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Meet Obeyer, the chorus-soaked UK metallers hand-picked by Periphery
By Phil Weller published
The British band hinges off rhythmic riffs, propulsive breakdowns, and lots of chorus – an effect guitarist Jamie Steadman wanted to bring back into fashion

Meet The Native Howl, the thrashgrass pioneers running Taylor acoustics through Mesa/Boogie stacks
By Alison Richter published
The Native Howl’s Alex Holycross turned himself around after a suicide attempt, and focused on merging bluegrass with thrash – and spreading the word about giving and getting help when it’s needed

“I was 15 when we met”: Eric Gales on the riffs that changed his life – and meeting Stevie Ray Vaughan as a teenager
By Andrew Daly published
There are no prizes for guessing Hendrix and SRV are on the southpaw blues-rock phenom's Mt. Rushmore of riffs, but he’s got a “Cult” spooky pick, too…

Cheap Trick’s Tom Petersson shares his 12 tips that every bass player should know
By Nick Wells published
Cheap Trick’s 12-string bass legend on the joys of multiple amps, and why bass players should never use effects

Eddie Van Halen on the time Billy Corgan played through his rig – and why his setup shocked the Smashing Pumpkins frontman
By Jackson Maxwell published
Finding EVH's rig almost impossible to wrangle, Corgan figured, mistakenly, that there was something he could quickly disable to tame it
![Blood Incantation's Paul Riedl [left] and Morris Kolontyrsky wear dark sunglasses and hold black BC Rich Ironbirds, a guitar Kolontyrsky says is surprisingly suitable for David Gilmour-style solos.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Ss6NubRqf9i7qk4yv287fh-320-80.jpg)
How Blood Incantation fused B.C. Rich, doom and David Gilmour to make one of 2024’s most talked-about metal albums
By Jonathan Horsley published
Metal Hammer named Absolute Elsewhere their album of the year. Paul Riedl and Morris Kolontyrsky explain how they made their masterpiece at the studio beloved by David Bowie, weaving ’70s prog and krautrock into death metal, and how to make a B.C. Rich sound like a Strat

The tonal mysteries of Gibson’s P-90 dog-ear pickups, which got their due in the Les Paul Junior
By Huw Price published
A lightweight mahogany body and a wraptail bridge virtually guarantees great tone – and the P-90 pickup is an electrifying addition

Meet Lambrini Girls, the noise-punks starting a riot with blunt punk and scathing social commentary
By Janelle Borg published
Fresh from supporting IDLES and Amyl and The Sniffers and making a fan out of Iggy Pop, singer/guitarist Phoebe Lunny and bassist Lilly Macieira are on the brink of releasing their highly anticipated debut, and winning fans one flamethrower track at a time

Richie Kotzen on his worst-ever show, that time wildfires came for his guitar collection, and upsetting his mom by getting Purple Haze wrong
By Joe Matera published
Kotzen checks in to talk first guitars, first songs, and to give his younger self a little friendly advice. Plus, why didn't he take any guitars as the fire got close?
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