Check out our featured song: "Aurora" by Cameron Brown! ruclips.net/video/3PxOFschfJ4/видео.html Who's YOUR favorite heavy metal guitarist? Let us know in the comments!
Interesting they don't have Friedman on the list who I consider better or Friedman's cacophony partner Jason Becker who imo is better than both Friedman and Mustaine
they somehow fuck up every list they ever make whether its a metal,rock,rap, pop or not even a music related list. they find a way to piss us all off. ive never seen a comment section of watchmojo video being delighted with a list
No effin' kidding this list and even the fact they did this had me cringe so hard. You sir are exactly right. They didn't even include Alexi Laiho...R.I.P. and so many others. 🤦♂️😒
Hot take here, I find van Halen to be wildly overrated. Like ok you can play really fast and tap the neck, but like, where's the soul? Anyone can practice scales and make noises. Plus in every interview he acted for all the world like he invented the guitar and came off as an arrogant prick.
Ok Pantera is fucking awesome but Pantera fans need to learn to shut the fuck up for once in their lives. Not everything is about Pantera. I’m not bashing Dimebag in anyway. All respect for him and Vinnie.
Full respect to guys like Scott Ian, John Sykes or Kerry King, but leaving out the likes of Alex Skolnick, Vivian Campbell or Brent Hinds is just unbelievable and makes absolutely no sense to me, but that's just my opinion! And it's crazy how Petrucci is only 8th since the man could be quite literally an alien.. also, no James Hetfield, Chuck and GTipton only on the HM?? wtf
Not to mention Jeff Waters (Annihilator), Andy LaRocque (King Diamond), and countless others. Kerry King and Scott Ian are eh tbh. John Sykes is underrated imo though.
Is this a joke? Kirk Hammett? Kerry King? Van Halen as a heavy metal guitarist? Chuck as a honorable mention? When it comes down to guitar and metal WatchMojo doesn't know shit.
Kirk hammet doesnt fit anywhere on any of the criterias they list, so kerry king probably is a better pick compared to him in that sense, but kerry king is still not a very good guitarist. And then seeing van halen, yea, this list is stupid.
Um so kirk hammit sucks? You play better? Your on CRACK if kirk doesnt deserve a spot ...they have some wrong yes but they had some right..im sure they mean metal most people know...or originators...you must be young..cause i grew up in the metal movement in the 80s and i remember the reactions of when some of these people debuted....i think your missing the point...heavy metal? Kirk hammit, randy rhodes, dimebag ,and tony iommi all deserve a spot....i think theyre going with the artists who paved the way....i will say guitarist from judas priest needs to be on the list....
@@rainman42 Kirk doesn't deserve it. I'd be okay if they picked James, but Kirk is mediocre and inconsistent and a HUGE number of guitar players that came up after him are way better. Shit, a lot of players in the 80s were a better pick than him. But if you only like pentatonic and wah I can't help you.
Here's mine for this: Top 10: 1. Tony Iommi 2. Randy Rhoads 3. Dimebag Darrell 4. Dave Mustaine 5. John Petrucci 6. Zakk Wylde 7. Glenn Tipton 8. Dave Murray 9. Alex Skolnick 10. Kirk Hammett Honorable Mentions: Kerry King "Fast" Eddie Clarke Chuck Schuldiner Gary Holt Jake E. Lee Vivian Campbell Kai Hansen Adam Jones Daron Malakian Scott Ian
@@ChucksterOLove now that's an exaggeration... I'll give you Kerry King. Hanneman had more of an influence. But to have no other member of the big 4 in this list is ridiculous. For all the shit that hammet gets, he's still influential and wrote both master and sandman riffs which whether you like it or not, has done more for metal than most guitarists. Ian himself is one the best writers as well. It's pure hater energy here.
10.) Scott Ian 9.) Kerry King 8.) John Petrucci 7.) Dave Murray 6.) Kirk Hammett 5.) Dimebag Darrell (1966-2004) 4.) Dave Mustaine 3.) Eddie Van Halen (1955-2020) 2.) Randy Rhoads (1956-1982) 1.) Tony Iommi -------------------------- Honorable Mentions: 1.) Chuck Schuldiner (1967-2001) 2.) John Sykes 3.) Glenn Tipton
1.Tony Iommi 2.Randy Rhoads 3.Dimebag Darrell 4.Dave Murray 5.Marty Friedman 6.Glenn Tipton 7.Eddie Clarke 8.Kai Hansen 9.Bobby Gustafson 10.Chuck Schuldiner Number 1 is obvious, the rest are in no exact order, as I wouldnt argue against any of these guys having 1 place or the other. So its more of a tier list. EDIT: as an aside love Van Halen and love Eddie but I dont really consider them metal.
Hes not old enough yet I feel. He's definitely in my top 5. Actually my top 2 favorites. Dimebag is 1 and synester gates is 2 for me personally. But I feel they chose guys who've been around for a longgggg time.
Im expecting to cringe as he goes on and on about Petrucci while ignoring other metal guitar players who are as worthy or more worthy to be in this list (Azagthoth, Euronymous, Tom G Warrior, Piggy, Terrance Hobbs, Dino Cazares, etc...) I still dont know how Dream Theater got to be called metal but fuck it, if its enough to get them in the Metallum but that shits feels wrong man.
@@leetorry yeah I know what you mean dude. Almost as cringey as copy and pasting your reply on multiple comments in the same video. Your valuable opinion needs to be heard, Lee....
@@deanwaller8283 I think Dimebag is the greatest metal guitarist but I think Eddie was the greatest guitar player of all time. I think they should've put Eddie in the honorable mention since he influenced it more than he played it.
