Terça-feira 13 Jun 2006, 0h:10

This post is directed at those who especially love rock and metal instrumental guitar work - I'm just going to list a few of my favourite virtuoso guitar heroes whose work I think is really good, or that I've listened to lately. If you're a fan of this kind of thing, then maybe you should check out some of the other artists if you haven't already. You'll have to forgive the babbling and incoherence: it's very late. no it's early. no it's late. no it's early. you get the idea.

Don't see your favourite guitarist here? I don't care. I really don't, so don't post any comments saying guitarist x should be on this list, unless they're actually called "Guitarist X, guardian of justice and part time vigilante" which is quite a cool name, and in the event he or she existed I'd put them in the list for that reason alone.

In surname alphabetical order:

Michael Angelo Batio (USA)
Everyone's seen that video clip of the guy with the four necked guitar because it's been on the internet for ages, but there's more to MAB than hair metal and ambidextrous tapping. A lot of people write him of as just being a party trick guitarist, but that's because they haven't actually listened to any of his albums and have only seen Batio the entertainer. He is primarily a brilliant musician and there is incredible power and emotion in a much of his music. So what if he likes to embellish his music with fancy guitar work and very fast playing. If you're new to Michael Angelo, I recommend starting with No Boundaries because it has accessible stuff but also more technical bits for the guitar wizards amongst us.
Recommended Album: No Boundaries

Jason Becker (USA)
Hailed as a prodigy from his childhood, Jason Becker took the metal world by storm with Marty Friedman in their band Cacophony, releasing two influential speed metal albums featuring their unique brand of virtuoso shredding. After Cacophony, Becker put out a solo album which is pure bliss to listen to and was all set to be the guitarist in Dave Lee Roth's band (ex-Van Halen) when he was diagnosed with ALS, a condition resulting in paralysis and eventually death. Against the odds he survived, but almost entirely paralysed and he now communicates through a system of eye movements. It's a shame that he can no longer wield an axe, but I seem to remember reading something about him composing music using a computer.
Recommended Album: Perpetual Burn

George Bellas (USA)
Now George Bellas is interesting - he plays neo-classical power metal, but has also featured on Mark Boals' Ring of Fire and hints at a more progressive style. I have high hopes for Bellas, because while I have certainly enjoyed his three ventures into the realms of neo-classical shred (in which he performs exceptionally well) I am incredibly interested to see if he can venture further than your average 4/4 Shrapnel shredder and investigate more complex avenues. If you like your shred a la Paganini, then by all means pick up Venomous Fingers.
Recommended Album: Venomous Fingers

Edward Box (England)
You probably haven't heard of Edward Box. That's because he's an instrumental guitarist from the UK. Box plays some pretty straight forward instrumental rock, but it's all good fun. The nearest comparison is Extremist Satch I reckon, or maybe Neil Zaza of recent years. The basic premise is fun, easy listening rock tunes with catchy lead guitar melodies instead of vocals. This sort of thing is great for summer listening.
Recommended Album: Plectrumhead

Buckethead (USA)
There are many different sides to Buckethead and his music; most people are probably familiar with his bizarre atonal shredding works or know of him because he was in Guns N' Roses for a bit. The Buckethead I like though are three albums of his that aren't talked about much: Population Override, Colma, and Electric Tears. These three albums are among the most moving music, let alone instrumental albums that I've ever heard - they're mostly acoustic or clean electric and markedly more "sensible" than the Bucketheadland style stuff and really nice to chill out, or even work to. This might sound a little bit bizarre, but in the most positive sense, those Buckethead albums are the kind of thing I can sleep to which doesn't apply to much music.
Recommended Album: Electric Tears

Rusty Cooley (USA)
My introduction to Rusty Cooley was a video of him dicking around on an 8-string guitar, so I was presented by two things I hadn't seen before - an 8-string guitar, and a man playing at the speed he plays at. Maybe it wasn't even that fast, I can't remember any more it was ages ago. Anyway, the point is, Rusty Cooley is fast. There are faster guitarists (none listed here except maybe Batio?) but surprisingly Rusty manages to pull it off with class. I bought his debut album from good old Lion Records and was pleasantly surprised, expecting more of a mindless shred fest. He uses his speed well, and this is showcased brilliantly on the debut Outworld release. Not so on the terrible Book of Reflections album. Don't buy that. It's like the ride at the fairground that always makes you throw up.
Recommended Album: Rusty Cooley

