

I am the only one who did not like this. I don't give a flying **** about who wrote the article, who WAS a good guitaist and what this guy thinks. Its supposed to be a ****ing review of metal music this year. Very misleading article, I was expecting something more along the line of the rock year in review article.

Yeah, I thought this was supposed to be something like a metal:year in review. I didn't expect to hear about what guitarists this guy like and doesn't like. He seemed much more like an old fashioned classic rock guy, analyzing this new fangled form of rock, and telling us what kind of guitarists he likes.
In the end, it's a terrible recap article, it named no great new bands, no great bands coming back to life, had nothing about what the metal scene is like nowadays, and doesn't seem like it was written by a metal fan. Seemed more like a classic rock fan speaking his opinions, and trying to explain why his music is superior to modern metal.

[pinkdolphin]

gus_metal_88 wrote:

Super kool dudes but one thing, after the marvelous work of the legendary EDV there were 2 more messiah:
KIRK HAMMETT
DIMEBAG DARRELL

dont u think?

Kirk Hammett? Nucka please. Dime I do agree with tho. However, the real guitar messiah is Steve Vai. Duhh.

[ComeClarity44]

The problem i have with kirk hammet isnt that he has no 'emotion, depth or form' to his solos, its that theyre all in the same scale and relatively sound the same
he plays a few corkers that do fit the feel of the song ie one, sanitarium and fade to black, two of those being ballads, and can play sum excellent solos but too often they sound similair
The problem i had with the article was that as a 'roundup of metal' in 06 it left off Mastodons blood mountain...one of the best metal albums in a long time, even when you put it next to sacrament or as daylight dies (also left off)
And what have avenged sevenfold done in 2006? Got big thats all, played one tour in england, played poorly at download and got played on the radio

[Metal Matt]

This is what happens you get a classic rock fan to write an article about metal...

crap. This guy has no clue what he's talking about.

[i_am_metalhead]

Metal Matt wrote:

This is what happens you get a classic rock fan to write an article about metal...

crap. This guy has no clue what he's talking about.

No, this article is very good. He is simply trying to open up the UG public's mind to the fact that metal/heavy music isnt defined by screaming vocals, ripping guitar solos, and 16th note double bass patterns.

Metal/heavy is defined by the technique and heart involved in the playing and the raw emotion that it makes the listener feel.

Great article!

[Jokyo]

italyjerry wrote:

This is one of the greatest articles I've ever read. Everything is completely true.

But to answer the question of who is bringing us out of the dark ages, its John Frusciate of the red hot chili peppers. Listen to Stadium Arcadium a few times and tell me he isnt a complete god.

Agreed
He puts the emotion in the solo
And he can get pretty crazy live
If you thinks he's a little minimalist bitch check out some videos of him in 89

[EET_FUK_BASS]

You can't just dismiss this article as crap because the writer likes old metal.

Those voicing this sentiment are obviously missing the point. The article isn't a bad opinion article (although it is completely shallow, focusing SOLELY on those bands who broke through to the mainstream MTV/Fuse type crowd). It's a terrible year-in-review article, written by the wrong person. It's not bad that he's a fan of old metal (although that's debatable, seems to me most of his references are classic rockers), it's that a fan of old metal who essentially hates ALL recent metal (the stuff he said he liked is rock, not metal) should not be writing a CONTEMPORARY year-in-review article. It is clear he as little-to-no knowledge about current metal bands if they aren't being played on headbanger's ball (and actually never mentions quite a few who are). Wrong writer for the type of article he was told to write.

Oh, and for those begging for a band that absolutely blew up in 2006: Cellador. An American band playing European-style Power Metal with American lyrics (no fantasy imagery, thank you). Their solos are technical AND melodic, and they're gonna be huge in this year or the next.

Also:

I too would prefer Randy Rhoads, Kirk Hammett, Van Halen and such over these new guitarists whom play scales as fast as they can and call it "shredding". Technique alone doesn't produce great music - it has to be technique combined with raw musical prowess, something that can't be taught, has to be a natural ability.

