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Matthew Hoffman's
‘Top 25 Guitarist’

by Matthew Hoffman
Staff Writer

Introduction:

I could say that this exercise has taken the better part of the past two years to finally complete, but in all actuality, it has taken a lifetime! I have been hearing amazing guitar from the time I could barely walk, bellowing from the rooms of my older brothers and sisters. From that great time of my life, Nugent, Page, Perry, Roth and all the greats were indelibly imprinted on my brain. The one thing that has never changed, whether it was Nugent ripping his way through “Great White Buffalo,” Hammett’s playing on “Sanatarium” or Dimebag Darrell on “Cemetery Gates,” several years later, I had to know who that axe monster was!

That was only the start though, because once I heard these songs, I’d buy their albums and then research them as much as possible. Later in life, the Internet made this process a lot easier of course, and with constant touring from most of these greats, seeing them in concert was pretty easy. But sadly, millions of Americans have no idea who half or more of these guys are. I attribute that to several reasons; first, because hard rock and metal are disappearing from the radio stations of this country, making the Internet not optional but mandatory. Nowadays if you want to keep in touch with not only new guitarists and bands but your older heroes as well you have to log on and search the world for samples of these brilliant performer’s songs. The reason I stress this point is many people probably have thought that their heroes were retired because they don’t hear them on the radio anymore, but nothing could be further from the truth. Most are active and still kicking ass. Second, Americans have a very short sighted vision of rock and roll, example being when the “grunge” movement from Seattle took over for several years in the early ’90s, ’80s metal bands were still touring all over Europe, South America and The Far East but in Americans “fad” driven minds their time was over. Many bands like Dokken or Slayer and soloists like Malmsteen and still as popular today in Japan as they ever were! Finally, laziness is the most important reason. I was told last night in fact by a big rock fan “I’m not going to go online and find that, I don’t have the time.” Well if that’s the case then be happy with G-Unit or Eminem instead of Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, but I’m not! Contrary to Rolling Stone Magazine’s sour opinion on the death of rock, it is far from dead; you just have to look in much different avenues to find it than ever before!

Specific list criteria is non existent and very, very subjective. Here are several factors: if an individual has all the talent in the world but does not show it, especially on studio albums, they dropped down my list. Points were given for diversity. If you can play several different styles of guitar expertly, you obviously have more talent. And pioneering was also looked on with much favor, for example, if your metal/rock axe playing spawned whole new movements and techniques, then you will rate higher as well. I tried to include the best things about each guitarist without following any specific order, some I spoke of specific albums, and while others I highlighted their training, diversity and technique! My thorough hope is for you to please enjoy this list, debate this list and e-mail me with anything feedback you’d like to. My e-mail address is mhoffman@hardrockhaven.net.

I plan on interviewing as many of these Guitar Gods as possible in the next several months for their feedback as well!

TOP 25 ROCK/METAL GUITARISTS OF THE PAST 25 YEARS!

1. YNGWIE MALSTEEN — Lars Johann Yngwie Lannerback was born the last day of June 1963, and was unresponsive to musical training until he saw a report on the death of the greatest of all time, Jimi Hendrix! This awoke a spirit in Yngwie that would change the face of modern rock/metal guitar forever. His admiration for Deep Purple’s Blackmore’s classical inspired approach led him back to the masters themselves: Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi and Beethoven. A few years later, which included hours and hours of daily practice, Yngwie discovered 19th Century violinist Nicolo Paganini, and another huge influence started to take shape. At age 18 he was heavily recruited to be a military officer but after exclaiming:”I’d rather die than serve in the military” he was excluded. After sending music demos tapes to America for months, he was invited to join Ron Keel’s Steeler. By the time their first release came together and was a cult favorite, he had already joined Graham Bonnet’s Alcatrazz. These bands were way too limiting on the legend, so he soon decided to go at it on his own. His debut album, Rising Force, garnered a Grammy nomination and soon the honors started rolling in by the dozens. People had never heard anything even remotely close to this type of heavy fast guitar playing. This style of dueling keyboard and guitars started an entire new category of neo-classical rock/metal and spawned hundreds of impersonators and copycats with not a single guitarist truly able to copy his musical vision. His lightning-fast arpeggiated solos simply rewrote the book on heavy metal guitar. Many spent thousands of hours trying to break down and then practice what he was actually doing, as it was so highly technical, but even the most experienced guitarists got lost! You will hear me compare several different guitarists on this lists individual techniques to Yngwie, but none will ever match the technical competence and pure speed, combined with beautiful melodies that Malmsteen had to offer, especially on his ’80s releases Marching Out, Trilogy and Live in Leningrad. There can only be one true pioneer!

