“I really don’t think that ’80s guitar style has stood the test of time very well”: Tommy Thayer emerged in a scene of shredders and guitar heroes – but the style they pioneered never appealed to him

Tommy Thayer’s rise to six-string stardom largely occurred throughout the 1980s – an evolutionary period for guitar music, which gave way to a new wave of guitar gods and playing styles that favored speed, theatrics and hot-rodded instruments.

For an up-and-coming Thayer, though, shred guitars and wild gear never truly appealed to him, and he instead stayed true to the more traditional, blues-rock-informed approach that would eventually define his sound.

In Thayer’s mind, it was a smart choice: the Kiss guitar player looks back on the 1980s scene in a new interview with Guitar World, and reveals he doesn’t think the shred music that was pioneered then – which saw people “play as fast as possible” – has stood the test of time.

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When asked about what set him apart from the other guitarists on the scene during that period, Thayer reflects, “There’s no doubt I always gravitated toward a bluesier, more soulful approach to playing, with less notes.

“The guys I admired played simple, memorable guitar lines that were about the song as much as anything. Things changed in the ’80s, and everyone was trying to play as fast as possible. I really don’t think that ’80s guitar style has stood the test of time very well.”

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The 1980s was a decade that was dominated by the likes of Eddie Van Halen, Joe Satriani, Yngie Malmsteen, Mick Mars, George Lynch and more, with the late Randy Rhoads, Warren DeMartini and other shred icons also shaping a movement that started as the 1970s drew to a close.

Expanding on his point, though, Thayer says he felt a stronger draw to the guitarists that preceded his time – second-generation players who championed quality over quantity, and whose classic blues rock music really struck a chord with him.

“I had an affinity for the ’70s guitarists, who were second-generation players following in the footsteps of Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimi Hendrix,” he goes on. “That’s what drove my passion and desire to want to do it.

“I liked classic early ’70s hard rock like Mott the Hoople and Slade, that’s what inspired me. They played and wrote simpler, hooky musical lines and amazing songs. By the late-’70s, I loved Edward Van Halen, but for some reason, I didn’t necessarily want to play that way, like most everyone in the ’80s ended up doing.

“Shredding never appealed to me. I was always a traditionalist and took a simpler approach to guitar. I naturally stuck with my playing style instead of trying to change it in the ’80s. Honestly, it was never something I considered. Blues-based rock guitar never goes out of style.”