Customer Reviews

The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

We've all seen the lists of 'Best Guitarists Ever,' or 'Best Heavy Metal Guitar Players' which included Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix. We've also said "huh?"
This book is the first real collection of the Top 100 Metal Guitarists ever. The book leaves some people out due to them being "shredders" or "hard rock" guitarists and I would have included them (think Randy Rhoads and Eddie Van Halen), but overall it's a great collection spanning many metal subgenres.
The real gem of this book is why each person belongs on the list and where they do. The author gives compelling arguments for each person. I won't say who is where in the countdown, but with any list it does create the argument for and against.
The most compelling on the list is who's #1. I totally agree with the authors choice, but many will not (hint: he's ultra-talented and carries a chip on his shoulder).
The only con I have with the book, in each bio of the guitarist, I think the author spends too much time talking about the guitarists band and describing their style. I would have preferred more analysis of their playing style, not the band's place in (insert name here) style of metal.
All in all though, it's a good book and one to read and debate with other metalheads! \M/

There will always be a problem with lists in that they are the view of a select group of people and others will not agree with them. In this case the list has been created by just one person, Joel McIver, so no-one else will agree with his placements. Also, here we have the problem of genre definition. It is quite easy to state that Children of Bodom or Cannibal Corpse belong in Metal, but when it gets closer to Hard Rock then the boundary gets blurred. I don't believe that The Scorpions are metal, and I won't be convinced otherwise, and I certainly don't think that Rudolf Schenker is a better guitarist than his brother, but as with all things listwise it is all down to personal taste. So from the statements it is fairly obvious that I don't like the book. Right? Wrong. While I may not agree with certain parts of this, there is no doubting Joel's love of metal, his technical knowledge of the music he is discussing and his extensive knowledge of the scene in general.

He discusses at depth why he is including each guitarist, his rationale behind the placing and music that can be played so that the reader can understand why he feels that the placing is correct. The result is a book that any metalhead will get a great deal from. Joel has understood that many people may not understand all of the technical reasons so he has tried to keep that to a minimum, but enough so that musicians would be able to take his rationale to the next level. At the end of the list (no I'm not going to say who is number 1 - and while I understand his reasoning I would have thought that based on his own criteria it should be Iommi who was a lowly sixth), there is some small analysis and an honourable mention of the next 50. He has looked at bands from the birth of metal to the current day, so newcomers such as Trivium are here, and the depth and knowledge of the subject matter is unquestionable.

Required reading for all fans of the genre.

Whether you are a guitarist or not, this book will have you spending hundreds of dollars buying the music described in this book. The author knows his heavy metal and knows guitar playing. Authoritative writing, witty, extensive familiarity with the discography of so many bands. What's more, this author really gets it, even if it is controversial, such as who the number one heavy metal guitarist is. I won't reveal it here, but this has been my opinion for years.

The author also gets it in ranking Jeff Waters near the top. Most people reading this review might think Jeff Who? Read about Annihilator, listen to the music from their first few albums (YouTube has some of the songs in their entirety) and you will understand. The author also gets it in his delineation between heavy metal and shred guitar.

The only thing that the author gets wrong is his ranking of Michael Schenker. His selection of the "Genius Moment" recommendation for Schenker shows that he is not very familiar with Schenker's work. Schenker's riffs are admittedly non-metal, as is the Mad Axeman choice, but his solos are pure brilliance, in composition and in technique. If there had not been Schenker, there would have been no Metallica, no Megadeth, no Randy Rhoads, and of course no Arch Enemy. Listen to the MSG live recordings from 1981-1984. Any of the current guitarists is at best as fast as Schenker was then. But if you compare the musical content, the inspiration, the feeling, the best among today's metal elite sound like they are playing metronome practice mechanical excercises, not music that is worth hearing more than once or worth learning to play.

