Latest articles by Jon Wiederhorn
“We started talking about Black Sabbath, and Buzz goes, ‘You know they did this thing called drop D.’ We said, ‘What’s that?’” Kim Thayil on how Soundgarden took rock guitar into the superunknown – and the unfinished Chris Cornell tapes
With the Soundgarden guitarist‘s memoir, A Screaming Life, out now, he unpacks the story behind one of the most influential rock bands of the ’90s
Michael Schenker on his lifelong pursuit of self-expression and track-by-track guide to Don't Sell Your Soul
Foxes, gold pieces, Tom and Jerry cartoons? It can only be the great Michael Schenker, who takes us through MSG’s new album, Don’t Sell Your Soul, track by weirdly inspired track
How tuning down and jamming Eagles and Skynyrd unlocked the return of Swedish doom heroes Monolord
Neverending finds the venerable Gothenburg trio expand their sound under the supervision of Tool producer Sylvia Massy, adding light and shade to those riffs – and more guitars
That time Ronnie James Dio offered to front ’70s glam-rock outfit The Sweet
Internal disagreements led Dio to very different gig as he sought an escape from Blackmore’s Rainbow, while The Sweet were grappling with their frontman's drinking problems
The moment glam-rock icons The Sweet knew they had to part ways with their singer
Guitarist Andy Scott reveals why the satin-jumpsuit-clad four-piece was forced to transform into a three-piece – or disband altogether...
“I’ve never concerned myself with the Big Four”: Gary Holt and Lee Altus on why Exodus will never be a legacy thrash act
The Bay Area thrash stalwarts return with the face-ripping Goliath, an album that finds them with nothing to prove but Holt's still out for blood anyway
Lamb of God’s Willie Adler and Mark Morton take us inside metal’s premier riff machine
Into Oblivion finds the guitarists revisiting past chaos to inspire some of the Virginia stalwarts’ most brutal and diverse material to date
Why Michael Schenker turned down Ozzy Osbourne
Schenker was approached by the Prince of Darkness following the tragic death of Randy Rhoads
How this cult prog guitarist enlisted Alex Lifeson and Peter Frampton for an all-star solo album
Tiles guitarist Chris Herin returns with Hiding in Plain Sight, a poignant, brilliant album inspired by his father's battle with dementia
Gary Holt once gave himself clinical-grade whiplash because he headbanged to his riffs too hard
The guitarist says he “dodged a bullet” by avoiding surgery
YouTube superstar, entrepreneur, guitarist for the Haunted… Inside the unstoppable rise of Ola Englund
The affable Swede on how he got his big break in Six Feet Under, the amps that make him feel “terrible” about his playing, and how he found YouTube success by being himself. As for Solar Guitars? Why not make the guitars himself?
![Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy [on the white Telecaster] perform on Late Night with Seth Myers.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/eX6S7nn9FNajPVn3zcPXdM-840-80.jpg.webp)
How a Chicago alt-rock stalwart and Hollywood A-lister put together a supergroup to celebrate their favorite records
You might know Jason Narducy from playing bass with Bob Mould. You might recognize Michael Shannon, too. He’s in the movies. But they are also in band, and are celebrating R.E.M.’s Lifes Rich Pageant in concert. Narducy tells GW how it all went down
Max Cavalera on Sepultura’s bloody roots, the rise of Soulfly and how metal became the family business
Max Cavalera takes GW back to the beginning in Brazil and the search for a sound more brutal than anyone, the bitter splits and blessed reunions, and what comes next for Soulfly and Cavalera
Sepultura co-founder Max Cavalera looks back on his first-ever electric guitar, “The Rotten” – and the moment he discovered metal
The metal icon also discusses how Judas Priest and the Brazilian thrash metal band Dorsal Atlântica were crucial in inspiring him and his brother to pursue music seriously
Ethan Kahn on Chained Saint’s face-ripping debut and how the new school of thrash metal is rewriting the rulebook
With their debut LP, Blindside, produced by Alice In Chains’ William DuVall, the Florida quartet are flying the flag for hesher-approved audio violence
Robb Flynn set out to make Machine Head’s shortest record – but he hopes its four-minute songs will have a lasting impact
Some record exec told Flynn that he'd only last five years, but 30 years on he's still at it, reinventing Machine Head with a new lead guitarist, writing songs to those dark nights of the soul
Bob Mould on the rise and fall of Hüsker Dü, and what changed when he swapped his Ibanez Rocket Roll for a Strat
In a rare interview, the Hüsker Dü and Sugar mastermind walks us through his entire career, right on up to his brand-new “give the people what they want” record, Here We Go Crazy
![Black-and-white action shots of Return to Dust guitarists Matty Bielawski [left, with a Gibson SG] and Sebastian Gonzalez [playing a PRS].](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ou9XjWTCia4HnLufE34tHc-840-80.jpg.webp)
How Return to Dust found their teenage guitar phenom to put a fresh face on ’90s grunge
Sebastian Gonzalez was too young to drive a car but not to blew Matty Bielawski away with his chops. He is the Cali band's secret weapon as they take drop D riffs in thrilling new directions
Justin Hawkins on why he’s not convinced by alternate tunings
Hawkins believes that E standard offers plenty of opportunity for expression
Gary Holt on his thrash metal redemption, balancing Exodus and Slayer – and why even Hetfield cheats on downpicking
Exodus and Slayer mainstay Gary Holt reveals what compelled him to finally roll up his sleeves and unflinchingly tell his life story
How Killswitch Engage went to thrash metal bootcamp to deliver their face-ripping return
This Consequence is the sound of pent-up aggression, a creative release after Killswitch were stopped in their tracks. Dynamic duo Adam Dutkiewicz and Joel Stroetzel talk frontmen, riff tactics, and why nothing was too grimy for this
Manuel Gagneux on why you shouldn’t sweat the technique – and expanding Zeal & Ardor’s radical sound
Unorthodox, avant-garde, progressive and totally unique, Gagneux is taking black metal out of its total necro comfort zone. Dare you follow him?
With the return of Mike Portnoy, Dream Theater are fully reborn – and John Petrucci's still not done exploring new guitar frontiers
Wielding naught but his signature Ernie Ball Music Man Majesty, Petrucci has been studying different types of scales and different types of chords – and he says having Portnoy back on the drum stool makes the prog-metal institution feel like they're all 18 again
How Spiritbox’s Mike Stringer went from reluctant hometown hero to metal’s new seven-string phenomenon
Spiritbox guitarist Mike Stringer dispels the illusion of the band’s “overnight success”, detailing their 12-year struggle just to pay rent – and why James Hetfield and John Mayer are both guitar GOATs in his eyes
