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Kirk Lee Hammett is an American musician who has been the lead guitarist of heavy metal band Metallica since 1983. Prior to joining Metallica, he co-formed the thrash metal band Exodus in 1979. In 2003, Hammett, along with bandmate James Hetfield, was ranked 23rd on Rolling Stone's list of Greatest Guitarists of All Time. In 2009, Hammett was ranked number 15 in Joel McIver's book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists.
A guitar solo is a melodic passage, instrumental section, or entire piece of music, pre-written to be played on a classical, electric, or acoustic guitar. In 20th and 21st century traditional music and popular music such as blues, swing, jazz, jazz fusion, rock and heavy metal, guitar solos often contain virtuoso techniques and varying degrees of improvisation. Guitar solos on classical guitar, which are typically written in musical notation, are also used in classical music forms such as chamber music and concertos.
John Peter Petrucci is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. He produced or co-produced all of Dream Theater's albums from Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory (1999) to A View from the Top of the World (2021), and has been the sole producer of the band's albums released since A Dramatic Turn of Events (2011). Petrucci has also released two solo albums: Suspended Animation (2005) and Terminal Velocity (2020).
Jason Eli Becker is an American composer and former virtuoso guitarist. At the age of 16, he became part of the Shrapnel Records-produced duo Cacophony with his friend Marty Friedman, and they released two albums, Speed Metal Symphony (1987) and Go Off! (1988). Since the dissolution of Cacophony in 1989, Becker has undertaken a solo career, releasing seven albums since his 1988 debut Perpetual Burn. He later joined David Lee Roth's solo band and recorded one album with him, A Little Ain't Enough.
Roope Juhani Latvala is a Finnish guitarist, best known as the former rhythm guitarist for the melodic death metal band Children of Bodom from 2003 to 2015 and the co-lead electric guitarist for Sinergy. He was also one of the founding members of Stone, which was one of the first notable bands in the history of Finnish heavy metal.
Jeffrey John Hanneman was an American musician, best known as a founding member and guitarist of the thrash metal band Slayer. Hanneman composed both music and lyrics for every Slayer album until his death in 2013. He had his own signature guitar, the ESP Jeff Hanneman Signature model.
The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP Guitars, PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Schecter, Jerry Jones Guitars, Burns London and many other companies have produced electric baritone guitars since the 1960s, although always in small numbers due to low popularity. Tacoma, Santa Cruz, Taylor, Martin, Alvarez Guitars and others have made acoustic baritone guitars.
Alex Skolnick is an American musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist and one of the songwriters of the thrash metal band Testament and has played with several other bands, including The Alex Skolnick Trio, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Savatage and the heavy metal supergroup Metal Allegiance.
Kostas Karamitroudis, better known as Gus G, is a Greek heavy metal guitarist. He currently plays with his band Firewind. He has also played in Mystic Prophecy, Nightrage, Arch Enemy, Dream Evil and Ozzy Osbourne's band.
Jeff Loomis is an American musician, best known for his role as lead guitarist in the progressive metal band Nevermore during its existence from 1991 to 2011, as well as brief tenures in its precursor, Sanctuary. In 2014, he joined Swedish melodic death metal band Arch Enemy, and in 2021 he joined Graham Bonnet's Alcatrazz as well. As a solo artist he has released two albums and one EP.
Shred guitar or shredding is a virtuoso style of playing the electric guitar, based on various advanced and complex playing techniques, particularly rapid passages and advanced performance effects. Shred guitar includes fast alternate picking, sweep-picked arpeggios, diminished and harmonic scales, finger-tapping and whammy bar use. It is commonly used in heavy metal, where guitarists use the electric guitar with a guitar amplifier and a range of electronic effects such as distortion, which create a more sustained guitar tone and facilitate guitar feedback effects.
Sex Machineguns is a Japanese heavy metal band formed in 1989. Their music is characterized by a heavy focus on bass as well as extremely fast guitar and bass solos. The band uses the image of "shock rockers" by wearing crazy, exotic outfits like visual kei bands, although this image has been toned down, especially since 2003 when the long-term bassist Noisy left the band. The lyrics feature very off-beat and non-serious themes. In addition to their image and attitude, they also exhibit technical skill on their instruments.
Rob Arnold is an American musician, best known for performing as the lead guitarist of the metal band Chimaira and later the rhythm guitarist of the death metal band Six Feet Under. In an interview with Roadrunner Records, he named Kirk Hammett, "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, Dave Mustaine, Marty Friedman and Kerry King as being influential to his playing style. Some of his favorite bands include Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Pantera, Sepultura, and Cannibal Corpse.
The Chainheart Machine is the second studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Soilwork. It is the first Soilwork release to feature guitarist Ola Frenning and drummer Henry Ranta.
Steve Lynch is an American guitarist. He is best known as the co-founder and original lead guitarist of the glam metal/hard rock band Autograph, which formed in 1983. He decided to commit himself to music and mastering guitar when Jimi Hendrix died in 1970. In addition to Hendrix, Lynch's influences came from late-1960s and early-1970s rock musicians such as Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and the Beatles. He initially played bass, however Hendrix's death influenced him to switch to guitar.
Syu is a Japanese musician, best known as leader and guitarist of the power metal band Galneryus. He also performs guitar and lead vocals in Spinalcord and was formerly a member of Animetal. Under his own name, Syu has released one studio album, one cover album and one instrumental album, each featuring collaborations with many guest musicians. He was voted Best Guitarist in online music magazine Beeast's music awards four years in a row, from 2015 to 2018. His work on Galneryus' song "Emotions" was named the 73rd best guitar instrumental by Young Guitar Magazine in 2019.
Oliver Michael Drake, known as Ol Drake, Old Rake or OL Drake, is an English musician, most notably the vocalist and lead guitarist of the thrash metal band Evile.
Chris Brooks is an Australian author, rock, metal and fusion guitarist most noted for his debut instrumental album The Master Plan and his subsequent work with members of Yngwie Malmsteen, Black Sabbath, Lana Lane, and fellow Australians LORD.
Steffen Kummerer is a German guitarist and vocalist. He is the leader, main songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist of the death metal band Obscura, as well as the black metal band Thulcandra. Since 2012, he has been a member of the official tribute band Death to All. Kummerer's Ran custom guitar shape have become a signature shape unique to him and his band Obscura.
Heavy metal guitar is the use of highly-amplified electric guitar in heavy metal. Heavy metal guitar playing is rooted in the guitar playing styles developed in 1960s-era blues rock and psychedelic rock, and folk harmonic traditions and it uses a massive sound, characterized by highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos and overall loudness. The electric guitar and the sonic power that it projects through amplification has historically been the key element in heavy metal. The heavy metal guitar sound comes from a combined use of high volumes and heavy distortion.