Damn... love that you started off with Dimebag Darrell, in my opinion the greatest southern shredder of all time!!!!!!! CFH FOREVER!!!!!! REST IN POWER DIME, VINN, ALEXI, RANDY.
I disagree. Kirk has unfortunately much more "bad days" than most other guitarists but when he's at his A game he's truly one of the greatest. But you're right, James is much more consistent.
James Hetfield should be on there. Kirk is good and all, but James has shown time and time again that he can do lead as well as his complex as fuck rhythm
James Hetfield is one of the true game changers of rhythm guitar in metal and is undoubtedly one of its best songwriters. To exclude him from a list like this is travesty. Also Jeff Hanneman wrote all of Slayer's classics. Picking Kerry King over him shows nothing but ignorance. Watchmojo is nowpretty much a bad joke that has went on for too long without a punchline.
Because all metal historians consider them early metal. (Sam Dunn is the easiest example with the most "cred") They're obviously not metal, but they heavily contributed to the evolution into metal.
Mustaine is better than Friedman, but your other points are good. If you don’t believe me though, check out the mass of old Metallica recordings on RUclips such as this one live recording (forget the name), Megaforce Demo, No Life ‘Til Leather, Ron McGovney’s garage, Cliff’s first show, etc. And also the Return to Hangar solo lmao I can’t forget that
Definitely happy seeing EVH, Dime, Randy (RIP all three of them), Kirk and Tony on here, those guys are definitely some of my biggest influences in terms of heavy metal guitarists though I'm surprised that Daron Malakian from System of a Down wasn't included, sure his playing isn't the most "technical" but his playing style is still iconic nonetheless and plus he's written a lot of damn good riffs
Kerry King is not even that good. Sure he's the 3rd best guitarist in Slayer. And those Dave Mustaine clips were Marty Friedman solos. Another half assed attempt from Watchmojo.
NO, not crazy. Ozzy was lucky enough to perform with 4 legendary guitarists. What's crazy is that the other 2, Zakk Wylde and Jake E Lee aren't on this list.
@@85wastedyears listen to the criteria one more time and realise your comment is incorrect. By ALL their criteria, james hetfield should 100% be on this list over other players, probably even #1.
@@nikmidclayton5933 "...trying to keep a fous on a more total package criteria of riffing, arranging and song writing". So youre saying youre happy with this list, according to those criterias, and you dont think james hetfield belongs on the top 10 according to those criterias? Lol okay. If you dont fully agree with WMs list, write your own picks for top 10. Lets see what you come up with.
When asked Dave Mustaine, if they were “into each other’s gear” or if they had different approach or philosophies on the instruments, Dave said that “I did not”, because he thinks that Dimebag was so much better then him. Dave Mustaine: “I did not. He may have, because he was a better guitar player than I am, and he was much more into that stuff. And with Darrell, when you look at his playing, he’s a monster. He’s one of those guys that in trios, with the bottom dropping out, he was really able to keep that going."
@@pantallideth9250 I like many Metallica riffs, but Black Sabbath is on another level. Iommi wrote the best riffs in music, across genres with amazing consistency. I'd put Iommi above all other guitarists except Hendrix.
love that they had Chuck on the list, altho he should not have been an honorable mention (thats just me tho) and where is Jeff Waters or Alex scolnick?
Chuck was a PIONEER in death metal, he almost single handedly shaped the sound of death metal for decades to come. His fingerprint is all over modern death/black metal, a true legend! RIP CHUCK! ❤🤟
Jeff Waters is a riff writing beast, plays guitar like a mofo, but also plays drums, plays bass, sings, produces, etc... he's a freaking one-man-band, lol. And also one of the nicest dudes in the business. Absolute underrated legend.
complicarted riffs is a sign of poor songwriting , great players can simplify stuff. Hetfield sings better and is a great riff writer, Mustaine above Iommi is laughable or Rhoads Mustaine was never the best guitar player in his own band from a technical stand point
No mention of Wolf Hoffmann? He's literally the man who created thrash metal with Accept in 1981 when they released Fast As A Shark on their Restless & Wild album and then helped create neo-classical metal alongside Yngwie Malmsteen with legendary cuts like Princess Of The Dawn and Metal Heart. Accept's releases from 1980 until 1986 are some of the most well rounded stylistic and anc compositional albums of the entire genre.
“You mean watch mojo picked an Ozzy band as the number one pick? I can’t believe it” said no one ever. Y’all kill me. You should’ve just called this video “We picked 10 popular guitar players from the 70’s and 80’s. Can you guess who we left out?”
List was decent, all of these guys are legends in their own right. You should probably do one with more modern metal guitarists. People like Tosin Abasi, Plini, Misha Mansoor, Tim Henson etc. Respect to the classics, but this new generation absolutely melts.
I would like to point out some points that were quite incorrect in my opinion in this vid: 1. The obvious one, EVH is not a metal guitarist, even though his techniques are being used in many metal songs, but Van Halen's songs were not heavy and aggressive enough to be considered metal 2. Dave Mustaine formed Megadeth, but I think Friedman's melodic solo is the big factor that made them famous, and he's not on the list 3. The one who created Heavy Metal guitarist doesn't really need to be the greatest, it could be the one who brought this genre into the mainstream or influenced the later generation ( my opinion either Randy or Tony) 4. Power Metal is also one of the best subgenres, but none of them guitarists are on this list. 5. Mostly confused for noobs, Led Zepellin, Deep Purple, AC/DC, VH or other hard rock bands are not metal. Overall, my personal list: 10. Yngwie Malmsteen, 9. Jeff Hanneman or Kerry King, 8. Dave Murray or Adrian Smith, 7. Herman Li, 6. Dave Mustaine, 5. Kirk Hammett, 4. Marty Friedman, 3. John Petrucci, 2. Dimebag Darrell, 1. Randy Rhoads or Tonny Iommi Honorable Mention: Alexi Laiho, Adam Jones, James Hetfield, Zakk Wylde, Synyster Gates, Paul Gilbert, Jim Root & Mick Thompson, Jason Becker, Gary Holt, Willie Adler, Scott Ian, Glenn Tipton
You just can't exclude Adrian Smith from this list. In terms of song writing, technique, live performances he is one of the best guitarist ever not just metal guitarists.