The fact is, this argument is purely subjective. You forget at the same time Kirk and Randy came on to the scene so did Vai, Satriani (who taught Kirk if I remember right), Yngwie, and (a little later) Petrucci. When THEY were making groundbreaking new music, the people then were saying (in metallica's/thrash metal's case) "the insane speed and odd time signatures distract from the music" and "just cuz they do those things doesn't make them great musicians" and (in the shred guitarists' case) "just cuz they can play a billion notes per second doesn't make it great music. all they have is technique"
Those great guitarists were the next step after their idols Van Halen, Iommi and the like (who were ALSO criticized for their 'sacrifice' of musicality for technicality. These contemporary guitarists are merely the next step, pushing boundaries established by THEIR idols: Kirk, Dime and the like and getting criticized for it in much the same way.

As for

But to answer the question of who is bringing us out of the dark ages

Wishing for some sort of 'guitar messiah' to herald the return of the good old days in your nostalgia clouded memory is a wish that will never be fulfilled. If a guitarist came along with an identical playing style to one of the 'gods', you all would invariably criticize him for ripping them off. ON THE OTHER HAND, if someone came along who was groundbreaking yet very musical, you'd criticize them for being progressive, like many of the new guitarists you criticize today. My two cents? You're not looking hard enough. You only ever heard Van Halen because he managed to get some radio time. Now you listen to the bands on the radio and then whine because the bands on the radio nowadays suck. I agree. Steal/Download/Buy/Sell Yourself For the John Petrucci solo CD, or any Dream Theater CD. He's not the fastest of the 'shred' generation, but he is by far the most melodic and best songwriter of any. If you want to crown your guitar messiah, crown him.

Honestly though, if you think all new metal/rock/whatever sucks then you aren't trying hard enough to find music you like. With all the branching out/specializing metal artists have done in recent history there's a band making a particular sound for everyone. Download these people or check them out on myspace (many of whom hail from the 80's, but hey, who's counting?): Hammerfall, Blind Guardian, Dream Theater, Lost Horizon, Evergrey, Nevermore, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, etc. And these are just a few great progressive/power bands. I'm sure fans of black/death/new thrash (because there's a difference between emperor and anthrax) have their own bands they'd add to the list. But those mostly have growled/screamed/whatevered vocals, and that's what pisses you off most, isn't it? Just because you don't like Trivium (not actually metal), Avenged Sevenfold (not metal), Killswitch Engage (not metal), Children of Bodom and Lamb of God doesn't mean that's a the be all and end all of metal artists. Honestly, go beyond the radio before you blanket all new bands with the term 'crap'.

The one point that is undeniable is that this is a poor year-in-review article. It's an opinion piece with the wrong title and description. If they had done a good job with the metal year-in-review article none of these arguements would have resulted. Although I wager a lot of you who ended up commenting in agreement with the writer came to the page with the mentality that "these new metal bands suck and I'm gonna tell them exactly

[_zac_]

two people that have not been mentioned ( i havent read all the comments though) are:
mikael akerfeldt and peter lindtgred of OPETH.. listen to songs like benighted (for clean\acoustic) or blackwater park (for metal) .... ****ing amazing,

and yeah... misleading title but still a good article...

[Horvat]

I agree with both the last two guys that posted, EET_FUK_BASS and _zac_.


And yes, this is a very poor article. Well written, yeah, but completely irrelevant and close-minded.

[Horvat]

Just to clarify, I agree with _zac_'s opinion of the Opeth guitarists, not his view of the article.

[iamthedecieved]

steve vai has no emotion, tho he is an incredible technical player. james writes a lot of those solos and he does play the nothing else matters solo. buckethead should be on here because that guy is a nuts. yes opeth should have been in there and i also agree with the whole zakk wylde, and dimebag, n all that shit besides that not that bad an article

[ESPM200]

Man u forget the best players of all time zack wylde dimbag darrell the old kirk hammet glenn drover dave mustane willie alder mark morton jeff lomis steve smyth jeff haneman kerry king Jhon petruci the guys from opeth and the guys from arch enemy.