2. GARY MOORE — Having a career equally as successful (Skid Row, Thin Lizzy), before the start date as after, one could not exclude legendary British blues/rock guitar god Gary Moore. Inspired by Peter Green, the ex-Fleetwood Mac axe-King, Moore is equally adept at playing amazing blues as he is at hammering amazing metal rhythms and leads. This man is an inspiration every time you hear him. I have only heard one man this adept at playing such varied styles so perfectly and his name is Jimi Hendrix. His “Over the Hills and Far Away” has been done by too many bands to count, but none half as well as the man himself. Albums all through the ’80s and ’90s included huge hits “Still Got the Blues,” “Parisienne Walkways” and “Cold Day in Hell.”

3. STEVE VAI — Classic example where the student passes the teacher (though only slightly). Showing up at Joe Satriani’s door with a beat up old guitar and a pack of strings, this skinny, gangly teenager not only mastered the craft but also never wavered from his solo electric rock guitar albums in the face of a huge shift in popularity. And nothing ranks higher on this list than loyalty to fans! In fact, this wizard of the 6-string helped to develop a 7-string guitar, due to his immensely large hands. Being able to do it all on a studio album playing fast as hell, slow and soulful and even make his guitar have a full length conversation with his 3 year old, this man is the generation’s most original, and is still performing flawless shows 20 years later. Always unselfish in an effort to produce the best music possible, his traveling band includes fellow guitar gods Billy Sheehan on bass, and Tony MacAlpine on guitar and keyboards. Stops with Whitesnake and David Lee Roth’s band did a little more to give his talents more exposure but he never stopped his maniacal focus at originality in recording wonderful solo albums! Tapping, speedy picking, soulful acoustic work, this man simply makes beautiful music, as witnessed in my early candidate for 2005 song of the year “K'm-Pee-Du-Wee.”

4. JOE SATRIANI — Here is the single biggest “living” personal influence on American ’80s –00s metal. Teaching Steve Vai, Kirk Hammett and Alex Skolnick, among many others, Joe, while humble, is responsible for a whole group of Guitar Gods following in his huge footsteps. Joe’s compositions have been heralded throughout the industry, his entire career, sold more than 10 million records, and have earned him more than a dozen rare Grammy nominations. Able to shred with anyone on the planet while playing beautiful bluesy and jazzy rock, Joe has made a name for himself as one of the all-time greats. Possibly the best contribution to the art of modern guitar touring, Joe started G3 with Steve Vai, which included many others, including John Petrucci, Yngwie Malmsteen and Kenny Wayne Sheppard. This gave fans a chance to see three of the world’s best axe men every time they catch a date with G3. His only negative of the last 25 years is his paltry vocals, but with all he’s accomplished, including touring with Mick Jagger and Deep Purple, he can do whatever he wants.

5. KIRK HAMMETT — Another Satriani prodigy, this young man stepped out of Exodus and into Metallica at the perfect time. As the replacement for wild, drunken G-man Dave Mustaine, the mild mannered Hammett blazed a trail of world-class metal that actually defined the genre. Combining elements of pure speed with ultra-clean aggression, this axe man carved out a spectacular body of work over the course of four sensational ’80s albums. His rhythm and lead work on legendary tracks like “Master Of Puppets,” “Seek and Destroy” and “Am I Evil,” to pick a few, was insane, as those 6-8 minute songs of complete controlled devastation transformed an entire genre. Upon the dawning of the “Grunge” era, Metallica not only cut their hair short but cut short Hammett’s reign on top of the metal guitar world. Releasing huge selling albums with little lead work or creativity throughout the ’90s continually dragged down his reputation. This all culminated in 2003 when Metallica did the unheard of: they released an album with no guitar solos and then bragged that they did it on purpose, the ultimate slap in the face to their already despondent fans! Kirk’s work on Master Of Puppets, Kill em’ All, Ride The Lightning, and And Justice for All was so dominating, though, that I contend every metal guitarist in the world today has heard every single note hundreds of times over!