Thank you for that. I understand why they put Dave Murray on here but in my opinion Adrian smith was more important to maiden in the 80s and 90s than Murray
100%. The criteria is overall package, riffing, arranging and songwriting. I dont even think kirk deserves to be on the list at all, and james should probably be #1 or something.
He did, but he should’ve been on the actual list in my opinion. His solos are incredible. If he was an honorable mention, that would still be criminal to me.
Real top 10: 10. Toni Iommi 9. Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman (Tie) 8. Dave Mustaine 7. Randy Rhoads 6. Jason Becker (or Yngwie) 5. John Petrucci (or Tim Henson) 4. James Hetfield 3. Marty Friedman 2. Chuck Schuldiner 1. Dimebag Darell Ask me what do you think?
Alls he did was right great solos mate. His contributions to songwriting other than that are abysmal. Players like Alex Skolnick and Cris Olivia solo and write so much better than him
@@akidk1499 and Cacophony arent all that great apart from the shred. As I said his solos are amazing but still there are better players at soloing and overall.
Yes, Tommy is the number one rock guitarist, and heavy metal was born under the influence of rock music, and metal guitarist number one is Dimebag darrell! When asked Dave Mustaine, if they were “into each other’s gear” or if they had different approach or philosophies on the instruments, Dave said that “I did not”, because he thinks that Dimebag was so much better then him. Dave Mustaine: “I did not. He may have, because he was a better guitar player than I am, and he was much more into that stuff. And with Darrell, when you look at his playing, he’s a monster. He’s one of those guys that in trios, with the bottom dropping out, he was really able to keep that going."
@@nem5217I am. Rhoads was a lot better. Being the first to start the genre is cool, but that doesn’t make you a greater guitarist than someone else. Rhoads was a musical genius with infinitely more musical knowledge, creativity, musical skill, guitar technique, and overall finesse than Iommi. Tony barely knew anything about music and had mid guitar skill at best. Cmon. This is bogus.
Who else is listening to this while reading "30 Days to Reduce Anxiety" by Harper Daniels? It's like the relaxing vibe is mixing with the metal and creating a balanced person....or something like that.
it could be argued that he’s more hard rock than metal since deep purple doesn’t really like to be considered metal and rainbow is kinda borderline too
Fun Fact: Dave Murray was sacked due to an arguement with then lead singer Dennis Wilcock. Steve Harris re-hired him after Wilcock's departure and the rest is history. Long live Dave Murray! ❤❤❤
1. Chuck Schuldiner 2. Dimebag Darrell 3. Jeff Waters 4. Dave Mustaine 5. Jeff Hanneman 6. Marty Friedman 7. Glen Tipton 8. Alex Skolnick 9. Gary Holt 10. Vivian Campbell Petrucci is an incredible talent, but I just don't feel his music the way I do others. So many deserving others, but Chuck and Dimebag were as good as it gets.
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Check out our featured song: "Aurora" by Cameron Brown! ruclips.net/video/3PxOFschfJ4/видео.html
Who's YOUR favorite heavy metal guitarist? Let us know in the comments!
noice
Hasn’t this list already been done once or twice?
Sign me to Soundmojo.
Gary Holt from Exodus/Slayer
I like Scott Ian.
I like how the Dave Mustaine clip had Marty Friedman’s solos playing.
I mean he is still playing guitar during them right
@@prometheustv6558 dudes got a point tho...
I was happy to see how Dave Murray playing Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter - a song written by Bruce Dickinson.
Marty Friedman should get it, not dave mustaine. Almost like giving Metallice James Hetfield instead of Kirk Hammet.
Interesting they don't have Friedman on the list who I consider better or Friedman's cacophony partner Jason Becker who imo is better than both Friedman and Mustaine
You picked Kerry King over Jeff Hanneman? That's just dirty.
At least they mentioned his contributions.
@@GarethAlan81 sadly I think it’s because more non-metalheads would know of Kerry and would not know who else was in the band.
Just goes to show how much she knows.
I thought the same fuckin thing
I said the same shit to my lady
Watch mojo ain’t qualified to rank guitarists
Indeed!
Bruh, they are not qualified for any damn ranks regardless which theme.
they somehow fuck up every list they ever make whether its a metal,rock,rap, pop or not even a music related list. they find a way to piss us all off. ive never seen a comment section of watchmojo video being delighted with a list
No effin' kidding this list and even the fact they did this had me cringe so hard. You sir are exactly right. They didn't even include Alexi Laiho...R.I.P. and so many others. 🤦♂️😒
They really aren’t
In my heart, dimebag is number 1, powerful riffs, beautiful solos and feel like none other.
Agree 💯
Agreed 🙏
Can't agree more, mate
Greatest to ever pick up a guitar in my opinion
Domination cemetery gates🔥
Chuck deserves so much more than just an honorable mention. His playing changed the metal genre as we know it today
Yup
on god
Chuck is one of my favorites, been listening to his music over 30 years.
chuck should be #1
Chuck should be top 3.
Eddie Van Halen is one of the best guitarists to live, but he wasn’t a Metal guitarist.
That's why he only came in 3rd place. All because of how he influenced the genre
Definitely not, and how dare they leave Alexi Laiho off the list!! May they both R.I.P.