[mrcr0wley]

There ar plenty of great guitarists, but its the ones who change stuff forever, the revolutionaries that he is talking about. Could u compare the the impact Kirk Hammet has had on the world of guitar to the impact EVH had? Hammet, Dime and Zakk Wylde are all great(Dime and Zakk ar eprob even betetr skilled than EVH) but they are never going to revolutionise the way a guitar is played like EVH did

a great article

[AmorVincitOmnia]

Metal_Injection wrote:

Joe Satriani
Steve Vai
Paul Gilbert
Luca Turilli
Gus G
John Petrucci
Zak Wylde
Dimebag
Kiko Louriero
Dave Mustaine
Kai Hansen?

I find it strange that nobody mentions Chuck Schuldiner.

[dolphinsrsluts]

an article about metal... without the metal. No mention at all about opeth's guitars, which are definitely the best I have heard. Also, not to mention dimebag and chuck schuldiner in an article about metal is simply ridiculous.

[Chris311]

Serious article. Very well written and thought out. Striaght from the heart, and I love that. However, I do have to ask, have you every heard of Adam Jones?

[Savage Animal]

this guy didnt even mention the Rebel Meets Rebel cd that came out this year, or Maidens "A MAtter of Life and Death" or Gwars new cd or Celtic Frosts awesome comeback or BLS's Shot to Hell or the fantastic "Kill" by Cannibal Corpse! These were all amazing releases this year in metal. Meanwhile this guys talking his ass off about Clapton and Beck, which, dont get me wrong, claptons one of my favorite guitarists of all time, but this article is about this year in METAL. Clapton was never even remotely related to the genre of metal and neither was Beck. This article was a huge dissappointment and also a huge waste of time

[chilibassist]

someguy1 wrote:

that article was alright but u left out a lot of the true gods of the axe
kirk hammet
Joe Satriani
Steve Vai
Paul Gilbert
John Petrucci
Zak Wylde
Dimebag
Dave Mustaine
james hetfeild (gotta give the the sick rythimists some respect)
slash
john freschiante

Haha, I think you mean John Frusciante bud.

[v2kv]

You can't say this article is crap, because its actually good. He was right about the whole "guitar god" thing on how guitarists like Hendrix, Clapton, or EVH were the best since they reinvented the technique and the style of how the guitar is played, but if he was writing about that then it would have made more sense to mention major classical guitarists like Paco De Lucia and jazz guitarists, who were way better than any rock guitarist in my opinion. All I'm saying is that topics like this are solely based on opinion; one person could say that Steve Vai was a way better guitarist than Dimebag Darrell, but another person could disagree. Clearly, the guy who wrote this article knew what he was talking about, and I don't blame him for being baised because essays are usually like that considering you have to support one argument. But when it comes down to saying who "the best guitarist of all time" is, its based on your taste in music.

[the_Skull]

Herman Li will take us out of the desert!

[metal32]

AudioHawk wrote:

this is the most stupid article ive read on this site. I came here to see a metal roundup of the year. For example:

Best metal albums of 06
Best players of 06
Best metal live act 06
Metal guitarists/bands to look out for in 07

etc...

but no. I get here to see nothing more than some guy winging about how "he" doesn't believe metal players have any "feeling" anymore. Fair enough, thats your own opinion. But a ****ing roundup of the year isn't supposed to be an opinion piece.

and the points you did raise were just vague and filled with crap about "metal of old". Nobody came here to read an essay comparing "your favourites" to the acts of today. And your knowlege of current acts seems very lacking, with only pretty mainstream names being mentioned, and even then only briefly.

poor article. and extremely irrelevant


EXACTLY!!! I read this article expecting to see the aforementioned titles of 2006, but found none of them within... such as:

Best Metal Album of 2006 - The Crusade (Trivium), Sacrament (Lamb of God), or As Daylight Dies (Killswitch Engage)

Best Players of 2006 - this HAS to go to the guys who have the BEST two guitar sound, such as: Heafy/Beaulieau, Laiho/Latvala, Morton/Adler, as well as Michael Ammot, Petrucci, and the KSE guys

Best Metal Live Act 2006 - Lamb of God, Children of Bodom, Trivium, and Arch Enemy stated their case, and don't forget about Mastodon as well, but lacking was Slayer??? Don't get me wrong, 'C/I' was tough, and their live show rocked, but it seemed at times they were overshadowed by the rest fo the Unholy Alliance, and I came off a little unimpressed.

and finally:

Best Metal Guitarists/bands to watch out four in 2007: Always a thrill to watch Zakk Wylde, Bodom, Petrucci, lookin forward to more Steve Vai and Satch, but I definately wanna see what Rick Rubin is Gonna do for Metallica... Hammett has said how influenced they have become by Trivium, and they're now with Slayer's old producer, so lets see what they've got in '07!!!!

