Alex Skolnick (b. 1968) is best known as a metal guitarist with thrash pioneers Testament, but metal is just one facet of the talented guitarist’s abilities. Skolnick was born in Berkeley, California. At the age of nine, he discovered Kiss and subsequently decided to learn guitar. He was later inspired by the highly technical work of Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads. At the age of 16, he joined a ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1981–present) Formed in New York with Dan Spitz (guitar), Scott Ian (guitar), Dan Lilker (bass) and Charlie Benante (drums). After adding Joey Belladonna (vocals) they hit paydirt, recording Spreading The Disease for Island in 1986. They gained an awesome live reputation, while issuing blistering records (State Of Euphoria, 1988 and Sound Of White Noise, 1993), including a team-up with rapper Chuck D, ‘Bring The Noise’. They remain one of ...
In the early 1980s, as the new wave of British heavy metal was taking the US by storm, an American music revolution called ‘thrash metal’ was brewing, combining the heavy sounds of metal with the unabashed aggression and speed of punk. At the centre of this sonic storm was a young quartet called Megadeth, which featured the lightning-fast yet fluid lead licks of guitarist Chris Poland (b. 1957). Though best known ...
Dave Mustaine (b. 1961) was the original lead guitarist for the heavy-metal band Metallica and the co-founder, lead guitarist and lead singer of the thrash-metal band Megadeth. He was born in La Mesa, California. Brought up as a Jehovah’s Witness, by the age of 17, he was surviving financially by dealing drugs. In the 1970s, Mustaine began playing electric guitar and joined a band called Panic. In 1981, Mustaine left Panic ...
Despite a life cut tragically short by violence, Darrell Lance Abbott (1966–2004), known as ‘Dimebag Darrell,’ achieved stardom not only as a founding member of the bands Pantera and Damageplan, but also in death as an icon who succumbed onstage and carried his passions to the grave. Darrell Abbott took up guitar when he was 12. He was a devoted fan of Black Sabbath and Kiss. (He later had an autograph ...
Clad head-to-toe in studded black leather and featuring a thundering rhythm section, a dynamic twin-guitar assault and one of the purest rock vocalists in music history, it simply doesn’t get any more ‘metal’ than Judas Priest. And the man behind many of the band’s greatest riffs and solos is guitarist Glenn Tipton (b. 1947). Born in Blackheath, England, Tipton was a latecomer to the guitar, first picking it up at the ...
(Vocals, b. 1958) Tracy Marrow took his well-known name from pimp Iceberg Slim who wrote and published novels and poetry. Growing up wild in California, the release of a handful of singles on a variety of labels in the 1980s showed promise. Securing a solo deal, early albums like Rhyme Pays (1987) Power Power (1988) and the classic OG (1991) showcased his articulate lyrical style dealing with themes of good times, ...
Jason Becker, born in 1969, is an American neo-classical metal guitarist and composer whose steady rise to the top of the guitar world was cut short by illness. Becker was born and raised in Richmond, California. In high school, he performed Yngwie Malmsteen’s ‘Black Star’ with his band at a talent show. At 16, he formed Cacophony with his friend Marty Friedman. Produced by Mike Varney, the duo released Speed ...
When singer-guitarist Dave Mustaine was dismissed from the original Metallica line-up, it opened the door for a young Bay Area-based guitarist named Kirk Hammett (b. 1962) to come in and lead the thrash-metal charge. What Hammett and his mates in Metallica would accomplish from that point, no one could have predicted. Born in San Francisco, California, Hammett benefited from his older brother’s extensive hard-rock record collection, which included albums by Jimi ...
Mark Tremonti (b. 1974) rose to fame as the lead guitarist of Creed, enjoying enormous success at the turn of the twenty-first century with metal-influenced songs that crossed over to the pop charts. Tremonti’s tasteful power has garnered him many fans. His instructional DVD The Sound And The Story adds tips from several guitarists, including Michael Angelo Batio, Rusty Cooley, Troy Stetina, Bill Peck and Myles Kennedy. Tremonti was born and ...
Many guitarists of the ‘shred’ variety unfortunately stick to scalar lines and diatonic arpeggios in straight major or minor keys. Marty Friedman (b. 1962) is not one of them. Indeed, Friedman’s tendency towards Eastern, Middle Eastern and other ethnic sounds has distinguished him as one of the most musically gifted super-pickers the guitar world has ever seen. Martin Adam Friedman grew up in the Baltimore area. He began playing guitar at ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1983–present) Ex-Metallica guitarist Dave Mustaine hardened and sped up his erstwhile band’s already ferocious thrash metal. His pessimistic, politicized lyrics drive the likes of Peace Sells … But Who’s Buying? (1986) and his best album so far Rust In Peace (1990), matching his former employers’ impact in the process. After an attempt to go more mainstream the band – essentially Mustaine with hired hands – returned to form with ...
Formed in California 1981 by drummer Lars Ulrich (born in Denmark, 26 December 1963) and James Hetfield (born 3 August 1963, vocals, guitar) who shared a mutual love of British new-wave heavy metal. Dave Mustaine (lead guitar) and Ron McGovney (bass) were recruited for early live work but due to personal and musical issues the pair were quickly replaced by Kirk Hammett (born 10 November 1962, lead guitar) and Cliff Burton ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1975–present) The seemingly indestructible Lemmy Kilmister (vocals, bass) was a former member of Hawkwind, and a vicar’s son. Motörhead are named after a Hawkwind song he penned. The line-up settled in the late 1970s with ‘Fast’ Eddie Clarke (guitar) and Phil ‘Filthy Animal’ Taylor (drums). The title track of 1980’s Ace Of Spades was a UK hit, and became the blueprint for the band’s sound for the next quarter ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1988–present) Taking their name from the famed John Milton poem, it was only fitting that Nick Holmes (vocals), Gregor Mackintosh (guitar), Aaron Aedy (guitar), Stephen Edmonson (bass) and Matthew Archer (drums) delivered a slower brand of dark thrash metal. Early EPs and albums enjoyed a noisy cult success although by Shades Of God (1992) and Icon (1993) they had gained a more extensive international following. Tours and albums flowed ...
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