I want my geetar loving/playing fellow Dopers to chime in on whom they deem to be Satan’s Crown Prince of Heavy Metal Guitar Godliness.
I realize that the term “heavy metal” is kinda loaded dependent upon the era. Led Zeppelin used to be called heavy metal by some back in the day, but they are decidedly not heavy metal. Black Sabbath, a band from the same era, is heavy metal.
I suppose “Hard Rock” guitarists could be included, as this is such a hazy genre depending on whom you ask and what genre/era you refer to.
So, including “hard rock” in this loaded and likely to fail thread, who do you think has the ultimate best qualifications as “best” heavy metal guitarist?
I don’t think shredders (Yngwie, Vai, Gilbert, etc) are necessarily qualifying. I’m looking for the complete package: a guitar player that had or has an awesome, crunching tone, a distinctive sound, a good repertoire of chops/licks, played in a known band that actually wrote decent songs, fitted the scope of the band and just sounded perfect for what the band was trying to do.
After much ponderation and self-doubt, I’m going to throw Pantera’s “Dimebag” Darrell’s hat into the ring.
The guy qualifies on every level. And to further his legend, he was murdered.
What do you guys think? Any further clarification on genre is also welcome, as I struggle to define what I am asking for.
Fuck! I knew this was a poorly worded thread. I’ll bump it this once and then slink away like the reptile I am if it gets no replies.
I thought we had a guitar brotherhood going on in this motherfucker!
I don’t think many contemporary metal heads will come in here an dispute Dimebag. There are a lot of good players out there now but few can compete with Dimes dynamic playing. None of panteras songs sound the same, mainly due to his awesome riffing. As far as shredding goes he was always very tasteful yet speedy in his playing. His was one of only two celeb death that truly made me sad on a personal level. The other was Walter Payton.
He’s not even that. Hetfield carries him rhythm-wise, Hetfield comes up with the riffs, and Hammet just plays dreck. I honestly believe that he is one of the worst metal lead guitarists out there. His solos are crap and I love older Metallica. I find myself just waiting for it to end to get back to crunchy guitars and neo-political statements.
I hate that I have to agree with you about Kirk Hammet. When I was 16 and just learning guitar I thought he was a god. That was back in the days of RTL and MoP. As I got older and better I realized he really isn’t that good. It was kind of sad, really.
To respond to the OP, I am developing an appreciation for Mustaine. My son is currently obsessed with Megadeth and I hear them all the time. He is rather one-dimensional but I think he wrote some great songs with solid riffs, and he can solo when he wants to.
Dimebag is another good one.
What about Glen Tipton? He started getting kind of shreddy but I’ve always liked him better than KK.
Looks like 3 people beat me to it, but I’ve gotta go with Dimebag as well. Not only the flat out metal stuff (which was amazing), but the entire range of things the man put out;
THANK YOU! I thought I was the only one who felt that way. And, FTR, I used to be a huge Metallica fan (and, embarrassingly, especially because I’m a drummer, I also used to be an insufferable Lars Ulrich apologist).
Again: agreed. Though I did forget about the existence of his solo on this song, which is, to my ears, the best solo he’s ever done. But then again, what do I know? I’m not a guitar player, only a guitar fan.
Mustaine is pretty good. On some of my favorite Megadeth records he’s helped out quite a bit by other guitarists, so it can be hard to tell sometimes who’s playing what. Like Countdown To Extinction and Rust In Peace with Marty Friedman, who’s a damn good metal guitarist/shredder in his own right.
I still enjoy earlier Judas Priest records and songs but because Tipton shares guitar work with KK Downing, I’m not sure where I’d put either of them on a “best” list.
I agree, the guy could wail and play various other styles. Which is why I nominated him. I don’t think he’s the best rock guitarist I’ve ever heard, not by a longshot, but particularly in the metal realm, he’s a fucking God of War. Or, he was anyway.