Hell, I coulda written a better summary of the year in metal, as you can see ... but **** all that shit, and everyones opinions! I'm ready to rock in the new year and see what rock and metal can surprise us with for 2007... happy new year ****ers!

[LedZeppelin]

This would be wonderful if the author actually knew anything about metal aside from the typical "LOL HEAVY SCREAMIN M00SIC" bands.

No Dream Theater,
Cryptopsy,
Mastodon,
Nevermore,
Suffocation,
All That Remains,
Cannibal Corpse,

and MANY others. There's more to metal than a bunch of crappy mainstream bands, you know. Plus, the Deftones? What the hell?

[AmorVincitOmnia]

metal32 wrote:
EXACTLY!!! I read this article expecting to see the aforementioned titles of 2006, but found none of them within... such as:

Best Metal Album of 2006 - The Crusade (Trivium), Sacrament (Lamb of God), or As Daylight Dies (Killswitch Engage)

How could people forget Cannibal Corpse, All Shall Perish, Krisiun and Suffocation?
Trivium's latest album was garbage.

[eddiefan001002]

what no mension of Dime..... he did for metal what EVH did for Rock... a guitar hero in the grunge age...almost the only of his time.. anyway yeah a lot happened this year and it was and awesome year just cuz i got a new guitar.. whatever no one cares.. its seems as though the guitar virtuosos have all but disappeared recently oh well

[jesussowns]

I love Zakk Wylde,Dave Mustaine AND Dimebag...but 90% of all their solos have no feel to them at all. Its just mindless shredding...not that i have a problem with that. Trivium's latest album WASNT garbage and i dont blame them for doing that to their style. Detonation,the preview track is the second gayest song on the album....for nothing i have EVER heard is gayer than we are the fire. But then you have The Crusade,Tread The Floods and And Sadness Will Sear. Theres some good music on there,and i admire trivium for changing their style. Im glad he did mention Trivium in there because i think their solos (some of them) have quite a feel to them. Tread The Floods. Check out that solo. Awesome article dude,it rules.

[tamer of horses]

I beleive that this article is exceptionally written. I also think that it is irrelevant to the title. I expected something more of a summary. But im still happy.

[Anarion614]

amen my friend!

[njustice4all]

This is amazing, dude you have to write more articles like this one.

[soadrocker103]

a couple of things shocked me about this article and some of the comments. first, about zakk wylde...he is an amazing guitarist. ill agree that he hasnt revolutionized metal, but he sure as hell has made some kick ass music and can play like a mofo.

and most shocking is a summation of metal and NO mention of dimebag(unless i missed it). he singlehandedly pretty much carried metal through the 90's and had a huge impact on it. van halen even put his original guitar with the yellow tape(which is seen on the back of van halen II album) in darrells coffin when he was buried. and if you say his solos dont have any emotion, i have one word. Floods

[2Old2Cold]

Dimebag carried metal in the 90's? Bullsh1t! Before he died he was considered average at best and now that he died legions are coming out of the woodwork to claim that he is the best ever. Comon, give me a break.

2006 was a good year for metal. We had amazing albums by great bands such as Darkthrone, Carpathian Forest, Drudkh, Xasthur, Marduk and others. 2006 saw a tribute to the genius known as Quorthon of Bathory and pioneers Venom put out a great record. Celtic Frost delivered arguably the record of the year with Monotheist and the gods known as Emperor reunited for some unforgettable gigs.

2007 will no doubt be just as good, as the legendary Immortal are reuniting and old school terrorists Mayhem are putting out their new record Ordo Ab Chao in March. Ah, what a great year 2006 was and such a promising 2007 is just around the corner.

[2Old2Cold]

Oh and to anyone who didn't mention Emperor's reunion as being the defining moment of 2006, well you are inferior and have no place in metal!!!!