Mattias 'IA' Eklundh (Sweden)
Few musicians, nay few people, have ideas so eclectic as Mattias Eklundh of Freak Kitchen. This guy has a sense of humour and writes his music accordingly as demonstrated by many FK songs. His songwriting can vary from radio friendly rock to Jarzombek style technical math mayhem, but it's always executed with perfect technique. Eklundh often experiments with interesting techniques and unconventonal sounds, and is sometimes reminiscent of Vai. Personally I find Freak Kitchen his better work, but the Freak Guitar material is a fun listen nonetheless, and perhaps is more complimentary of his technical abilities.
Recommended Album: Freak Guitar

Marty Friedman (USA)
The other half of Cacophony with Jason Becker. Cacophony aside, I'd overlooked Marty Friedman until recently, if truth be told, because of the association with Megadeth, of whom I am not particularly fond. However, once I actually gave his albums a listen I punched myself in the nuts for being so damn stupid. Friedman is a hugely talented guy and breaks away from the mould with a huge variety of different styles, all built around this raw, core shredding power - Friedman uses infrequently used scales and modes without effort, and most significantly, without deviating from the emotion he's trying to convey with the song in its entirety.
Recommended Album: Dragon's Kiss

Paul Gilbert (USA)
Paul Gilbert is bloody fantastic. The man just comes up with riffs, solos and really cool costumes as if they were nothing. I think his best work is Racer X, and try as I might, I can't bring myself to recommend any of his solo work. Check out Racer X if you like your metal, or Mr. Big if you're into 80s stuff, but don't bother with his solo stuff. It's mainstream rock, but executed really poorly. Other than that, he's a top flight guitarist - one of the best and will blow you away.
Recommended Album: Technical Difficulties

Greg Howe (USA)
There aren't that many guitarists in this list who play jazz and metal, in fact there aren't that many guitarists at all who play jazz and metal. Greg Howe is a fusion master and combines the two genres really well to the point where I'll listen to it whether I'm feeling in a chilled out jazz mood or a more aggressive state of mind. The problem is that all his albums are so very good, although the early ones are more jazz oriented. I'll go with Uncertain Terms.
Recommended Album: Uncertain Terms

Bob Katsionis (Greece)
Don't get me wrong, I think Bob Katsionis is great, but he's only really in this list so I can talk about a song from a three parter off his debut album called the Trilogy of Lust. The song in question is hilariously named (and I'm trying to stifle guffaws of laughter here), St. Pervert. hahahahahahahah that's fucking funny. Furthermore, this song is an instrumental with samples of, you guessed it, sex noise played over the top. I don't know what the point of the song, or trilogy of songs is, but the name and very concept made me smile. Ok, that's that out the way. Bob Katsionis I believe played in Firewind and is a great melodic metal shredder. The album will make you smile because it's feel good, but still with the hard metal edge. It will also make you smile BECAUSE OF ST.PERVERT HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
Recommended Album: Imaginary Force

Kiko Loureiro (Brazil)
Power metal fans will know and love the progressive oriented Angra, one half of whose guitar duo is none other than Kiko Loureiro. While I find Kiko's work with Angra pretty damn good, I think it was a good idea for him to undertake this solo project so he could really demonstrate what he's capable of. And he's capable of a lot. I've mentioned that some artists here write instrumentals almost as if they're actual songs, but with guitar lines instead of vocals, and this applies to Loureiro as well - at times I genuinely feel I know what the songs are saying despite the absence of lyrics. That makes no sense. No Gravity.
Recommended Album: No Gravity

Ron Jarzombek (USA)
First time I heard Spastic Ink, a project organised by Jarzombek, I was thoroughly confused. I was similarly dumfounded upon hearing his solo work and it takes a while to sink in. This guy revels in technical metal: he's the king of bizarre time signatures and completely unconventional scales. It's not music for the faint of heart, and by that I mean those who don't like their music to remind them of algebra. Fans of technical metal will probably enjoy this, but it isn't that jazz-inspired-death-thrash-techncial stuff, this is more like normal shred with a degree in calculus. Ron Jarzombek also played in Watchtower and Cynic as well as guesting on the debut Gordian Knot release. I pity the drummer who plays for Jarzombek. Fantastic.
Recommended Album: Solitarily Speaking Of Theoretical Confinement