6. GEORGE LYNCH — This one-man rhythm and lead guitar machine, has a huge throng of extremely loyal fans that never ever get sick of his wonderful metal guitar prowess. Playing for The Boyz, Xciter, Dokken and finally Lynch Mob, George has wowed audiences all around the globe! Dokken was in fact one of only a few ’80s metal acts that had only 1 guitarist and didn’t miss a beat! Lynch was close with several of the young L.A scene, early ’80s guitarists, including Randy Rhoads, and was an important influence on him, even teaching him the classic tapping section of “Flying High Again.” Offered the Ozzy gig after Rhoads’ passing, Lynch turned it down and Jake E. Lee was hired. Laying down clean yet powerful rhythms and exceptional lead work and solos, this man made headbangers the world round endlessly rewind their tape players. He could also slow it down and play beautiful acoustic like on “Alone Again.” His extended 7-minute version of “Mr. Scary” on the live Beast From The East album is as powerful an example of axe perfection as ever heard on a metal album. Into his 50s now, George still shreds live in concert, as witnessed by his near 10 minute impromptu solo he performed when the drums needed repair at a Lynch Mob gig in Baltimore last October! And amazingly enough in several interviews he says he never practices!

7. RANDY RHOADS — This name causes millions to freak out at concerts nearly 25 years after his death! His mind-boggling ability at such a young age had fans in awe. Rhoads was able to create his own style incorporating classical music into his routines, while all the other early ’80s axe men copied Eddie Van Halen’s two-hand tapping technique. As a teenager in L.A, he formed Quiet Riot with Kevin Dubrow, but when their first two albums (released in Japan) were not able to secure a record deal, he grew impatient. Randy then tried out for the gig as ex-Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne’s solo band’s new guitar player. Rumors have it that he was hired before he even played a note, as he “looked the part.” At age 14 his guitar teacher went to his mother the owner of the guitar school and told her “I have nothing left to teach Randy. He knows as much as me.” Once he was successful with Ozzy, Rhoads had a signature “Flying V” polka dot guitar made for $738.00. His name is still synonymous today with that guitar style! His work with Ozzy created masterpieces like ”Flying High Again,” the classical tribute to his mother “Dee” and perhaps the most recognizable metal song of all time “Crazy Train.” A tribute album released in 1987 was an instant top 10 hit, and he remains a cult hero today to millions. One could write an entire book of this young man’s achievements. With such an amazing body of work in a short time, this axe prodigy’s early demise left millions wanting more, and wondering what could have been? His death remains the most tragic moment in Metal History!

8. JOHN SYKES — Write a tremendously successful album and you become very famous, right? Well in John Sykes case, his reward was to be unceremoniously fired before ever seeing any of that come true. That is the story of Whitesnake’s critically acclaimed 1987 self-titled album, which included the hit tracks “Here I Go Again” and “Is This Love.” None of that took from the legend of the former Thin Lizzy axe monster within the industry, though. He continued to write excellent bluesy rock guitar for a new band he formed called Blue Murder then eventually created three more solo efforts of completely unique distinction, including his much improved but strangely Coverdale-like vocals. His skill and popularity exist strongly in an almost cult like sense today, and he is going on tour this summer with fellow G-man George Lynch.