[Metal_Injection]

v2kv wrote:

You can't say this article is crap, because its actually good. He was right about the whole "guitar god" thing on how guitarists like Hendrix, Clapton, or EVH were the best since they reinvented the technique and the style of how the guitar is played, but if he was writing about that then it would have made more sense to mention major classical guitarists like Paco De Lucia and jazz guitarists, who were way better than any rock guitarist in my opinion. All I'm saying is that topics like this are solely based on opinion; one person could say that Steve Vai was a way better guitarist than Dimebag Darrell, but another person could disagree. Clearly, the guy who wrote this article knew what he was talking about, and I don't blame him for being baised because essays are usually like that considering you have to support one argument. But when it comes down to saying who "the best guitarist of all time" is, its based on your taste in music.

that doesnt mean this article is revelant at all, boo to u

[insanejuggaloo]

dimebag was one of the greatest guitarest of all time and definitly should of been mentioned, but what about the dwayne allman? the solos that dude did where perfectly timed and placed purfectly in there nitch of time on the songs ie sweet melissa where in the words of spinal tap he hits a note and goes to grab a sandwitch before its done resonating. truely one of my favs. and aint no way would i trade lamb of gods playing for eric claptons!

[v2kv]

Metal_Injection wrote:

v2kv wrote:

You can't say this article is crap, because its actually good. He was right about the whole "guitar god" thing on how guitarists like Hendrix, Clapton, or EVH were the best since they reinvented the technique and the style of how the guitar is played, but if he was writing about that then it would have made more sense to mention major classical guitarists like Paco De Lucia and jazz guitarists, who were way better than any rock guitarist in my opinion. All I'm saying is that topics like this are solely based on opinion; one person could say that Steve Vai was a way better guitarist than Dimebag Darrell, but another person could disagree. Clearly, the guy who wrote this article knew what he was talking about, and I don't blame him for being baised because essays are usually like that considering you have to support one argument. But when it comes down to saying who "the best guitarist of all time" is, its based on your taste in music.


that doesnt mean this article is revelant at all, boo to u

ooook...was I talking about whether or not it was relevant? No, I was making a point on how his article isn't complete crap...just cuz its irrelevant to metal, it doesn't mean that you can't read it as it is...

[zackk]

gus_metal_88 wrote:

Super kool dudes but one thing, after the marvelous work of the legendary EDV there were 2 more messiah:
KIRK HAMMETT
DIMEBAG DARRELL

dont u think?

come on dimebag yes kirk hammet absolutely not. btw randy rhodes is the best guitarist of all time.

ummm, everyone chill?

O.O


Checked.

[tjv777]

PETRUCCI!!!!!
end of story

[electricwizard_]

dudes have'nt you ever heard of a little band called judas priest? i almost cried when i first listened to the solo on beyond the realms of death. tipton is the best guitarist ever...

[shiznac]

LCount wrote:

gus_metal_88 wrote:

Super kool dudes but one thing, after the marvelous work of the legendary EDV there were 2 more messiah:
KIRK HAMMETT
DIMEBAG DARRELL

dont u think?
no mercy wrote:

gus_metal_88 has it right, but what about Zakk Wylde? What about Dave Mustaine? How about the Armott Bros. from Arch Enemy?


Although I love all the above mentioned players, you guy's have to see that EVH is only considered so amazing because he brought a different kind of guitar playing to the scene at the time. Hammet and Dimebag, Zach and the Ammots are all amazingly great players and they may have put thier own special touch on the current, but they really havent brought us to anywhere new like Van Halen did at the time. And I really don't mean to rag on them, I'm a huge fan of them all.

Zakk Wylde has so brought us somewhere new. He has created a band that "true metal" and "new metal" (both nonexistant genres) can both enjoy, and is introducing guitar playing that is better than EVH (EVH is great but he only invented a new style [and a bunch of crappy imitators {*cough* Ratt *cough}] and other than that wasn't that great) artists like Nevermore, Judas Priest have the true virtuosos, unlike dimebag and hammet whom i have nothing against, but aren't the greatest guitarists in reality. And by the way stop knocking "new metal"(still non-existant, so stop throwing bands that you don't like in this catagory), the mainstreem light for it is over so stop talking about it like that (or are you all truely mainstreem and just naming the favorite bands of the people in the underground) so F**K OFF!!!