Tony MacAlpine (USA)
I encountered Tony MacAlpine through the wonderful Planet X featuring Derek Sherinian and Virgil Donati. I was captivated by Moonbabies and I'd never heard any fusion material before and that's only part of the incredible talent that is Tony MacAlpine. MacAlpine is a pianist as well as being a guitarist playing predominantly neo-classical and fusion styles, with the more traditional metal sound on his solo project, and the fusion coming out on Planet X (although he left a while ago) and CAB. MacAlpine's diversity is well represented on his solo albums and there's pretty much something for everyone on most of his discs, which is something that you don't really get with shredders. MacAlpine for president.
Recommended Album: Edge Of Insanity

Yngwie Malmsteen (Sweden)
Yngwie who? If you like power metal, the chances are that you'll have come across some Malmsteen-influenced guitar work. Like Vai, Malmsteen is a guitarist who has made more than a considerable impact on metal today because he did things differently. Yngwie's brand of metal is neo-classical shred which he basically invented, or at least brought to the attention of the metal community. His songs have varied with the times, and although he has always stayed true to his unique style of guitar playing, the songwriting has had its up and downs, for example Malmsteen embraced the hair metal approach of the late 80s, and tragedies such as Teaser were brought about. More recently, the problem of staying fresh has been an issue with many fans complaining of rehashed or just plain boring song structures. He's still the man live, and Concerto Suite (live and recorded) from 1997 I think, is probably his greatest work of recent(ish) times.
Recommended Album: Rising Force

Vinnie Moore (USA)
If shred was real estate, then Mike Varney would be some sort of property tycoon. In the 80s and early 90s, Varney went around giving record deals to all the best shredders on his record label called Shrapnel. Malmsteen, Becker, Friedman, Gilbert and Howe have all been associated with Shrapnel at one time or another, and Vinnie Moore is another illustrious guitarist from this crowd. Moore's music is straight up metal with a smidgen of the neo-classical (two words never before used in the same sentence) and seems slightly formulaic and bland when compared with some of the other guys on this list. It's still great for the shred-heads out there though, and you won't be disappointed if you like your music fast and technical.
Recommended Album: Mind's Eye

John Petrucci (USA)
John Petrucci is one of the few guitarists who have made waves that have shaped modern metal to any significant extent. Petrucci's contribution comes through his work in Dream Theater in which he has played for the best part of twenty years, always at the forefront of progressive metal. Petrucci's playing is so diverse that it cannot be simply labeled, and he uses jazz, classical, traditional metal, rock and mainstream acoustic styles to name only a few of the styles he employs in his compositions. He recently put out a solo album including some instrumentals he performed at a G3 tour from a few years ago, which is utterly superb although perhaps more rock than metal, in fact it sounds similar in some ways to Edward Box.
Recommended Album: Suspended Animation

Michael Romeo (USA)
Those who know anything about progressive metal, will probably know who Mike Romeo is. The Symphony X mastermind was initially thought of as a Malmsteen clone, it became evident pretty damn quickly that neo-classical shred was only a tiny aspect of his playing and he has proved himself time after time with not only incredible songwriting for an entire band, but also refreshing riff, lead and solo ideas executed without flaw. As for his solo project, well it dates back to the self-titled Symphony X debut and so his style hadn't yet been tempered by Michael Pinnella and Russell Allen, who I feel have certainly had an influence on how he thinks about writing music. However, it's still pretty good - maybe think along the lines of early 90s Marty Friedman. He shines the brightest when he plays in Symphony X.
Recommended Album: The Dark Chapter

Joe Satriani (USA)
The original instrumental rock guitarist, Joe Satriani is one of guitar rock's legends and figureheads and it doesn't look like he's going to be stopping any time soon. Satriani rose to prominence in the late 80s and has developed a devout following since, with many of his compositions being treated as obligatory pieces to learn by aspiring guitarists. I think the reason so many people like his music is because although he demonstrates technical prowess, Satch's music is undeniably accessible and pleasant to listen to. Despite this, he also has an aggressive streak and some tracks are certainly not lacking in power. I recommend The Extremist.
Recommended Album: The Extremist

