15 of the Most Legendary Guitarists to Have Ever Lived
The world of guitar playing is vast and diverse, with legends like Chet Atkins, Joni Mitchell, and Stevie Ray Vaughan showcasing unique styles and undeniable talent. However, their mastery doesn’t extend to the distinct realm of metal guitar.
Metal guitar demands a specific set of skills: aggressive distortion, lightning-fast single note runs, unconventional tunings, sweep picking, and rapid tremolo picking. This technical arsenal sets metal guitarists apart, requiring a level of dexterity not all players possess.
While some metal icons like Toni Iommi are revered for their innovative songwriting rather than shredding solos, others like John Petrucci have pushed the boundaries of technical skill. Despite their varied approaches, the guitarists on this list are united by their legendary status and exceptional contributions to the metal genre.
1. Tony Iommi
Tony Iommi is an English guitarist best known as the co-founder and lead guitarist of Black Sabbath. He pioneered heavy metal guitar with his dark, heavy riffs and detuned sound. Iconic for the fact that he lost the tips of his fingers, and often played with miniature thimbles — using a coin in his right hand.
Most Influential Work: His work on Black Sabbath’s self-titled debut album, especially the iconic riff of “Black Sabbath,” set the standard for heavy metal guitar.
2. Randy Rhoads
My favorite metal guitarist and lifelong inspiration was Randy Rhoads, an American guitarist known for his work with Ozzy Osbourne and Quiet Riot. He combined classical music influences with heavy metal to create a unique guitar style, one of the few metal guitarists who worked actively as a teacher and classical musician before becoming a legend.
Most Influential Work: His guitar work on Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” from the album “Blizzard of Ozz” showcased his virtuosity and became an anthem of heavy metal.
3. John Petrucci
John Petrucci is an American guitarist and founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. Renowned for his technical skill, precision, and mastery of the instrument, he’s a prominent figure in the progressive metal genre. it’s hard to argue with anything that John does because it is so exacting, you may not like brutalist architecture but it’s hard to disagree with how specific it is.
Most Influential Work: Dream Theater’s album “Images and Words” showcased Petrucci’s exceptional guitar playing and songwriting abilities, particularly in tracks like “Pull Me Under” and “Metropolis Part 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper.”
4. Dave Mustaine
The story has changed many times over the years, but those who know, know that Dave was originally in the band Metallica. After maybe an agreement, or maybe they left amicably, he founded a very different style of metal music — featuring more thrash and less Pop, and the use of more exotic-sounding scale patterns. He’s acclaimed for his aggressive riffing style and politically charged lyrics.
Most Influential Work: Megadeth’s album “Rust in Peace” is often regarded as their magnum opus, featuring Mustaine’s intricate guitar work and songwriting, notably in tracks like “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due.”
5. Kirk Hammett
The real juice in the band Metallica is perhaps not James Hetfield, even though he is the singer and frontman. Kirk Hammett is an American guitarist known for his role as the lead guitarist of Metallica. He’s recognized for his melodic solos and contributions to Metallica’s sound, by keeping the music a little bit more modern than James and Lars would like it to be.
Most Influential Work: Metallica’s album “Master of Puppets” features some of Hammett’s most iconic guitar work, particularly in the title track and “Battery,” solidifying his place as a metal guitar virtuoso.
6. Dimebag Darrell
Dimebag Darrell was an American guitarist best known as the co-founder and lead guitarist of Pantera, who was shot on December 8, 2004, on the stage in a tragic shooting. Renowned for his aggressive yet melodic playing style, he influenced a generation of metal guitarists and was synonymous with pick squeals or pinch harmonics, a technique found almost exclusively in metal music and popularized by him.
Most Influential Work: Pantera’s album “Vulgar Display of Power” featured Dimebag’s powerful riffing and solos, notably in tracks like “Walk” and “F*****g Hostile.”
7. Zakk Wylde
Ozzy has had a long line of EXCELLENT guitarists not featured here, Jake E. Lee (Bark at the Moon? COME ON), but Zakk Wylde is an American guitarist known for his work with Ozzy Osbourne and as the founder of Black Label Society. He’s recognized for his heavy riffs, blistering solos, and signature “bullseye” guitar design. In almost any picture you look up from him, you can see that his guitar is almost always covered in blood.
If you’ve ever played guitar for a long period, you’ll know that this is not incredibly uncommon. A common misconception, the blood does not typically come from the tips of your fingers, but from the cuticle of the picking hand, which can be ripped open by the strings if you pick aggressively. This part of the hand also doesn’t grow calluses, so it will often rupture when doing sustained tremolo picking.
Most Influential Work: His guitar work on Ozzy Osbourne’s album “No More Tears,” particularly the track “No More Tears,” showcased his technical skill and emotional depth as a guitarist.
