In the long, storied history of the electric guitar, few artists have blended classical and metal styles with the ferocity and melodic sensibility of Yngwie Malmsteen. Sweden’s shred-meister general took the lightning-fast technique of Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads and amplified it through his own baroque sensibility. Malmsteen continues to inspire awe and envy …
Derek Trucks is one of the purest blues guitarists in the world. With soul shredding slide guitar licks as a trademark for his encompassing style, he followed in, and some may even say outdid, the footsteps of his uncle, Butch Trucks, founder of the Allman Brothers Band. Trucks’ musical style is rather diverse, but it’s …
Well into the late 1970s and early 1980s, an underground new wave of heavy metal was brewing with some of the most remarkable guitarists, each inevitably ascending to Rock legend status. One of the most notable of the era was a young and energetic Dave Mustaine. Also known for his short tenure with Metallica, Mustaine …
Let me just say it out loud: If you thought that there aren’t too many professional female bassists around, then you thought wrong. There are some insanely talented female bassists out there. I’ve noticed that not too many young girls are encouraged to pick up the bass guitar when they’re starting out, and I can’t …
When Motley Crue exploded onto the LA scene in 1981, there was no band louder, brasher, or ruder on the planet. Armed with heavy metal riffs, glam rock’s wild look, and posey punk rock snotty attitude, as well as a whole lot of Aqua Net hairspray, Motley Crue first conquered Los Angeles and then expanded …
Steve Vai, innovator of “stunt guitar” and mercurial, enigmatic solo artist. His unique playing style is rooted firmly in precision and infinite expression, and over five decades remains at the forefront of potent shred guitar. Appropriately, his first job as a guitarist came with Frank Zappa, who often referred to Vai, then aged eighteen, as …
Creed and Alter Bridge’s guitarist Mark Tremonti has garnered recognition and prestige not only for his technical playing ability, which he has heaps of, but also for his incredible songwriting skills and musical sensibility. Having written some monumentally successful songs, including the Grammy award-winning “With Arms Wide Open” by Creed, Tremonti was awarded the 2015 …
The 1990s were one of the most important turning points for rock and metal music. It was a time when new movements and rock subgenres began to flourish. Although the focus shifted from those lightning-speed fast guitar solos typical of glam (or “hair”) metal music, the guitar itself wasn’t neglected. In fact, a more down-to-earth …
As frontman of Nirvana, Kurt Cobain not only became the face and voice of a generation. He also shaped the course of the music industry, pivoting American counterculture and alternative rock as a massive driving force. His conscientious lyricism and distortion-packed, blasting riffs trademarked the band and the left of the American dial alike. With …
Robert Johnson was for many a source of inspiration, for a few others, a reason to believe in the supernatural and the 27 Club, but for everyone, Johnson was, and still is, one of the most interesting and mysterious artists the world has ever seen. The influence Johnson had on music is still incomparable, he …