Yea i wouldn't put hair metal the same as heavy metal
Hot take here, I find van Halen to be wildly overrated. Like ok you can play really fast and tap the neck, but like, where's the soul? Anyone can practice scales and make noises. Plus in every interview he acted for all the world like he invented the guitar and came off as an arrogant prick.
EVH is Hard Rock not Metal - R.I.P. King Edward 🤘🤘
Eddie Van Halen and John Sykes are hard rock guitarists, not heavy metal guitarists.
Facts
That's what I said.
Van Halen was a guitarist god, but not a metal god.
I was wondering where they would draw the line between "Rock, Metal, Grunge" etc...There a lot of gray areas.
But Eddie had the heaviest influence on metal shredding with his tapping divebombs, whammy bar tricks, etc.
No Sykes was pretty metal in my opinion, his riffs and his style was way more heavy than hard rock, the tone the agression is insane
i feel like phoebe from watchmojo has never listened to heavy metal
It's not like she alone made this list. Pretty sure it was a collection of people
@@CapnRiggs2k5 a collection of people who never heard heavy metal
@@thomyorkeenthusiast9979 Facts. They all need to lay off the meth.
She’s just a narrator that gets paid to say stupid shit for other people. Bash the people behind the scenes not her.
No one:
Me: goes straight to comments
Dimebag at Number 5, i can already hear the Pantera fans raging on the other side of the world.
yes, i am. dimebag was one of the best metal guitarists ever
I don't agree with it, but I admit I'm biased, not because of Dimebag's riffs or solos only, but because of him as a person aswell.
Ok Pantera is fucking awesome but Pantera fans need to learn to shut the fuck up for once in their lives. Not everything is about Pantera. I’m not bashing Dimebag in anyway. All respect for him and Vinnie.
@@tristan702 agree
Everything is about Pantera
I can’t wait for Become the Knight to react to this. Lmao
ME TOO
I SAW THIS AND WAS LIKE "I wonder if BTK's video had anything to do with this video!"
One one hand, this list isn't as bad as the one BtK tore apart. But then again, someone needs to tell these people that Van Halen wasn't heavy metal.
You read my mind!!
YES 😁
John petrucci at eight... that can’t be right
Any lower then 2 is insane. Him and Steve Vai are imo neck and neck for first place and it's not even close.
The list is about “influential” not pure technical ability
He is the best guitarist alive
Weird place for God to be
I’m just glad he’s on here
Glenn Tipton belongs on the top 3, not just as an honorable mention.
Painkiller's solo alone destroys everything Douchebag Darrel ever recorded.
@@brombusz6441 def not hahah
@@brombusz6441 LOL you wish pal
@@brombusz6441 dumbest shit I’ve heard today
Totally agree!
Nice to see Dave Murray get some credit.. A very underrated guitarist.
The fact that Tipton is an honorable mention makes this video dishonorable lol
When choosing the obviously more skilled guitar player in Slayer how can you pick kerry king over Jeff Hanneman.
My thoughts exactly
Cause king has a spiked bracelet
I couldnt understand this either
slayer suck
@@Leonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn wow edgy
Full respect to guys like Scott Ian, John Sykes or Kerry King, but leaving out the likes of Alex Skolnick, Vivian Campbell or Brent Hinds is just unbelievable and makes absolutely no sense to me, but that's just my opinion!
And it's crazy how Petrucci is only 8th since the man could be quite literally an alien.. also, no James Hetfield, Chuck and GTipton only on the HM?? wtf
Campbell should get way more recognition for his work with Dio.
@@joermnyc totally agree, the Holy Diver album has great guitar work
It's because of commercial success.
Don't forget Gary Holt.
Not to mention Jeff Waters (Annihilator), Andy LaRocque (King Diamond), and countless others. Kerry King and Scott Ian are eh tbh. John Sykes is underrated imo though.
Is this a joke? Kirk Hammett? Kerry King? Van Halen as a heavy metal guitarist? Chuck as a honorable mention? When it comes down to guitar and metal WatchMojo doesn't know shit.
Kirk hammet doesnt fit anywhere on any of the criterias they list, so kerry king probably is a better pick compared to him in that sense, but kerry king is still not a very good guitarist. And then seeing van halen, yea, this list is stupid.
That's what you get if you come to Watchmojo for opinion on metal music.
But hey, at least they are trying.
Um so kirk hammit sucks? You play better? Your on CRACK if kirk doesnt deserve a spot ...they have some wrong yes but they had some right..im sure they mean metal most people know...or originators...you must be young..cause i grew up in the metal movement in the 80s and i remember the reactions of when some of these people debuted....i think your missing the point...heavy metal? Kirk hammit, randy rhodes, dimebag ,and tony iommi all deserve a spot....i think theyre going with the artists who paved the way....i will say guitarist from judas priest needs to be on the list....
Ah, yet another youtube commenter actually expecting enough from watchmojo to get upset and write an angry comment. You just cannot believe it.
@@rainman42 Kirk doesn't deserve it. I'd be okay if they picked James, but Kirk is mediocre and inconsistent and a HUGE number of guitar players that came up after him are way better. Shit, a lot of players in the 80s were a better pick than him. But if you only like pentatonic and wah I can't help you.
Let's be honest, We all love IRON MAIDEN Guitarists...❤
80s yes .
Yes.
Here's mine for this:
Top 10:
1. Tony Iommi
2. Randy Rhoads
3. Dimebag Darrell
4. Dave Mustaine
5. John Petrucci
6. Zakk Wylde
7. Glenn Tipton
8. Dave Murray
9. Alex Skolnick
10. Kirk Hammett
Honorable Mentions:
Kerry King
"Fast" Eddie Clarke
Chuck Schuldiner
Gary Holt
Jake E. Lee
Vivian Campbell
Kai Hansen
Adam Jones
Daron Malakian
Scott Ian
This video's gonna upset soooooooooo many people that I'm already laughing.