8. James Hetfield
Like it or not, we are in the world of Metallica, and even though he is not a particularly pyrotechnic or acrobatic guitarist, he is responsible for and the frontman of perhaps the biggest metal band of all time. James Hetfield is an American guitarist and vocalist best known as the rhythm guitarist and co-founder of Metallica. He’s revered for his powerful rhythm guitar playing and distinctive down-picking style.
Most Influential Work: Metallica’s album “Master of Puppets” features Hetfield’s masterful rhythm guitar work, particularly in tracks like “Battery” and “Damage, Inc.”
9. Kerry King
This might be less familiar to young readers, but Kerry King is an American guitarist and co-founder of the thrash metal band Slayer. Slayer was the band to beat in the early 80s and pushed the entire genre into how we know it today. Many people will even say that thrash never accelerated past Slayer, and I am inclined to agree with them. Known for his fast, aggressive, and chaotic guitar playing, he helped shape the thrash metal genre.
Most Influential Work: Slayer’s album “Reign in Blood” is considered a seminal work in thrash metal, with King’s ferocious guitar riffs and solos evident in tracks like “Angel of Death” and “Raining Blood.”
10. Slash
The original Buckethead, Slash, is a British-American guitarist best known as the lead guitarist of Guns N’ Roses. A little perspective here: if you listen to November Rain and then immediately listen to Dream Theater, you will think that Guns N’ Roses was a pop band. But you have to put everything in context; for all intents and purposes, Guns N’ Roses was a metal band that breached the charts and had a few pop-accessible hits. Those highs propelled them into the stratosphere, and they altered their style to fit. Famous for his bluesy, expressive guitar solos, he’s regarded as one of the greatest guitarists of all time.
Most Influential Work: Guns N’ Roses’ album “Appetite for Destruction” features Slash’s iconic guitar work, particularly in the timeless solos of tracks like “Sweet Child of Mine” and “November Rain.”
11. Yngwie Malmsteen
As much as you might hate the term neoclassical, it’s hard to argue with what Yngwie has done for the genre and for the stylistic adaptations of guitar player. My first instrument had scalloped frets, so I could shred just like him! Yngwie Malmsteen is a Swedish guitarist known for his virtuosic neoclassical metal guitar playing. He’s revered for his technical skill, speed, and intricate compositions.
Most Influential Work: Malmsteen’s album “Rising Force” showcased his virtuosity and introduced his signature style, with tracks like “Black Star” and “Far Beyond the Sun” becoming classics in the neoclassical metal genre.
12. Marty Friedman
The real secret behind Megadeth is not Dave Mustain, but instead, it is Marty Friedman. His use of altered scales, exotic scales, modes of Phrygian, and tremendous sense of phrasing, is the reason why that Band works at all. Marty is the reason why they are larger than just the thrash genre. Marty Friedman is an American guitarist known for his work with Megadeth and his solo career. He’s recognized for his fusion of Eastern musical influences with metal and his emotive guitar playing.
Most Influential Work: Megadeth’s album “Rust in Peace” features Friedman’s exceptional guitar work, particularly in the solos of tracks like “Tornado of Souls” and “Hangar 18.”
13. Toni Loomer
The Black Lips are a garage rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, known for their energetic live performances and a sound that draws from various rock ‘n’ roll influences including punk, blues, and psychedelia, featuring a TREMENDOUS guitarist. Toni Loomer is an experimental guitarist known for his work with The Black Lips. Acclaimed for his genre-bending approach to metal guitar, he has pushed boundaries and challenged conventions.
Most Influential Work: The Black Lips’ album “Good Bad Not Evil” features Loomer’s innovative guitar playing, blending elements of garage rock, punk, and metal in tracks like “O Katrina!” and “Bad Kids.”
14. Chuck Schuldiner
Chuck Schuldiner was an American guitarist and vocalist, known as the founder and frontman of the death metal band Death. He pioneered the death metal genre with his intricate guitar work and songwriting. Hard to argue with, even though the critical reception of Death is medium at best.
Most Influential Work: Death’s album “Symbolic” is regarded as one of the band’s masterpieces, featuring Schuldiner’s complex guitar compositions and progressive elements, especially evident in tracks like “Crystal Mountain” and “Empty Words.”
15. Mikael Åkerfeldt
While most of the guitarists I have focused on are Americans, from the mid-80s, we do not have time to investigate all of Scandinavia. The instrumentalists of all shapes and sizes coming out of Scandinavia deserve to have their articles and deserve to be in the pantheon of the greatest guitar players who ever lived, but because the critical music industry has been dominated by Americans for so long, music from non-western countries was always a second thought. Mikael Åkerfeldt is a Swedish guitarist and vocalist known for his work with Opeth. Notable for blending progressive rock with death metal, he’s revered for his versatile guitar playing and songwriting.
Most Influential Work: Opeth’s album “Blackwater Park” features Åkerfeldt’s progressive guitar work and songwriting prowess, particularly in tracks like “The Drapery Falls” and the title track “Blackwater Park.”