A lot of music books are passive, where you just read and absorb the information and go on your merry way. That’s not the case with The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists. After reading it you’ll want to make your own list, email Joel McIver to argue about his list and seek out music to revisit or discover these outstanding guitarists.
The great thing about books like this is that they are completely subjective. One hundred different metal fans or experts would have 100 completely different lists, which leaves things open to discussion, debate and argument. McIver has written a dozen metal books, writes for several different publications and did exhaustive research putting together his list. His descriptions of each of the 100 best guitarists are well-written, combining basic biographical information with insight on their playing style.
You won’t find Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, Yngwie Malmsteen, Slash, Joe Satriani or Steve Vai listed in The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists. McIver categorizes them as hard rock guitarists, not heavy metal guitarists.
The 100 guitarists McIver selected run the gamut of metal genres from death to thrash to power to black to traditional metal. There’s also a good geographical representation, with over a dozen countries included along with both old school and new school shredders.
McIver makes a good case for his rankings, although there are a few omissions from his main top 100 and appendix list of the next 50 best guitarists, such as Gus G from Firewind. I also disagree with ranking James Hetfield higher than Kirk Hammett, but a good argument can be made for each. I won’t reveal the number one guitarist in the book, and although it isn’t the most obvious or sexiest choice, it does make sense.
The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists is a compelling and engaging book that won’t settle the debate about who are the best heavy metal axemen of all time, but is certainly a good place to start.