Overall it was a good list, BUT Scott Ian, Kerry King, Kirk Hammett are terrible choices. Not even in the top 1,000 guitarists in metal.... 🙄
im here to get angry
Yep. I came here for just for the comments before even watching the video. Already knowing it was gonna be a whiny bitch fest.
@@ChucksterOLove now that's an exaggeration... I'll give you Kerry King. Hanneman had more of an influence. But to have no other member of the big 4 in this list is ridiculous. For all the shit that hammet gets, he's still influential and wrote both master and sandman riffs which whether you like it or not, has done more for metal than most guitarists. Ian himself is one the best writers as well. It's pure hater energy here.
@@ChucksterOLove Scott Ian. Are you serious. But Chuck is not even a number. Should not be surprised since it is Mojo.
I don’t give a fuq who’s number one but Dimebag deserves it
facts.
TRUTH
Absolute fucking facts
Faxxxx
If Eddie freaking Van Halen puts his yellow and black Frankenstein strat in your coffin, you know you were #1
Dimebag will always be one of the greatest guitarist of all time.
Says “Eruption” as he plays Spanish fly part
Watch Mojo obviously has no guitar player to make this list lol
10.) Scott Ian
9.) Kerry King
8.) John Petrucci
7.) Dave Murray
6.) Kirk Hammett
5.) Dimebag Darrell (1966-2004)
4.) Dave Mustaine
3.) Eddie Van Halen (1955-2020)
2.) Randy Rhoads (1956-1982)
1.) Tony Iommi
--------------------------
Honorable Mentions:
1.) Chuck Schuldiner (1967-2001)
2.) John Sykes
3.) Glenn Tipton
1.Tony Iommi
2.Randy Rhoads
3.Dimebag Darrell
4.Dave Murray
5.Marty Friedman
6.Glenn Tipton
7.Eddie Clarke
8.Kai Hansen
9.Bobby Gustafson
10.Chuck Schuldiner
Number 1 is obvious, the rest are in no exact order, as I wouldnt argue against any of these guys having 1 place or the other. So its more of a tier list.
EDIT: as an aside love Van Halen and love Eddie but I dont really consider them metal.
wish I would have seen Syn on this list
Bruh for real
yessir
atleast an honourable mention
At least top 5, like come on
Hes not old enough yet I feel. He's definitely in my top 5. Actually my top 2 favorites. Dimebag is 1 and synester gates is 2 for me personally. But I feel they chose guys who've been around for a longgggg time.
In before Become the Knight destroys this list.
Watching Dumbmojo video just for this reason lol. I just wanna see Mike lose his shit over this lol.
Im expecting to cringe as he goes on and on about Petrucci while ignoring other metal guitar players who are as worthy or more worthy to be in this list (Azagthoth, Euronymous, Tom G Warrior, Piggy, Terrance Hobbs, Dino Cazares, etc...)
I still dont know how Dream Theater got to be called metal but fuck it, if its enough to get them in the Metallum but that shits feels wrong man.
@@leetorry yeah I know what you mean dude. Almost as cringey as copy and pasting your reply on multiple comments in the same video. Your valuable opinion needs to be heard, Lee....
@@BecomeTheKnight my nigga, its now sin. If I can copy paste a response to get to the same point, I do it.
Dimebag is the best HEAVY metal guitarist ever.
Agree 100%.....I think George Lynch and Jake E.Lee should be on the list as well.....
Dimebag is awesome but to me the most best metal guitarist has to go with Marty.
@@Noh1996 agreed, marty is just something else man
No EVH no dimebag
@@deanwaller8283 I think Dimebag is the greatest metal guitarist but I think Eddie was the greatest guitar player of all time. I think they should've put Eddie in the honorable mention since he influenced it more than he played it.
Dimebag Darrel and Rhandy Rhoads they both excel on their guitars
Randy was an all timer, Dimebag was good
I agree. It’s Dime and Randy at the top. This list is bogus.
Damn... love that you started off with Dimebag Darrell, in my opinion the greatest southern shredder of all time!!!!!!! CFH FOREVER!!!!!! REST IN POWER DIME, VINN, ALEXI, RANDY.
He deserved to be higher up on this list. Number 5 is a slap in the face 😬
@@AP1455. YUP!!! I completely agree, but its badass that hes the first one you see in the video.
Yeah, some of the guitarists on this list wish they could play like Dime!
@@BlōMeSlōLee (kirk)
@@BRB_Covers 🤣🤣 definitely!
Everyone just stopped the mosh pit, to seriously question this list. The gods of metal aren't too happy.
RIP EDDIE VAN HALEN 🙏🏻
James Hetfield is on a different plane than Kirk Hammett
I disagree. Kirk has unfortunately much more "bad days" than most other guitarists but when he's at his A game he's truly one of the greatest. But you're right, James is much more consistent.
@@benjaminschmidt7208James plays riffs so much better then Kirk. Always. You can't compare them. Kirk can't play riff from muster of puppets normally
Watchmojo: "I'm going to make a video ranking heavy metal guitarists!"
[everyone disliked that]
James Hetfield should be on there. Kirk is good and all, but James has shown time and time again that he can do lead as well as his complex as fuck rhythm
while singing
@@imsinner2011 exactly
James' solo on Suicide and Redemption is un-fucking-real!
@axl 9521 no
James can’t played lead worth a fuck
How Glenn isn’t top 10 is beyond insane
Biggest flaw of the list along with EVH being not metal.