9. GLENN TIPTON — This Metal Guitar God playing for the Kings of Metal, Judas Priest, Tipton has brought it clean and hard for 30 years! Spawning an entire movement called the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM), Priest led a British invasion that changed the face of metal forever! Working in tandem with K.K Downing’s death-heavy rhythms, Glenn has been outstanding. The most underrated axe man on the list, rarely mentioned among the best, he just keeps ripping and shredding his way to immortality! From spectacular solos and lead work on countless metal classics like “Hell Bent For Leather,” “Green Manalushi,” and “Breaking The Law” to modern day spectacularly ferocious solos on cuts like “Demonizer,” and “Loch Ness” with layers upon layers of lead work and boundless creativity. He has not lost an ounce of speed or clarity and is better in his 50s than he was in his 20s or 30s!

10. ALEX SKOLNICK — This mid ’80s wunderkind joined Testament and never looked back. Also taught by Satriani, Alex was the best speed/thrash metal guitarist that only people in the genre knows about. His speedy layers of lead work in solos on metal classics like “Disciples of The Watch,” “Preacher” and “Into The Pit” to name a few, made Skolnick a cult hero among ’80s headbangers. Playing those unique solos over fellow Testament axe man Eric Petersen’s clean fast rhythms, in an “all that matters is the music” mentality, Skolnick shined. Alex grew tired of Metal though, and left the band in late 1992. He then expanded his horizons by studying classical, jazz and blues before eventually playing for the critically acclaimed Trans Siberian Orchestra. Alex then formed his own jazz band, the Alex Skolnick Trio, which played metal songs in an unusual yet refreshing jazz format. Currently he is overseas with Testament after a 13-year hiatus in a limited date re-union tour. And, another studio album is expected (hopefully).

11. MARTY FRIEDMAN — An impeccably accurate and clean shredder, Friedman started out with Cacophony, before being recruited by Megadeth. Many say that after Mustaine added this sick rhythmic axe man to play leads alongside him, Megadeth became the best it had ever been. Whether that is true or not, he did enable them to continually make real speed/thrash metal albums when dozens of other acts around them were “selling out.” Friedman’s solos on “Hangar 18” on 1990’s Rust In Peace are sick and downright amazing! His wonderful playing on tracks like “High Speed Dirt” and “Sweating Bullets” enabled their next album Symphony Of Destruction to enter the charts at #2 and become a commercial hit while still being respected amongst their fans. Recently, the highly touted Friedman appeared on stage with Petrucci, Vai and Satriani at a G3 concert and look out folks, the DVD is soon to be released. That much talent on the stage at once is well worth the sticker price!

12. ZAKK WYLDE — This sensational prodigy, found by none other than Ozzy Osbourne, of course, not only recorded several great albums with Ozzy, but has built a great following with his own bands. First was Pride and Glory in the early ’90s and since Black Label Society, whose 2005 release Mafia showed not only his exceptional guitar virtuosity but a vastly improved vocal talent as well. Tracks with BLS like “Life, Birth, Blood, Doom,” “Suicide Messiah” which included awesome solos of course, were original, heavy as hell and melodic as well — a very lethal combination. His 1991 work on Ozzy’s No More Tears release will never be forgotten, and imprinted Zakk’s sound on metal ears worldwide. BLS’s Alcohol Fueled Brewtality Live and Ozzy Live at The Budokan, both show Zakk’s tremendous range and elaborate signature style.

13. EDDIE VAN HALEN — Revolutionary rock guitarist for Van Halen, his “Eruption” had a whole generation of young men trying to not only play that cool material, but be that cool as well! His fast technique included never before heard sounds, and his self taught, two-handed tapping and effects mirrored animals and machines! Marrying the cutest chick on the television (Valerie Bertinelli) didn’t hurt that image either. His lead work and solos on 1984 were classic rock at its cleanest and finest! The reason he is so low on the list is his recent inability to create meaningful guitar work with powerful leads or solos, combined with several legendary horrific concert performances in the past 10 years as well.

