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Name the greatest (update: greatest all-around Metal guitar player) Metal guitar player of all time.

I say Dimebag Darrell of PanterA is number one through ten, and the second best guitarist ranks at number eleven. Yea, he was that good. Dime had the riffs, the solos and the best live sound (part of the credit goes to his sound people) I've ever heard, and I have watched all the greats. To top it all off, his signature whammy bar harmonics, appropriately, soared with absolute ease above and beyond the most talented shredders money can buy. Dime was hitting notes only birds can hear!
I have seen TamporA three times on their final tour and they without a doubt were, and still are, Kings of Metal. The football field-sized moshpits spoke for themselves. There won't be another one like them in our lifetime, kids.

So, who do you think is a better metal guitarist than the best metal guitarist ever? A Dime clone? Dime with four arms? Those don't exist, smartass.

SXXX9 4 Sep 8
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15 comments

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0

Blackmore, Steve Morse, Dimebag, Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Van Halen, Zak Wylde, Herman Lee, Angleo Battio, Jimmy Page, Malmsteen, Satriani, Paul Gilbert, Slash, Mark Tremonti, Marty Friedman, Randy Rhoads

1

I'm surprised that no one has yet nominated Lil Wayne

SXXX9 Level 4 Sep 8, 2018
1

UPDATE: Tony Iommi is not in the running. Having singlehandedly invented the riff that compels us, he is, naturally, judging the competition.

PRAISE IOMMI

SXXX9 Level 4 Sep 8, 2018
1

Uli Roth for me, or Michael Schenker.

1

Michael Angelo Batio. To bad he is a huge asshole, But his playing is still amazing.

Why is he a huge asshole?

1

Dwayne Eddie

1

Marty Friedman. Specifically on Megadeth’s Rust In Peace.

2

R.I.P., Randy Rhodes

2

Well I'm going with my personal favorite, Jeff Waters of the Canadian thrash metal band annihilator. He has all the bases covered, the sonic speed of thrash with technique I might add. Lightning Fast guitar solos two licks and scales running up and down to neck. Excellent song writing skills I've yet to hear a bad Annihilator song. Great Showmanship sells out the biggest Arenas in the world. And a real Class Act on top of it doesn't smoke doesn't drink and doesn't do drugs a true role model.

And you can hire him to mix/master your music.

2

Tony Iommi

Tony is by far the riff master.

Iommi isn't in the running, he's judging the competition.

PRAISE IOMMI

4

In no particular order:

Michael Romeo (Symphony X)
Gary Holt (Exodus)
Dave Mustaine (Megadeth)
Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth)
John Petrucci (Dream Theater)
Alex Skolnick (Testament)
Marty Friedman (Megadeth)
Reece Scruggs (Havok)
Jeff Waters (Annihilator)

2

Jaysus, that's a tough one :Tony Iommi, Jimmy Page, John Petrucci, Paul Gilbert, Randy Rhoads, Alex Skolnick...

3

To me, as a non guitarist, has to be Petrucci. He's just complete, all around the best...

2

I don't think I'd put Dimebag even in my personal top ten. Sure, he was a good guitarist, but Pantera where always a bit middle of the road for my taste, and their songwriting was kinda clichéd. I'd go for:
Bill Steer - Carcass.
Chuck Schuldiner - Death
These two pretty much pioneered technical/melodic death metal in the 90's.
Mike Scaccia - Rigor Mortis, Ministry
No one picks like Mike!
Tony Iomi - Black Sabbath
He lost two fingertips in an industrial accident and went on to create heavy metal.
Kirk Hammett - Metallica
Yeah, they've gone off the rails now, but Master of Puppets is magnificent.
Ben Weinman - The Dillinger Escape Plan
Tore up the extreme metal handbook consistently from 1997-2017
I'd go on, by my phone's about to run out battery!

You have to remember, and I can't stress this enough, that while Hammett has composed some incredible lead work time and time again, he gets a score of zero in the riff department (circumstance being the main reason since Hatfield handled all the rhythm work alone) while Dimebag excelled there, regardless of the fact that PanterA were a typical '90s' metal band (again, due to circumstance). A great riff is a great riff, whether Anselmo sings over it or Dio or anyone else.
Now, as great as Hammett's solos are they don't have that extra push over the edge that is Dime's whammy bar dives and squeals. That very simple guitar trick goes a long way and scores him a lot of points in my book.

Oh, and Iommi is not in the running, he is, of course, judging the competition.

PRAISE IOMMI

@JimiYugo

As, of course, would Randy Rhoads if he were still with us.

2

Dimenag Darrell was good, but there are a few contemporary metal guitarists who are his equal.....

  • Herman Li from Dragonforce
  • Devin Townsend from The Devin Townsend Project
  • John Wesley from Porcupine Tree
  • Mikael Akerfeldt from Opeth

Have you seen the video of Herman Li playing guitar while submerged underwater? Dimebag never did that, I'll give you that.
Also, are you familiar with Matt Pike of Sleep/High on Fire? He is a fan of Opeth's Akerfeldt and one of my personal favorites. An unique and original guitarist that has influenced my own playing style more that any other (more than Iommi himself probably, and he invented metal guitar!)

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