@@dietersmit6639 I’m pretty sure Dave Murray being above petrucci might be more crazy
@@jacee8094 correct, JP should actually be 1. No disrespect to Iommi, but yeah.
@@jacee8094 not technical as petrucci but Murray´s solos give goosebumps.
@@jacee8094 what is fair is it not
I have a feeling she might be the poser here 😂
Yep
Ya think
She didnt make the list numnuts
James Hetfield is one of the true game changers of rhythm guitar in metal and is undoubtedly one of its best songwriters. To exclude him from a list like this is travesty. Also Jeff Hanneman wrote all of Slayer's classics. Picking Kerry King over him shows nothing but ignorance.
Watchmojo is nowpretty much a bad joke that has went on for too long without a punchline.
Yes! Papa Het is the goat of Rhythm, to this day he hasn't lost a step. ( Like Kirk unfortunately has)
I’m next on this list! Keep a lookout for Dakota North! Blessings to everyone and keep shredding my love’s!
"John Petrushi"
"Number 8"
LED ZEPPELIN IS NOT HEAVY METAL why does everyone say they are heavy metal
Hard rock.
Because all metal historians consider them early metal. (Sam Dunn is the easiest example with the most "cred") They're obviously not metal, but they heavily contributed to the evolution into metal.
No Led Zeppelin no Black Sabbath
@@drachireidnoc6659 I doubt
Its as much metal as metallica was after the black album 😂
Iommi and randy are the reason i play guitar ❤️ also kirk and jerry Cantrell
We needed Jerry Cantrell on this list :(
✌you have my respect, you said Jerry Cantrell. You are a man of taste
Jerry cantrell definitely should have made the list. Hes up there with dime on my opinion.
Petrucci at 8???
Kirk instead of Hetfield???
Dimebad at 5???
Mustaine instead of Marty Friedman???
No Synyster Gates????
Mustaine is better than Friedman, but your other points are good. If you don’t believe me though, check out the mass of old Metallica recordings on RUclips such as this one live recording (forget the name), Megaforce Demo, No Life ‘Til Leather, Ron McGovney’s garage, Cliff’s first show, etc. And also the Return to Hangar solo lmao I can’t forget that
@@liamsagucio61Friedman is miles better than Mustaine. People have no ears lol
This list was immediately invalid when Scott Ian was on it
Agreed and i like Anthrax.
They should have put Fred durst on this list smh 😡🤬
@@liamsagucio61
Yeah he was a brilliant guitarist
Michael denner, Mick Mars, mark Morton, and Ritchie blackmore
marty friedman, paco de lucia?
And Gary holt
Definitely happy seeing EVH, Dime, Randy (RIP all three of them), Kirk and Tony on here, those guys are definitely some of my biggest influences in terms of heavy metal guitarists though I'm surprised that Daron Malakian from System of a Down wasn't included, sure his playing isn't the most "technical" but his playing style is still iconic nonetheless and plus he's written a lot of damn good riffs
Actually criminally underrated player
Kerry King is not even that good. Sure he's the 3rd best guitarist in Slayer. And those Dave Mustaine clips were Marty Friedman solos. Another half assed attempt from Watchmojo.
Completely agree. Tony Iommi is #1 Godfather and Lord of Metal
Nobody:
Watchmojo: distortion= heavy metal
It is crazy how ozzy is associated with the top 2 guitarist on this list
NO, not crazy. Ozzy was lucky enough to perform with 4 legendary guitarists. What's crazy is that the other 2, Zakk Wylde and Jake E Lee aren't on this list.
Tony and Ozzy got big together that’s even crazier because metal wasn’t really well known and then sabbath came out and took the world by storm
WHERE THE HELL ARE JAMES HETFIELD AND ADAM JONES?
@@85wastedyears listen to the criteria one more time and realise your comment is incorrect. By ALL their criteria, james hetfield should 100% be on this list over other players, probably even #1.
Nah, james isnt top ten. Jones could maybe be an honorable mention
@@nikmidclayton5933 "...trying to keep a fous on a more total package criteria of riffing, arranging and song writing". So youre saying youre happy with this list, according to those criterias, and you dont think james hetfield belongs on the top 10 according to those criterias? Lol okay. If you dont fully agree with WMs list, write your own picks for top 10. Lets see what you come up with.
@@85wastedyears but they include Anthrax 🙄
@@85wastedyears Dave Mustaine is more of a rhythm player and he’s on the list
R.I.P Eddie Van Halen you will always be rock’n roll’s favourite guitarist
EVH is better is better than these guitarists and is definitely better than #3.
As a lifelong metal guitarist... You're about to get ALL the salt WatchMojo. This isn't a topic where any one wins lol
Why James Hatfield in not on the list. Best down picking player
So you show Testament's Alex Skolnick in the intro but don't even give him an honorable mention? Fukn weak!
He should have been on the main list.
@@mikemiller6628 Couldn't agree with you more!
it’s simple, i see kirk, i click!
Yes! Same
How tf did they think to put kerry king on this list ? Like seriously he might be good but there are way more talented guitarists than him
Kerry King is a CHODE POSER, I have no clue why him, Scott Ian, or Kirk Hammett are on this list... 🙄
@@ChucksterOLove well it’s watchmojo
Just when you think they got a good top 10 video
It’s actually shitty
Especially regarding heavy metal
1. Iommi 2. Blackmore 3. Schenker
Dave Mustaine has to take the top spot for me. Dude was born to play guitar, plus all the stuff he wrote for Metallica? Hands down the best.
Ikr. Top two Metal guitarists imo are Mustaine and dimebag
When asked Dave Mustaine, if they were “into each other’s gear” or if they had different approach or philosophies on the instruments, Dave said that “I did not”, because he thinks that Dimebag was so much better then him.