14. DAVE MUSTAINE — How could any modern metal guitarist list not include this fiery, sick and downright spastic redhead? The co-founder of Metallica, who drank his way out of tens of millions of dollars, ultimately succeeded on many levels on his own. Then he became suicidal (several times) and re-enters rehab. Dave’s story is American at its core! A fast, technical and immensely gifted guitarist, Mustaine has played with many different combinations of axe men but is best known for his work in the ’80s with Chris Poland and in the ’90s with Marty Friedman in his legendary speed metal monster Megadeth. The uniqueness of his band’s success is that they managed commercial success while never “selling out,” a daunting accomplishment for any metal band! Having written 4 of the 10 tracks on Metallica’s breakthrough 1983 album Kill Em All, Mustaine is a creative genius, and despite constant changes, surrounded himself with highly talented band mates, to put the music first. After a serious hand injury was reported in 2001, Mustaine miraculously recovered, un-retired and then recorded The System Has Failed in 2004. This CD saw the return of ’80s axe-king Poland for several solos. Twenty years later Megadeth is still outstanding! His re-make of “Anarchy in The UK,” and rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner” at the inaugural Rock and Jock MTV softball game are among my favorite Mustaine moments!

15. VIVIAN CAMPBELL — Dio, Whitesnake, and Def Leppard are the major bands on Campbell’s resume. Known mostly for his spectacular performance on Dio’s first solo album, metal classic Holy Dive, Vivian is a wonderful axe man of the first degree. His work on Holy Diver was absolute perfection as he laced every track with expert clean lead work and amazing solos. After two more studio albums and one live record — where he helped create metal classics like “Last In Line” and “We Rock” — he decided to leave the band. After leaving Dio in 1986, the Irish 6-string shredder spent his time on projects such as work with the bands Trinity, Riverdogs, and Shadow King. In 1987-88 he toured with Whitesnake to help them promote their self-titled smash hit after the firing of John Sykes. He even appeared in the “Here I go Again” video. Since 1992, he has spent past 12+ years with multi-platinum selling record giants Def Leppard, replacing Steve Clarke after his death. Obviously, those were huge shoes to fill, but the mild mannered Campbell has done a wonderful job with studio albums and touring alike. He is about to hit the road with them for their 25th anniversary tour in conjunction with their Rock Of Ages collection best of CD set coming up.

16. JONATHAN DONAIS — This modern day ultra clean shredder can pretty much do it all, and constantly does. Playing alongside talented rhythm man Matthew Bachand for Shadows Fall, Jonathan plays some of the best solos heard in metal in ages! Leaving nothing on the table, on their last three studio albums Of One Blood, Destroyer of Senses, and War Within, Donais rips through so many amazing solos I lost count! On tracks like “Stillness,” “Crushing Belial,” “What Drives the Weak” and “Inspiration on Demand,” he slams into a bone-crushing yet clean, high-pitched explosion that would make a nun want to kick some serious ass. These are some of the best solos of the new millennium, the old millennium and the next millennium, as they are all both tremendously rhythmic and completely addictive.

17. TED NUGENT — “I’m just a dumb ole’ mother fucker from the swamps of Medford, and I wrote the number one guitar lick in the history of the world, right here in Detroit,” is my favorite quote of the axe legend Ted Nugent. And maybe he did. What the hell sounds better than “Cat Scratch Fever?” With the number one tour in the WORLD in 1978-80, no one was bigger at the inception of this list’s time frame. The funny thing is, I just saw him three months ago, and he still is as good a guitarist as he was then. A serious passion for the instrument with “a guitar in every room,” Ted constantly does the amazing cycle of hunting in the wild, allowing the mind to refresh itself, then taking the “spirit of the wild” to motivate his writing, which he describes as “Lewis And Clarking” through his creativity! 30 million albums sold, avid hunter, best selling author, award winning TV producer, most popular political talk show guest going today, and he still goes on tour virtually every year! Sure, most of his hits were pre-list, but “Fred Bear” qualifies and is one of the greatest rock songs of all time! And nothing beats him asking the crowd “Have you ever seen a French Cowboy?” Then exclaiming, “Those Germans tried to play cowboy once and we had to put em’ down!”

