Swiss hard rock veterans KROKUS have sold more than 13 million albums worldwide and toured all over the world, and although one of their biggest hits is called “Tokyo Nights”, they had never played Japan until now.
Here is a list of the greatest rock guitarists of all time. A prerequisite for making this list is that the guitarist must have played for an awesome band. For example: Joe Satriani is a sick guitarist that produced virtuosic guitar albums; however Chickenfoot is not that awesome. Same type of thinking goes with Steve Vai; Vai’s best work was not with David Lee Roth.
The guitarists listed below are an invaluable resource to their respective bands and have inspired millions of people worldwide to pick up a guitar for the first time.
Here are the Top 20 Guitarists of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal:
1. Jimmy Paige (Led Zeppelin)
2. Eddie Van Halen (Van Halen)
3. Randy Rhoads (Ozzy Osbourne)
4. John Petrucci (Dream Theater)
5. Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath)
6. Dimebag Darrell (Pantera)
7. Angus Young (AC/DC)
8. Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple/Rainbow)
9. Paul Gilbert (Mr. Big)
10. Kirk Hammett (Metallica)
11. Brian May (Queen)
12. Joe Perry (Aerosmith)
13. Slash (Guns N’ Roses/Velvet Revolver)
14. Kerry King/Jeff Hanneman (Slayer)
15. Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society/Ozzy Osbourne)
16. George Lynch (Dokken)
17. Dave Murray/Adrian Smith (Iron Maiden)
18. Synyster Gates (Avenged Sevenfold)
19. Ted Nugent (Ted Nugent)
20. Jerry Cantrell (Alice In Chains)
Former JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Kenneth “K.K.” Downing has posted the following message on his official web site:
“I hope that you have had a great summer season and that you all had lashings of metal from your favourite bands.
Queen is a sick classic hard rock band from England that blew up the world in the 1970s and 1980s. There may not be a frontman in the history of rock and roll with the vocal talent and range of the late Freddie Mercury. Here are the ten best Queen tracks of all time featuring Mercury on vocals, Brian May on guitar, John Deacon on bass, and Roger Taylor on drums:
1. ”Bohemian Rhapsody” A Night at the Opera (1975)
2. ”Tie Your Mother Down” A Day at the Races (1976)
3. ”Fat Bottomed Girls” Jazz (1978)
4. ”Stone Cold Crazy” Sheer Heart Attack (1974)
5. ”We Are the Champions/We Will Rock You” News of the World (1977)
6. ”Under Pressure” featuring David Bowie Hot Space (1981)
7. ”Another One Bites the Dust” The Game (1979)
8. ”Killer Queen” Sheer Heart Attack (1974)
9. ”Crazy Little Thing Called Love” The Game (1979)
10. ”I Want it All” The Miracle (1989)
By the way, “Ogre Battle” from Queen II is one of the heaviest songs you will ever hear in your life. People often forget just how metal this band was in the 70s; it’s really a shame that new music can’t be this amazing.
Earlier this week, Andy Greene of RollingStone.com conducted an interview with bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee of Canadian rock legends RUSH.
Peter Hodgson of IHeartGuitarBlog.com recently conducted an interview with legendary bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, TRAPEZE, BLACK SABBATH, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION).
Ben Sisario of The New York Times recently conducted an interview with members of METALLICA and legendary former VELVET UNDERGROUND frontman Lou Reed about their musical collaboration, “Lulu”.
According to the Los Angeles Times, legendary rocker Alice Cooper will make a cameo in Johnny Depp’s new vampire film.
AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson will embark on a short tour in February 2012 during which he will recount stories from his recently released book, “Rockers And Rollers: A Full-Throttle Memoir”.
Nicki Gostin of The Huffington Post recently conducted an interview with Duff McKagan (VELVET REVOLVER, GUNS N’ ROSES, DUFF MCKAGAN’S LOADED).