Dave Mustaine:
“I did not. He may have, because he was a better guitar player than I am, and he was much more into that stuff.
And with Darrell, when you look at his playing, he’s a monster. He’s one of those guys that in trios, with the bottom dropping out, he was really able to keep that going."
''number 9 Kerry King, slayer''
My time to exit, absolute boomer list.
My exact thought😂😂 and they dont even include Marty Friedman
@@remi9007 the audacity they put Kerry King instead of Marty friedman is criminal.
Boomer list? What does age have to do with ranking guitarist?
Boomer list? Okay, kid. John Petrucci is a guitar God!
@@JohnnyRaven69 Petrucci is the only exception here of course.
“Wimps and posers leave”
Guess you guys have to leave your own channel
Thank you for putting Iommi at no1, true inspiration for all who followed.
Solid, respectable list. 🤘
Steve Vai and James Hetfield should be on there as well
If Dimebag aint here imma punch a bear
Edit: imma punch a cubb
For those who question the number one, heavy metal is about fast solo? NO!!!! is about riff and he is the king and god of riffs
*Cough* James Hetfield *Cough*
@@pantallideth9250 I like many Metallica riffs, but Black Sabbath is on another level. Iommi wrote the best riffs in music, across genres with amazing consistency. I'd put Iommi above all other guitarists except Hendrix.
love that they had Chuck on the list, altho he should not have been an honorable mention (thats just me tho) and where is Jeff Waters or Alex scolnick?
Chuck is god!!!!!!!!
Chuck was a PIONEER in death metal, he almost single handedly shaped the sound of death metal for decades to come. His fingerprint is all over modern death/black metal, a true legend!
RIP CHUCK! ❤🤟
Jeff Waters is a riff writing beast, plays guitar like a mofo, but also plays drums, plays bass, sings, produces, etc... he's a freaking one-man-band, lol. And also one of the nicest dudes in the business. Absolute underrated legend.
And Chris Oliva
@@gorkaanduezamanrique2449 Yes! from Savatage
I would say that Dave mustain is the greatest metal guitarist. He is able to play all those complicated riffs while singing
Kai Hansen (helloween gamma ray) and Jeff Waters (annihilator) write play and sing although not on all the albums
complicarted riffs is a sign of poor songwriting , great players can simplify stuff.
Hetfield sings better and is a great riff writer, Mustaine above Iommi is laughable or Rhoads Mustaine was never the best guitar player in his own band from a technical stand point
@@Dave_Wight_The_Rock_Oracle have you not heard a toute le monde or trust?
@@Dave_Wight_The_Rock_Oracle but I made this comment a year ago and my opinion has changed. In my opinion it's a tie between randy and dimebag for me
Michael Schenker should be in the Top 5 of this list.
Dave Mustaine had better be number 1 or Darrell Abbott.
The number 1 couldn't be anyone else. The master of riffs.
The master of the Doom riff but the best metal guitarist of all time.... nope
@@andyfox8377 you are wrong dude
@@sinsobresaltospodcast agree to disagree. Steve Vai/John Petrucci are much better guitsrists for me
No mention of Wolf Hoffmann?
He's literally the man who created thrash metal with Accept in 1981 when they released Fast As A Shark on their Restless & Wild album and then helped create neo-classical metal alongside Yngwie Malmsteen with legendary cuts like Princess Of The Dawn and Metal Heart.
Accept's releases from 1980 until 1986 are some of the most well rounded stylistic and anc compositional albums of the entire genre.
Wolf is severely underrated, a true guitar god
Good job Watch Mojo!
Ok a Watch Mojo I can agree with, Tony #1 is surely well deserved the guy made the badest grimiest music of the 1970's and still is today.
Finally a decent top 10 list! 🤘
Did watchmojo really put Kirk Hammett above John Petrucci
Yeah hammet should not even be on this list
above King also
@@METALFREAK03 King who? Kerry King? 😂
They also said "Eruption" is harder to play than "CAFO", so no surprises here.
It's almost cute...
“You mean watch mojo picked an Ozzy band as the number one pick? I can’t believe it” said no one ever. Y’all kill me. You should’ve just called this video “We picked 10 popular guitar players from the 70’s and 80’s. Can you guess who we left out?”
I don’t know of anyone more qualified to take the number 1 spot
They threw in dimebag for a taste of the 90s this channel is run by a bunch of sissy ass boomers
List was decent, all of these guys are legends in their own right. You should probably do one with more modern metal guitarists. People like Tosin Abasi, Plini, Misha Mansoor, Tim Henson etc. Respect to the classics, but this new generation absolutely melts.
Nice touch opening with a Manowar quote 🤘
So many great guitarists that is hard to place them in one list.
Jerry Cantrell and Adam Jones deserves honorable mentions
Pure metal blasphemy...not even one of the most underrated guitarists of the genre, gets a mention. Where is Andy LaRocque?
I would like to point out some points that were quite incorrect in my opinion in this vid:
1. The obvious one, EVH is not a metal guitarist, even though his techniques are being used in many metal songs, but Van Halen's songs were not heavy and aggressive enough to be considered metal
2. Dave Mustaine formed Megadeth, but I think Friedman's melodic solo is the big factor that made them famous, and he's not on the list
3. The one who created Heavy Metal guitarist doesn't really need to be the greatest, it could be the one who brought this genre into the mainstream or influenced the later generation ( my opinion either Randy or Tony)
4. Power Metal is also one of the best subgenres, but none of them guitarists are on this list.
5. Mostly confused for noobs, Led Zepellin, Deep Purple, AC/DC, VH or other hard rock bands are not metal.
Overall, my personal list: 10. Yngwie Malmsteen, 9. Jeff Hanneman or Kerry King, 8. Dave Murray or Adrian Smith, 7. Herman Li, 6. Dave Mustaine, 5. Kirk Hammett, 4. Marty Friedman, 3. John Petrucci, 2. Dimebag Darrell, 1. Randy Rhoads or Tonny Iommi Honorable Mention: Alexi Laiho, Adam Jones, James Hetfield, Zakk Wylde, Synyster Gates, Paul Gilbert, Jim Root & Mick Thompson, Jason Becker, Gary Holt, Willie Adler, Scott Ian, Glenn Tipton
You just can't exclude Adrian Smith from this list. In terms of song writing, technique, live performances he is one of the best guitarist ever not just metal guitarists.