18. CHRIS POLAND — Many shy kids become great at instruments through positively channeling their aggression into hours of practice. But how many of these kids get thrown through a plate glass window by classmates, lose a portion of a finger and still become recognized as one of the best guitar players in the world? I have the answer folks, ONE: Chris Poland! A huge part of the Megadeth success in the ’80s with amazing metal records Peace Sells But Who’s Buying, and Killing is My Business and Business is Good,” reportedly fired for substance abuse problems, Chris was asked to re-join several times yet declined. Then, in 1990, he put out one of the best solo guitar albums of all time, Return To Metalopolis. The album had a hard metal “fusion” sound, tight rhythms and spectacular lead and solo work. Fifteen years later and the material could still stand the test of time. The songs “Beelzebub Bop” and “The Heavy Guitar Jam” rank up there with Vai and Satriani’s best tracks. He exhibits every single guitar god skill on this album with his own flair, and man is it exceptional. Last year, the great 6-stringer came back at the request of Dave Mustaine and helped on Megadeth’s new album, The System has Failed, and guess what, it’s a big hit, due in large part to several Poland solos!

19. STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN — Not a chance in hell that SRV gets left of this list, no matter how you want to categorize his playing. A star before he even hit the studio, due strictly to word of mouth, Stevie was truly amazing in every way. He played the blues with so much soul and heart it could make you cry, then switch to “Voodoo Chile” by Hendrix to get your ass out of the seat. Using rapid-fire Stratocaster blasts in “Empty Arms” or slow peaceful blues plucking in “Riviera Paradise,” he was simply beautiful. Suffering from addiction, he came back recovered to write the spirited “Wall of Denial,” which he sang with such truth it hurts. His tragic death in a helicopter crash in 1990 took this genius away from us — much much too soon — and still has millions wondering which direction he might have traveled next.

20. RITCHIE BLACKMORE — OK, so Blackmore did the majority of his successful works prior to 1980, but I could not leave him off of a list of which he was such a huge inspiration. The co-founder of the legendary rock bands Deep Purple and Rainbow (derived from “Elf” members), much of his material is was so groundbreaking it is still paid tribute to today. My Blackmore favorites are “Sixteenth Century Greensleeves,” covered by Joe Stump, and “Stormbringer,” covered by George Lynch, among others. Blackmores Castle-Volume II a tribute from some really talented guitarists on Lion Music’s label was released this year, in time for Richie’s 60th birthday! Listening to these tribute pieces makes you realize how creative, talented and how ahead of his time he was. And he is still creating music with his last release being in 2003, with Blackmore’s Night, his latest creation.

21. KERRY KING/JEFF HANNEMAN — Co-lead axe men of the Godfathers of all heavy metal sub-genres to come, Slayer. By constantly highlighting the dark side — whether it was war, death, sex with the dead or just plain Hell — King and company created 20 years of speed/thrash/death/black metal supremacy whose categories include thousands of bands today. With Tom Araya launching satanic death yells, these boys laid down excruciating layers of heavy speedy riffs and leads. King’s diversity shined through when he worked with producer Rick Rubin on several Def Jam side projects. The best known example was the Beastie Boys classic “No Sleep Till Brooklyn,” one of the first times metal met rap. These guys were the kings of the chop and shred and brought more power to their solos then anyone before or since. Never has a person’s guitar playing sounded more like the lyrics they were attempting to portray. The putrid dark hell-inspired riffs matched every single lyric on songs like “Angel Of Death,” their best song ever, that spoke of EXACT conditions in Auschwitz concentration camp! Hanneman was slightly more rhythmic in his solos and King a little heavier, but with Slayer you never have one without the other! With such perfection on so much solo work, the examples are endless. They shine on “At Dawn They Sleep” or “Praise Of Death” on the 1985 ground shattering Hell Awaits release, or the slow distortion filled second maniacal solo on “Altar of Sacrifice” on Reign in Blood, one of the top five metal albums of all time! Their best work though was 10 years into their career, on Seasons Of The Abyss, which was just as hard, fast and heavy but was melodically superior and much cleaner. “Expendable Youth” is hard yet beautiful at the same time, and “Dead Skin Mask” is sickeningly delicious! The speedy hard heavy rhythm work throughout their career is not conceivable. Have you ever tried to play even air guitar for 3:30 at this pace? Now, imagine a whole career? Amazing!

