Magnificent Seven: The 10 Greatest Seven-String Guitar Songs of All Time
We count down the best tracks from those who took guitar one string further.
05. Joe Satriani — "Seven String" (Strange Beautiful Music, 2002)
An innovative force like few other guitarists have been, Joe Satriani has unsurprisingly turned to the seven-string guitar more than once in his career to extend the range of his alien guitar acrobatics. "A song like 'Seven String' represents the brute-force side of playing," said Satriani in a 2002 Guitar World interview, echoing just why we can't enough of this track from Strange Beautiful Music.
04. Dream Theater — "The Dark Eternal Night" (Systematic Chaos, 2007)
Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci has made on-and-off use of the seven-string since 1994's Awake, using it to lend unique chord voicings and extended arpeggiated sequences to the band's frantic brand of prog-metal (perhaps most notably on 2002's "The Glass Prison"). But it was on the band's 2007 effort, Systematic Chaos, that Petrucci revved things up another notch entirely with the pummeling, nine-minute opus, "The Dark Eternal Night."
03. Meshuggah — "Future Breed Machine" (Destroy Erase Improve, 1995)
While you won't find any extra strings on Meshuggah's 1991 debut, Contradictions Collapse, guitarist Fredrik Thordendal knew from the very beginning that six strings just wouldn't suffice to contain the breadth of his band's music. "For as long as I can remember I’ve wanted to have a seven-string guitar so that I’d be able to play those really low notes," Thordendal told Guitar World, "and then Ibanez finally came out with one." By the time of the band's follow-up effort, the aptly named Destroy Erase Improve, the band had added an additional guitarist in Marten Hagstrom, and upped the ante with a retooled brand of progressive metal that has proven immensely influential to the new breed of metal musicians.
02. Steve Vai — "The Riddle" (Passion and Warfare, 1990)
Around the time of Whitesnake's 1989 album, Slip of the Tongue, Steve Vai was in search of some way to take the guitar into another dimension. "I was just looking for something different, looking to expand the instrument and get a different sound," said Vai in a recent interview of his part in creating the seven-string. "It wasn't a great revelation. It wasn't like the skies opened up and this instrument fell down. It was just a JEM guitar with an extra string. We tried to put a high string on it, but they kept breaking so we added a low string instead." And with that, and the release of 1990's Passion and Warfare, Vai would make his new guitar the envy of shredders worldwide.
01. Korn — "Blind" (Korn, 1994)
When grunge had the shred movement on the ropes, Korn helped to bring the seven-string back from the brink of extinction, giving rise to the nu metal movement in the process. While 1998's Follow the Leader was largely responsible for making them the unabashed leaders of the mainstream metal world with hits like "Freak on a Leash" and "Got the Life," it was the lead track off their self-titled 1994 debut that first turned heads. "I was stunned," said Steve Vai of first hearing Korn. "It sounded like a herd of buffalo wearing iron shoes and blowing fire out of their nostrils."
But the strength of Korn's sound was far from just a lumbering, low-end rumble. The guitar interplay of Munky and Head was something imitators never quite nailed down. "We feed off of each other rhythmically a lot," said Munky in a 1998 GW interview. "We play a lot of parts in unison, or I'll play a steady riff while Head plays counterpoint fills, like we do in the beginning of 'Blind.'"
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PamelaMcLaughlin03
May 19, 2013 at 7:25am
Kaitlyn. I agree that Jane`s bl0g is astonishing, last friday I got a gorgeous Lotus Esprit sincee geting a check for $6656 recently and-over, ten thousand last-month. it's by-far the best work Ive ever done. I started this three months/ago and straight away was bringing home minimum $78, p/h. I follow this website, Bow6.com
nikoString
May 15, 2013 at 7:12am
simplemente el momento perfecto para una cancion, korn rompio con una estructura en los 90, despues de nirvana, korn rompio un esquema en cuanto a sonido, composicion, ritmica, melodias (peuqeñas, pero melodias al fin). Cuando salio " blind" todos se preguntaban como hacian para sonar de esa manera, como lo lograban? es por todo esto que cre que esta bien posicionado el Nº1... Y para el que decia que no tenian idea de las guitarras de 7 cuerdas, diseñaron una de las guitarras de 7 cuerdas mas versatiles... (si lo dice Steve Vai)
Feral Feline
May 14, 2013 at 6:00am
What the fudgsicle?
