Originality is the lifesblood of any great guitarist. They somehow invent a style that’s never quite been heard before, then encourage young shredders to just quit because they’ve set the bar impossibly high.
These dudes never quit though! They became legends through inimitable playing and songwriting, and their contributions to metal guitar can never be replicated.
When it comes to a “never duplicated” metal guitarist (or at least until 2026), Children of Bodom’s Alexi Laiho should be one of the initial 21st century artists who comes to mind. His crisp, neoclassical style was grounded by a punk and glam metal foundation, all while crafting riffs that were somehow as catchy as they were noodley. His solos were as ferocious as they were sophisticated, bringing Laiho into a rare tier of guitar greats.
There’s never been another album like Pornograffitti. Nuno Bettencourt’s uncompromising lick-filled, highly melodic glam style is so dense it’d take decades of practice to fully grasp. Add some funk ethos, killer tapping, rapid-fire shredding… and you’ve got just scratched the surface of Nuno.
Ever hear another guitarist who pummels the listener with hammer-ons like Kurt Ballou? The guitarist’s concoctions of beatdown hardcore riffs, dissonant chords and head-spinning hammer-ons brought a special sort of chaos to Converge — one that solely belongs to Ballou. The whirling emotion this man is able to convey with just six strings is gripping to say the least.
Unless you’re a musicologist, don’t waste your time trying to decode the chords and progressions Tosin Abasi is laying down. Abasi’s tapping, both clean and distorted, is so unbelievably technical and gorgeous through Animals as Leaders‘ discography. Then he just bursts into some jazz-slash-djent mania. One of a kind.
Many guitarists have learned to play like Randy Rhoads, but nobody has written parts quite like the Ozzy axeman. The main reason it’s impossible to copy Rhoads is because he spent so many years studying classical works before he even knew that heavy metal existed. You’d basically have to be Beethoven getting locked in a room all day by his father to recreate the conditions that made Randy Rhoads.
Legato. Let’s say it one more time… le-ga-to. Buckethead’s shredding is so silky smooth that it’d be called robotic if it wasn’t so damn soulful. Even if you had eight fingers on each hand, playing as technically smooth as Buckethead would be nearly impossible. Marty Friedman certainly comes close, but Buckethead is the king of the legato shredders.
EVH was so damn good that Zakk Wylde didn’t even try to incorporate tapping into his personal style. The pinnacle of tapping was reached with “Eruption” back in 1978, and like landing on the moon, it hasn’t been re-done for five decades. There are few guitarists who should genuinely make you want to quit — Eddie Van Halen is one of them.
Jeff Loomis is one of those guitarists who can pull off any trick at any time. Big punishing riffs? Done. Beautiful melodic licks? Check. Shred ’til you’re dead? Easy. Sweep picking for days and spending eons soloing at the highest point of his guitar’s neck? Yup. Doing it all interchangeably? That’s Jeff Loomis.
Southern rock and bluegrass made Mastodon the beast it is today. Brent Hinds spent much of his career resisting the pull toward being a metal guitarist, so he just invented a heavier style of chicken pickin’. His blend of whirlwind riffs, prog structures and banjo-like picking resulted in some of the most epic and dramatic metal of the 21st century.
There’s talent and then there’s freakish talent. Possibly the best pure shredder and sweep picker in metal history, Yngwie Malmsteen earned his Blackmore-sized ego. He’s simply the pinnacle of pure neoclassical guitar.
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