This book is very simple and it does exactly as it says on the cover, which is list the 100 greatest metal guitarists, well according to Joel McIver. The first thing I noticed about the book, when flicking through, was the kind of guitarists that are included. This book is not comparable to a Kerrang list, for example, where there would also be a high degree of influence of popular and current bands. This is also very true of other popular top 100 polls that are based on a public vote system, as it they are not based on technical ability, rather popularity.
This book goes against that by being written solely from the view of one person, giving it a more rounded analytical point of view. This man is Joel McIver, his CV is very extensive and includes writing for many popular magazines and having written many books within this field. This book contains many guitarists, whose works and abilities I am very familiar with and many that I am not. There are a lot of my favourite guitarists in this book and I’m glad to see them accredited with the respect they deserve, that they usually miss out on in other polls.
As for the ordering of the guitarists I agree with most of them, a few I don’t but that’s what makes this book good. You don’t want to open the book and find everything exactly as you expected it to be. Each guitarist has their own little section, giving extensive information on their bands, playing technique and equipment among many other things. This gives you a good chance to read up on your metal history.
The book itself is very well put together with good language and a good lay out, words broken up every few pages with full-page pictures of many of the guitar slayers. At the back there is also the next 50 guitarists, simply listed. This helps to throw in a few more names that people may wonder why they aren’t in the initial top 100. There is also a list of the top 20 shredders who don’t fall in to the metal category. This book is extensive and highly detailed and should be the starting point of any guitarist who is wishing to learn about the greats of metal.
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The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists - Joel McIver (Book)
Metal Blade signs UK extreme metal act MALEFICE