22. VICTOR SMOLSKI — This son of a Belarussian composer was born with a silver guitar in his mouth. Well not quite, but he did have all the advantages of world-class instruction in the same house growing up! Learning the piano and cello at age 6, then picking up a guitar at age 11, he was virtually professional already. Playing lead in the band Pesniary, at age 14, exclusively behind the Iron Wall, this band reportedly sold 10 million copies, (though that would be hard to confirm with the fall of the Soviet Union.) Victor then played in the progressive metal band Mind Odyssey, on which on the albums Nailed To The Shade and Signs, Smolski actually worked with the Symphonic Orchestra Belarus to perfect them! He has been in the band Rage for the last 6 years, who just released a greatest hits album that Victor starred on. Very diverse, Smolksi gets off in a Satriani type groove, but can shred with the best of them, and bring a soulful, bluesier style as well. Best thing is he has a nearly 20-year body of work to choose from, and he’s only 36 years old! There are free mp3s all over the Internet if you’d like to hear this amazing Guitar God’s stunningly original solo work!

23. DUSHAN PETROSSI — This Belgian virtuoso is second to none today! Originally in a band called Magic Kingdom, his new album with side project Iron Mask is tremendous guitar work on many different layers. Speedy as it gets, menacing at times and clean as a can be, Dushan is extraordinary. The recent 2005 release Hordes Of The Brave is inspiring. The first track “Holy War,” includes amazing tapping techniques, layers of heavy rhythms and great melody. Listed in the Neo-Classical Progressive metal category, this man is a genre-spanning maniac. He could step in and play lead for any band in the rock/metal world. His feel of fast yet searing demonic rhythms is so commanding I had chills for the entire album! His two albums with Magic Kingdom, Metallic Tragedy and The Arrival, are both great and include amazing axe work on tracks like” Child Of The Nile,” and “The Fight.” His songs are amazingly technical but also tremendously entertaining metal as well. He is the fastest symphonic clean note player since the great Yngwie. If you love great guitar, get online and buy any of his albums, and you’ll see for yourself a modern day Malmsteen with a little bit more “heavy metal” feel to his playing!

24. ALEX MASI — Any man that can recreate Beethoven, Bach and Mozart with an electric guitar and make pieces more than 125+ years old seem new belongs on any list of musician greats! With a degree in theory and harmony, this Italian virtuoso has been creating masterpieces of his own for over 20 years. He even garnered a Grammy nomination in the process for his solo album Attack Of The Neon Shark. In the Name of Beethoven, his most recent work of art, is both breathtaking and amazing. Taking classical music and replacing dozens of instruments with acoustic and electric guitars, Masi succeeds on all levels. There is no showing off or unrealistic nature to these tributes to the big three composer albums, just pure genius. In fact, Beethoven, Bach and Mozart have never been so cool!

25. CHRIS BRODERICK — This diverse Jag Panzer axe man is equally adept at several genres. He can rip, shred and tear through solo after solo in metal, play speedy flamenco, clean blues from his soul or classical. His work on Casting the Stones, Jag Panzer’s critically acclaimed 2004 release, was inspiring, and his lead work was really clean, aggressive and unique. He has progressive metal clarity in a pure metal band, a very rare trait. Speedy unique solos like on “Starlight’s Fury” or on “Precipice,” where he plays inspired acoustic then explodes into a mach 3 sonic solo worthy of any of the great speed demons, including Impellitteri, Malmsteen or Skolnick! His Web site has video clips of him playing classical and flamenco pieces, and they are breathtaking!

Honorable Mention,
Vinny Moore, Richie Kotzen, Tony MacAlpine, Andreas Kisser, Woody Weatherman, Kurt Cobain, Michael Schenker, Neil Schon, Joe Perry, Eric Clapton, Chris Impelitterri. Milan Polak,Greg Howe, Eric Johnson, Gary Holt Rick Hunolt.