NO SONGS FROM GEORGE VAN EPS, BUCKY PIZZARELLI, JOHN PIZZARELLI... ?
Oh, sorry, I didn't see the "ROCK" in front of "Guitar World" and had thought it was a magazine for ALL guitarists and not just rockers & metalheads (no disrespect to either).
Seriously, the name of the magazine should be changed.
sinishad
May 13, 2013 at 10:42pm
Trivium seriously does not get enough credit for Shogun. Even they don't give themselves enough credit for that album. They made it and didn't even make a big deal about how they totally mastered the 7 string and used it in the late 2000's neo-thrash/metalcore scene. IMO they, and everyone else, should give them credit for how different(and difficult to play as a band) that album was
maximushyrule
May 13, 2013 at 4:46pm
where's Unearth? Zombie Autopilot, Lie to Purify, The March, The Charm? there all classics!!!
usual7
January 05, 2013 at 2:18pm
Once again, a "top 10" liat gone horribly wrong! No "Edgecrusher" or "Linchpin" by Fear Factory? How about "Down from the Sky" or "Throes of Perdition" by Trivium? Perhaps "Headstrong" by Trapt? Damnit! This wasn't a bad list, but it could have been better (in my humble opinion).
jeffreycollins
December 03, 2012 at 7:13pm
I find it funny that there is a quote of Vai talking about Jazz guitarists using 7 string guitars. When George Van Eps was using them probably around the time Vai was born.
I agree that BLIND is one killer 7 string song. Probably still my favorite song from them. I still remember the first time I heard that low end chunk come through my tv speakers on Headbangers Ball. Oh that was an ear opener.
Morbid Angel 'God of Emptiness' is and will always be my favorite song from them. Trey just makes that guitar sound so damn heavy. Not even Meshuggah can match up to that song.
pearlj10
December 03, 2012 at 4:06pm
Danny H-- true a cheese string would be useless. Hilarious visual. To me the seventh string would be a dangerous string and I would have to mute it a lot on most songs. Great players like Broderick for Megadeth can handle 7 strings. Most of us normal people would look foolish.
Guitar Slinger- lame reply
Sorry to be the hater here, but none of these songs would make the top 250 of any rock/metal lists. Look at the ads to the side. This an article just written to sell 7 string guitars. None of these song would make the top 250 of any rock/metal lists. I will give my approval to the players --Korn, Petrucci, Vai, Satriani but not the guitar or any of these songs.
Damage Inc.
December 03, 2012 at 2:27pm
I disagree with this list; Too little KoRn, "AAS", oh and TriViuM as well. :P
Let the hate commence, but I know I'm right. ;)
edenwaith
November 30, 2012 at 7:00pm
I'm surprised that there was no mention of Uli Jon Roth and his 7-string Sky Guitar which was designed in the mid-80s and has been used on all of his albums since 1984's Beyond The Astral Skies.
iron_maiden
November 30, 2012 at 6:27pm
I never really thought much of 7 strings until I heard Nevermore. I still wasn't really into them though... Until I've heard Tyr for the first time! I've never heard anything so cool! Now I'm totally thinking about buying one...
shadow1029
November 30, 2012 at 4:07pm
Love 7 strings now. Not crazy about the typical vocal styles that go with them, but other wise awesome
Tarkess
November 30, 2012 at 5:35pm
I recommend you check out Scale the Summit, they play 7-string instrumentals much akin to some of the music on the list.
panterrasports
November 30, 2012 at 3:30pm
What is the bridge in the picture? Never seen one like that.
GuitarSlinger101
November 30, 2012 at 3:22pm
pearlj10's comment is further proof of how useless the natural selection is.
pearlj10
November 30, 2012 at 2:51pm
This list is further proof of how useless a seven string guitar is. Thanks for the update.
DannyH
November 30, 2012 at 5:05pm
In what way are 7-strings useless? You can get lower notes with a 7th string, and that is not useless...if the string were made of cheese....that would be useless.
Btw Guitar World...Shogun (Trivium) definitely needs to be on this list cause even if you're not a fan of the growly vocal bits, the rest of the song is just amazing :P
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