Despite this mistake in rating Schenker, which is understandable given Schenker's decline over the years, this book is amazing. The book gets as close to a scholarly book as any book that I know on the subject of heavy rock. But be careful, as I said, buying this book will cost you tens of times more than the price of the book.

This is a well written, fast read with lots of interesting details about these guys that have made metal so pervasive.

If you like heavy metal and the technique that goes along with it, you'll love this book. Make sure your internet music accounts are ready to go, then rock out. Use the book as your guide to great guitar music and prime examples of sweep, pitso, power chords, and amazing creativity.

Lets start by saying that this is a really good list... really good. I think that Joel puts down the really top 100; you might disagree with a couple of guitarist player spot, this should be up or down, whatever.... The bottom line is that whatever the spot he really spent some time researching and putting some brain on this. The logic behind this is very objective.

I disagree in some guitarist spots like Marty Freidman, martys should be closet to the top 10.

However the only flaw i found is the technical description of the style of each player. Here make some comments about some player but is not a consistent part of the book. I was expecting for a book like this a section in ALL PLAYER describing the technical part, for example, Tapping, arpeggios, scales, shred, skip strings, creativity, etc like a metric score matrix or something. This approach is more objective that what he did (that is very good)
Lets say (example just for illustration purpses) from a scale from 1-10, 10 being the best
Mary Friedman
Tapping- 2
Skip strings - 5
Creativity - 7
Scales arsenal - 8
Arpegios - 5
Wah - 3

Overall is a must for a metal guitar fan

This is an awesome book, made of excellent quality paper, with great pictures and short yet precise reviews of the players. It gives you information about things you might not know. Before read it take into consideration that this is the author's point of view which you may disagree, however it is a complete guide of musicians who are giving their best for this style of music. Be aware of its content: metal only, which means players like Eddie Van Halen or Jimmy Hendrix are not included in this book. Apart from the fact that they didn't send me a brand new one still is a good book which I widely recommend to those metal lovers and reading lovers who want to have a nice piece of work. Congratulations to the author. Cheers.

Acclaimed British author Joel McIver (Extreme Metal, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, The Bloody Reign Of Slayer) has issued The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists. This 224-page labor of love is as much ultra-cool coffee table material as it is essential reference guide and invaluable source of information. Chock full of black and white photos, thumbing through is impossible. Once you've picked it up, you're hooked! Clear in his mission and intent, McIver states, "If you're expecting to see Slash, Vai, Satriani or Van Halen, you'll be disappointed. They're virtuoso guitarists, but they're primarily rock musicians, not metal musicians." This is a metal book counting down the best, most "innovative and groundbreaking" axe-slingers of the headbanging genre. Admittedly, McIver's picks are bound to generate controversy and debate. But he backs up his list with "genius moments" alongside exclusive interviews and editorial comment. Number one is bound to surprise, possibly even shock and astonish--but it makes sense. Much like a high profile lawyer convincing a jury of the accused's innocence or guilt, McIver justifies the rankings with emphasis on "technical proficiency and/or pioneering ideas." To top it all off, Glen Benton of Deicide wrote the forward.

Ok so admittedly I jumped right to the number one guitarist in here. Megadeth being my absolute favorite band, I was excited to see how the author defended his decision. Instead, I got a biography of Mustaine. It sounds like he read Dave's autobiography as well and just pulled exercepts out of it. I was looking for maybe some explanations of Dave's technicality on his strings, or his creativity, or maybe even his influence on other guitar players. Instead, I was told again of his troubled past with drugs and bandmates. After reading his stance on other players in the book, it seemed more of the same. This guy is very knowledge and knows his bands well. However, he doesn't seem like someone who should make a list of the best guitar players.

When I received this book in the mail, I sat down and read the entire thing in one sitting. I have loved metal since the age of 12 and consider myself knowledgeable about a variety of genres and musicians. With guitar being my favorite instrument, this book was a must-have. I could not recommend it more highly to any fans of metal, guitar, or just music in general. Great read, great presentation of the list, and overall an extremely worthwhile purchase.