[Vladimir H]

The music a generation(or musician) grows up listening to and admiring will always be their hero... and no matter how impressive/talented/gifted a new musician comes along in the future... they wont recognize/care his abilities. But fourtunately the generation of THAT era will. That's how stuff is.. That's why our grandparents will never like the same music as us :P It's all about the tastes and loyalties you develop. If you're really open minded, and sit and listen to a new ledgend, you'll fall in love... But most people don't. They just sit and think about how the 'oldies' are better, and don't even let the music soak in. The article was pretty good, but it did lack alot also.

[BottleOfSmoke]

Good stuff, but how about some coverage of rising prog-metal gods Brent Hinds and Bill Kelliher of Mastodon?

[wraphesh]

While this is by no means a bad article, it is completely f***ing off the topic. Seriously, rather than talking about about how metal has progressed and how it has not, which bands showed promise in 2006 etc. all you talk about are your favorite guitarists from 30-40 years ago. This article should deal with bands and musicians and metal as a whole in 2006, not guitarists in 1976. Don't get me wrong, I love all the guitarists mentioned but for christs sake right a damn article that pertains to the topic.

[Dimebagjeff]

ham wallet

[spycrawl802]

kirk hammet, dimebag darrell, zakk wylde, dave mustaine, james hetfield. Fuck!

[sphereagram]

DragonForce has really crappy guitar players, they can play on a record but suck live. A7x has as much talent as a bowl of soup and as much as I like Trivium their new album blew. On a lighter note, you should have included Buckethead, Jeff Loomis, Rusty Cooley, Zakk Wylde, Dimebag, and even maybe Darron from SOAD. Darron might not be the most skilled guitar player but he is very creative and is always trying something different and fun.

[6stringdisaster]

Stephen Carpenter - my guitar HERO!!!!!

[SweetVampirous]

wraphesh wrote:

While this is by no means a bad article, it is completely f***ing off the topic. Seriously, rather than talking about about how metal has progressed and how it has not, which bands showed promise in 2006 etc. all you talk about are your favorite guitarists from 30-40 years ago. This article should deal with bands and musicians and metal as a whole in 2006, not guitarists in 1976. Don't get me wrong, I love all the guitarists mentioned but for christs sake right a damn article that pertains to the topic.

if you could see it...id give you a thumbs up...

great article...if it was on topic.
Someone should try to rewrite this again. This time with a little more focus.

[kevhead]

i dont see mastodon mentioned there...


UG what are you thinking

[EmoRocker19510]

AintMyBitch wrote:

Devon_555 wrote:

That was a freakin awsome article. And no offence gus_metal_88, kirk hammett was an amazing guitar player in a 100000 ways, but the solo's never had an emotional depth that clapton, beck and the others had, thats why he didnt mention him the list.


Sure! I mean, there's no feeling AT ALL in the "intro solo's" to Fade to Black, One or maybe Nothing else matters.

But this is where most people think, "yeah but those are all slow songs"..well, if you haven't felt the insanity in the solos from "Whiplash", "Battery" or "The thing that should not be" (etc.) you haven't realized the (to me) godlyness of Kirk Hammett.

I NOT FLAMING ANYONE!

Yeah, but Kirk Hammet didn't play the solo in Whiplash...That was Dave Mustaine...

[shadowsofbodom]

i dont think mastodon has any of the best guitarists, even tho they are a rising metal band, i dont see how they can be considered guitar gods, anyway, i agree that dimebag is one of the greatest guitarists and that hammet is not really near the top, mustaine outranks hammet any day by a long shot!

if u want creative metal guitar, not saying its comparable to the classic rock guitarists this guy speaks of, listen to some All That Remains or some other "dying" metalcore band, they may not have the hendrix riffs and such, but most of their stuff is kickass

and one more thing, dragonforce is the only band that really goes way too far with the fast playing, herman li is too cocky and things speed is everything, laiho and synyster know a lot better and do play many slow "meaningful" solos

really some of the most influential metal not in this article is the swedish stuff, i like how some people realized that the amott bros had a huge impact on metal, but wat about in flames? come on, those guys are sick and look wat they did to metal! some people