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The Ten Best Metal Guitarists In The World - The Director's Cut
Joel McIver , January 22nd, 2009 04:01

Gentleman of rock Joel McIver has written a book about the best metal fret manglers ever. Exclusively for The Quietus he engages his swollen hippocampus and picks out 10 of the best. Let the bloodshed commence! (Just don't call him ass hat.)

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SCOTT IAN (Anthrax)

Most Shorts-Wearing Guitarist

FACTOID! His father-in-law is Meat Loaf.

Thrash metal is all about supertight, super-damped speed-picking, achieved by extremely fast strumming of a power chord or a single string with judicious palm-muting – the core sound of all extreme metal to this day. Some bands can’t do it, and sound terrible at high speed as a result. Those that can, however, sound amazing – and Anthrax combined this sound (courtesy of fun-sized beard-wearer Scott Ian) with excellent songwriting, making themselves one of the biggest extreme metal bands of the 80s as a result.

Check it out: 'I Am The Law'

Pic: Andy Buchanan