Thank you for that. I understand why they put Dave Murray on here but in my opinion Adrian smith was more important to maiden in the 80s and 90s than Murray
Adrian is way more important than Murray, Murray is great but Adrian solos are the best.
James Hetfield should have been on this list, not Kirk Hammett.
100%. The criteria is overall package, riffing, arranging and songwriting. I dont even think kirk deserves to be on the list at all, and james should probably be #1 or something.
Man, no Pat O'Brien. Not even in the honorable mentions. That's a sin.
True.
@@kubakun1221 I see a lot of thrash bands on this list tho, they aren't heavy metal either
Synyster gates of a7x deserves an honorable mention
His solos are insane
He did, but he should’ve been on the actual list in my opinion. His solos are incredible. If he was an honorable mention, that would still be criminal to me.
Yay! I am so glad you guys included Dave Murray of Iron Maiden on this list! I've always felt he was underrated!
Yeah, he's the only one on this list that almost no one in the comments are talking about, probably cause there's nothing to argue with lol
Real top 10:
10. Toni Iommi
9. Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman (Tie)
8. Dave Mustaine
7. Randy Rhoads
6. Jason Becker (or Yngwie)
5. John Petrucci (or Tim Henson)
4. James Hetfield
3. Marty Friedman
2. Chuck Schuldiner
1. Dimebag Darell
Ask me what do you think?
Making a top 10 metal guitarists list and not having Marty Friedman even in the honorable mentions is the ultimate sin you guys can't be forgiven.
Alls he did was right great solos mate. His contributions to songwriting other than that are abysmal. Players like Alex Skolnick and Cris Olivia solo and write so much better than him
@@ryanwelsh1257 great solos do matter when it comes to heavy metal man
@@13w6rst yh they have their place, but they arent the most important thing and you've got to think of the complete package as a player.
@@ryanwelsh1257 He did write a lot of Cacophony songs...
Also his solo works are god level
@@akidk1499 and Cacophony arent all that great apart from the shred. As I said his solos are amazing but still there are better players at soloing and overall.
I was happy you chose Tony Iommi, he really where it all started for a lot of the people listed.
Agreed and notice how nobody in the comments are bitching about how he’s number 1
Yes, Tommy is the number one rock guitarist, and heavy metal was born under the influence of rock music,
and metal guitarist number one is Dimebag darrell!
When asked Dave Mustaine, if they were “into each other’s gear” or if they had different approach or philosophies on the instruments, Dave said that “I did not”, because he thinks that Dimebag was so much better then him.
Dave Mustaine:
“I did not. He may have, because he was a better guitar player than I am, and he was much more into that stuff.
And with Darrell, when you look at his playing, he’s a monster. He’s one of those guys that in trios, with the bottom dropping out, he was really able to keep that going."
Where it started and genius riff maker. But Randy Rhoads was infinitely better and more musically gifted. Should be Rhoads at number one.
@@nem5217I am. Rhoads was a lot better. Being the first to start the genre is cool, but that doesn’t make you a greater guitarist than someone else.
Rhoads was a musical genius with infinitely more musical knowledge, creativity, musical skill, guitar technique, and overall finesse than Iommi.
Tony barely knew anything about music and had mid guitar skill at best. Cmon. This is bogus.
I want a metal list which doesn't name at least 5 people who havent worked for Ozzy Osbourne
Rhoads and Iommi set the bar to carry Ozzy
Tony never worked for Ozzy, It's the other way around
Who else is listening to this while reading "30 Days to Reduce Anxiety" by Harper Daniels? It's like the relaxing vibe is mixing with the metal and creating a balanced person....or something like that.
Kirk Hammet should be top 3 in my opinion like if you agree
BUCKETHEAD AND ZAKK WYLDE ARE THE GOAT.
Almost everyone on this list is better than Zakk Wylde.. And this is a pretty s***** list
i prefer JOHN 5 over Buckethead
This whole list is fucked up
Zakk is the embodiment of aids on the guitar, those pinch harmonics are horrible
The fact that Ritchie Blackmore isn’t on this list just shows that watchmojo once again has no idea what they are talking about.
Thank you!
Yep
U got this right.
it could be argued that he’s more hard rock than metal since deep purple doesn’t really like to be considered metal and rainbow is kinda borderline too
@@LedgerJoker77 yep it sounds about right. But no one can argue Ritchie was one of the best guitar players no matter what the genre is. :)
Fun Fact:
Dave Murray was sacked due to an arguement with then lead singer Dennis Wilcock.
Steve Harris re-hired him after Wilcock's departure and the rest is history.
Long live Dave Murray! ❤❤❤
1. Chuck Schuldiner
2. Dimebag Darrell
3. Jeff Waters
4. Dave Mustaine
5. Jeff Hanneman
6. Marty Friedman
7. Glen Tipton
8. Alex Skolnick
9. Gary Holt
10. Vivian Campbell
Petrucci is an incredible talent, but I just don't feel his music the way I do others. So many deserving others, but Chuck and Dimebag were as good as it gets.