Somewhat. Pantera’s records can be uneven IMO. I was just listening to Cowboys From Hell yesterday (perhaps inspiring this thread!) and there are really only like 4 or 5 of the 12 tracks that I really like or listen to much, especially the title track, Cemetary Gates (which may be their best song ever) and Domination, which has the best heavy metal intro ever when someone yells “Fart stinks like a motherfucker!!” right before the music hits. That cracks me up every time I hear it. I know, I’m immature, fart jokes and all that…
I think Metallica is probably the best heavy metal band ever, despite the liability of Hammet, especially from their inception until about the black album, which is when I started losing interest.
It’s funny. I have a particular fondness for And Justice For All, and I find myself fast-forwarding through all of the guitar solos because I just don’t care for them much. Which of course is the exact opposite behavior I apply when listening to Yngwie Malmsteen, for instance. I’ll fast forward through the entire crappy song just to get to the solo, which for about all of Yngwie’s non-instrumental repertoire is their only redeeming value!
Rust In Peace is, to me, the greatest metal album ever. The intricate songwriting, the ridiculous(but not extraneous) solos, I listen to it constantly. That ending section of “Five Magics” is metal perfection.
It is a really, really good metal album, but I prefer Countdown. Some evil, twisted part of me is quite attracted to “Sweating Bullets”.
It’s funny, in the Rush thread people talk about how much they hate Geddy Lee’s voice, but Dave Mustaine’s is every bit as much of an acquired taste. His growling snarl vocal delivery gives way to a pretty nasally singing voice, and his range isn’t great. Still love it though.
I agree that Dimebag Darrell was a monster axeman but I have a real hard time not going with Tony Iommi on this one. He did everything so well, missing part of a finger even.
A couple of guys that fly under the radar a bit are Stephen Carpenter (Deftones) and Page Hamilton (Helmet). Carpenter can riff like no one’s business but they always get saddled with that Nu metal label and I think it hurts their cred a bit. I love that low end groove thing he has going. It’s like a rollercoaster of groove.
Page Hamilton is a lot more cerebral but shuts it down for Helmet and just batters you with his guitar sound. When you hear him jam with other bands he shows off more; with his own band he just settles for pummeling the listener.
Even though the question wasn’t asked I will also offer the unsolicited opinion that John Paul Jones is a true rock God. I’ve been listening to Them Crooked Vultures and Dave Grohl can hardly play a beat without the bass snaking around it. The guy is relentless. You don’t listen to Led Zeppelin or Them Crooked Vultures for the bass but I’m certain they wouldn’t sound at all right without him. Peerless.
I heartily agree about Iommi, he’s called the King Of Riffs for a reason, I think the only knock on him is that he wasn’t much of a soloist at all, especially compared to someone like Dimebag. I haven’t heard a whole lot of Helmet (aren’t they the guys that had a hit with “Unsung” in the 1990’s?) or Deftones, but what I have heard I’ve liked.
Broadly speaking in terms of all “hard rock,” I think I’d have to put EVH at the top. His solo virtosity, and pioneering techique goes without saying, but he was also a great riffmeister (and one of those guitarists who can lick around a riff seamlessly without losing the groove) and tremendously influential.
Others I would put high up (in no particular order): Jimmy Page: do I really need to say anything about Zep? Tony Iommi: established the vocabulary for heavy metal riffing Angus Young: talk about perfect for his band Randy Roads: a personal favorite of mine who died way too young and might have ended up being the greatest ever if he’d had the chance. Extraordinarily sophisticated compositional sensibilities James Hetfield: Not so much a soloist (though he’s actually pretty good at it when he wants to), but compares only to Iommi in terms of heavy metal riffsmanship. Yngwie: I know the OP said he didn’t want shredders, but I still think he deserves a mention just for his sheer virtuosity at it. I think guitarists may appreciate him more than non-muscians just to marvel at his ridiculous technical proficiency. Too bad he can’t write a song to save his life, but he can shred harmonic minor scales and sweep arpeggios like a sonabitch.
