The metal jssue

Welcome…

I’m not sure if I’ve ever mentioned during

“I’M CHANGING SIX PEDALS AT ONCE!”

SCENE YOUR NEWS IN GUITARS

FENDER JOE STRUMMER

THE LATE CLASH FRONTMAN AND PUNK ICON GETS A NEW SIGNATURE MODEL FROM THE BIG F

MORTON MOVES TO GIBSON!

You might have already noticed our interview with

MXR DUKE OF TONE

Continuing its theme of collaboration with ‘boutique’ builders,

JACKSON AMERICAN SERIES SOLOIST SL3

Jackson has unveiled its brand new Soloist SL3

LARKIN POE

Bad Spell

12-BAR BLUES

Paul takes on three chords that are the foundation for every modern guitar style

PLAY LIKE JEFF BECK

Learn how to bend it like Beck can with TG’s rundown of Jeff’s techniques and musical style

“Heavy distortion and chaos and power!”

For fast-rising punk pop band Pale Waves, there’s only one way to play guitar: “Loud!”

“YOU’VE GOT TO SCRAPE EVERY DOWN-PICK. IT’S F*CKIN’ HARD!”

In the revitalised Machine Head, leader Robb Flynn is playing as fast and heavy as ever – while also channelling Bob Marley!

“What really matters is the riff”

The sheer power of Amon Amarth comes from two guitarists with no-frills gear...

“We swing harder by staying on the one string”

For the two guitarists in Lamb Of God, the heaviest riffs are all about groove

“It sounds aggressive, but I have a very soft touch”

Arch Enemy’s riffs are “a merciless onslaught of fast picking”. But there’s also room for “sexy” vibrato...

BLACK SABBATH BLACK SABBATH (1970)

How the young Tony Iommi harnessed the evil power of the flattened 5th to create the most influential metal song of them all

ERUPTION VAN HALEN (1978)

The ultimate game-changer: a technique tour de force that inspired a million shredders, placing EVH in a category of one

HALLOWED BE THY NAME IRON MAIDEN (1982)

A perfect example of twin-lead guitar dynamics – in an epic track from the album that elevated Maiden to legendary status

MASTER OF PUPPETS METALLICA (1986)

The mighty epic that elevated thrash metal to an art form – powered by “the best rhythm guitar player on the planet”

COWBOYS FROM HELL PANTERA (1990)

The reinvention of Pantera: how the band found its groove and a new level of heaviness, and Dimebag became a guitar hero

BLIND KORN (1994)

With detuned seven-string guitars and a hip-hop influence in the mix, the boys from Bakersfield delivered the big bang of nu-metal

EYELESS SLIPKNOT (1999)

In a brutal anthem as fearsome as the band’s image, Mick Thomson created darkness and discordance with the guitar he couldn’t live without

Metal

…can go in a million different directions!”

MARCH OF THE FIRE ANTS MASTODON (2002)

Heaviness with a vast sonic range – achieved with an unorthodox approach to tuning and a classic sense of two-guitar harmony

THE HEAVIEST MATTER IN THE UNIVERSE GOJIRA (2005)

Disorienting rhythms, juggernaut grooves and pick scrapes. A defining moment in 21st century extreme metal

PHYSICAL EDUCATION ANIMALS AS LEADERS (2014)

With two virtuosos playing eight-strings, the possibilities are limitless – as illustrated in this prime example of ‘thumping’

CHAT PILE

Three bands with huge potential – delivering frenetic alternate picking, uber-melodic chord runs, speakerrattling feedback and the inevitable barrage of brutal riffs...

HERIOT

Photo Getty While a relatively young band in

MOODRING

Floridian four-piece Moodring are a hard band to

AN EPIPHONE SLASH LES PAUL STANDARD ELECTRIC GUITAR

Total Guitar has teamed up with Epiphone to offer you the chance to win a Slash Les Paul Standard in stunning Appetite Burst finish

BLACK SABBATH

PARANOID

BREAKESTRA CRAMP YOUR STYLE

Get your groove on with this classic cover by the L A-based 10-piece funk orchestra

JOHN MAYER

I GUESS I JUST FEEL LIKE

THE GAS STATION

REAL WORLD REVIEWS OF THE BEST NEW GEAR

START ME UP!

Five awesome new products to get your gear engine revving this month…

EPIPHONE NOEL GALLAGHER RIVIERA

She’s electric! Noel’s signature invokes 90s nostalgia with a familiar face

GRETSCH G5220 ELECTROMATIC JET BT G5260 ELECTROMATIC JET BARITONE

The venerable Gretsch single-cut gets updated for the modern era as two classy Jets are served up two different ways

CÓRDOBA STAGE

The nylon-string electro goes centre stage!

WALRUS AUDIO LORE

Love is the Lore?

MINNIE MARKS

Hailing from Eastern Australia, multiinstrumentalist Minnie Marks is