Alejandro Silva (Chile)
Alejandro Silva is an interesting guitarist and one unfortunately seems to have disappeared. He put out two albums over three years since 1999, both of which proved his worth as an instrumental guitarist (a difficult thing) featuring his mix of the frenetic and more reserved traditional metal. He has plenty of technical ability, but does not display it at every single opportunity, allowing for well structured songs. My only complaint would be lack of conviction at times, but otherwise I expect great things of Silva, assuming he hasn't already thrown in the towel.
Recommended Album: Uno

Joe Stump (USA)
There are those who accuse The Stump of being an Yngwie clone, and in all honesty, their claims are pretty justified. Joe Stump's band Reign of Terror might as well being a Rising Force cover band - they're certainly no more original, and large portions of Joe Stump's repetoire are identical to Yngwies, only Yngwie did it first. However, there are plenty of hints of originality in Stump's work, and it's always interesting to hear someone else's spin on neo-classical shred. If you're looking for true originality and cutting edge experimental music, then you're looking in the wrong place. You're in the wrong genre. Neo-classical shred hasn't moved since 1984, when it first appeared on Rising Force… Why do I listen to Joe Stump then? Purely because he kicks ass - his music is frenetic and fast paced; it's aggressive neo-classical shred on par with the Yng-meister. If you like that, you'll like this.
Recommended Album: Night of the Living Shred

Andy Timmons (USA)
Andy Timmons is one of few instrumental rock guitarists who is a cut above. His music is plenty melodic, but perhaps more fast paced than many of his contemporaries although it remains easily accessible and perfectly easy listening, toe-tapping stuff. One thing in particular I like about Andy Timmons (other than his first name, which is a superb name) is his less upbeat tracks. I'm listening to Cry For You right now, and it's bloody brilliant - I'm always awed by musicians who can truly convey emotion through their playing.
Recommended Album: Ear X-Tacy

Steve Vai (USA)
I'll be honest: I used to hate Vai. Whenever someone mentioned Vai, I'd make jokes about him and Satch being married and having a double-barrelled surname, and while those jokes were undeniably hilarious, I have modified my opinion of little Stevie Vai somewhat. Quite a lot in fact. Defining Vai's style of guitar might actually be impossible, and is probably attributable to his innate talent, perciverance and weirdness in addition to his teacher Satch and ex-band mate Frank Zappa. Vai's music is often far from conventional and makes use of weird scale patterns and experimental technique. He also writes more "normal" music, and his tremendous ability to get across rending emotion can be witnessed in tracks like For the Love of God and Windows to the Soul.
Recommended Album: Passion & Warfare

David Valdes (Spain)
David Valdes does neo-classical shred in the vein of Malmsteen. He doesn't do it better per se, but he does it slightly faster and with crazier arpeggios maybe? I listen to Valdes for much the same reason I listen to Joe Stump - it's absolutely brilliant for what it is: instrumental, neo-classical power metal with plenty of attitude. It is not the deepest music in the world, and will not solve world hunger or bring peace to the Middle East, so don't bother with this if you don't already like Joe Stump.
Recommended Album: Paradise Lost

Elias Viljanen (Finland)
Viljanen is a superb new guitarist from Finland who has combined aggressive metal tracks with laid back rock to spin two really quality albums. He's one of my favourite guitarists of recent times because he has a genuinely fresh sound, and his music is still perfectly accessible despite his innovative power. The themes are partially fantasy, partially emotional, but it's executed really, really well. Falls down a bit on production as I recall, but that's to be expected from the new kid on the block.
Recommended Album: Leadstar

Neil Zaza (USA)
Neil Zaza's been around for quite some time, but I only heard of him this year. He's really good - my favourite instrumental rock guitarist at the moment. Zaza does fairly simple melodic rock, but he does it better than everyone else and Melodica is probably the pinnacle of said genre to date (that's IMO Satch fans. Deal with it). Little else to say, other than I really am looking forward to whatever he puts out next, as long as it's not Silent Night 3 because that would be super lame x3.
Recommended Album: Melodica