Latest articles by Richard Bienstock
The story of Metallica's meteoric rise – as told by the people who were there
The story of Metallica's meteoric rise – as told by the people who were there, including Dave Mustaine, Scott Ian, Kerry King, Gary Holt, and, of course, Metallica themselves
Michael Schenker on celebrating UFO with Axl Rose, Slash, and Dee Snider, and why he's come full circle with Gibson
My Years With UFO finds the effervescent Schenker revisiting seminal tracks in the company of rock legends, some Flying Vs, and his trusty Marshall JCM800 2205, an amp so good everyone steals it
Best beginner electric guitars 2024: kickstart your musical journey with these epic electric guitars for beginners
So you're a budding guitarist? Get started with our pick of the best beginner electric guitars from Squier, Yamaha, and Epiphone
Mick Thomson reflects on 25 years of Slipknot’s incendiary debut – and what it was like to see his solos erased
If Slipknot's debut remains a true face-ripper all these years later maybe it is because they brought the chaos of the stage show into the studio. Thomson can remember it vividly, the gear, the danger, the risk to his guitars from stray iron pipes, and he wouldn't have it any other way
Slash on Yngwie, Eddie Van Halen – and what makes for good guitar playing
According to Slash, it doesn’t matter what genre you play or your level of skill; just be sure to put your own stamp on every note you play
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram talks touring with Slash – and his hunger to learn guitar
Kingfish discovered Slash via Guitar Hero and now will be sharing the stage with him at S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival. He talks about what it means to play an all-star blues fest and take the art form further
Samantha Fish on blues guitar heroes, Slash, and the need to “push boundaries” to keep the art alive
Signed up for Slash's all-star S.E.R.P.E.N.T Festival, Fish is one of the players who has found her voice in taking blues out of its comfort zone. Here, she salutes her blues heroes – especially the rule-breakers
Slash explains why his new blues album has really been the journey of a lifetime
Orgy of the Damned finds the Guns N' Roses guitarist and A-list guests tackling blues standards that shaped his sound. Here he talks blues gear, the ethos, and how blues can be a force for good
Slash explains why Eddie Van Halen was really a blues player at heart
Van Halen's boundary-pushing rock guitar style was defined by unprecedented fretboard acrobatics – but underneath all that was a humble bluesman, according to the GNR guitarist
“People started saying I looked like Voldemort!” Joe Satriani and Steve Vai on their classic Guitar World covers
The axelords discuss the guitars they’re holding in six key GW magazine covers from the past. Along the way, we learn about guitar thefts, loud photoshoots, hair, pants and flexi-discs...
Steve Vai and Joe Satriani on friendship, collaboration and using guitar to “explore the infinite”
After decades of pushing the envelope for instrumental guitar, the two giants of the instrument are touring together, writing together, and new music is coming. Satch and Vai take their story back to the beginning, and tell us where it’s headed
“It was really, really difficult”: Alex Lifeson looks back on Rush's classic album, Grace Under Pressure
Recorded during a brutal winter, Grace Under Pressure did not come easy, but all things considered, Lifeson can look back on it as a triumph. Rush had moved on, and that was the goal...
MJ Lenderman shares tone secrets and explains why there’s life in the live album yet
With a blazing (not to mention “fluid like the wind”) band behind him, indie rock’s leading overdrive purveyor takes his best one-man-band material to wild new places
Alex Lifeson takes us behind the scenes at Lerxst to talk gear, tone and new music
Time will tell whether Lifeson and Geddy Lee will work together again, but in the mean time the Rush icon has lots of new gear to show us, developed in partnership with Mojotone and Godin
“Every band wants to have a Sgt. Pepper’s type of moment. And American Idiot was that moment for us”: Billie Joe Armstrong on the making of the magnum opus that saved Green Day
The world's biggest punk band faced a crossroads in 2004 and it was a case of go big or go home. Armstrong explains how they supersized their sound – and saved the band
“I know my limitations, but at the same time I’m really pushing myself to be a better guitar player”: Billie Joe Armstrong on ripping solos like Angus Young – and what Green Day have in common with Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran
Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong reveals the origin story behind Saviors, the punk superheroes’ first new album in four years, and looks back on the making of 1994’s Dookie
“This guitar gives you a piece of me. In fact, I just used one of the Epiphones to do some recording, and I’ve played them onstage, too”: Adam Jones discusses the evolution – and future – of his signature 1979 Les Paul Custom
Adam Jones’ collaboration with Gibson and Epiphone brought together the Tool guitarist’s two loves, music and art, with a line of stunning Aged Silverburst LPs. Will we see more in the future? Jones sure hopes so
“I loved Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads. Then something happened where it was like you had to be in the guitar Olympics”: Billie Joe Armstrong explains why he rekindled his relationship with the guitar solo on Green Day’s newest album
Saviors might be the band’s most solo-heavy record to date – a result of Armstrong re-embracing lead playing and, as he tells Guitar World, putting “a spotlight on a little bit more of what I’m capable of”
“When 18 and Life played back and I heard Scotti play the first three notes in the solo, I got chills. I called Jon Bon Jovi and said, 'Do you ever get chills listening to your own music?'”: Snake Sabo and Scotti Hill on Skid Row's massive debut album
Skid Row's two-guitar tandem discuss building their own pedals, in-the-works Kramers, and what they learned from each other while recording their star-making, self-titled 1989 debut
Neil Young showcases his savage overdriven tones and channels Hendrix in the most menacing solo rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner you’ve ever heard
Wielding his legendary 1953 Gibson Les Paul, Old Black, Young put his own spin on the US national anthem, nodding to a certain Woodstock performance along the way
“It felt like I had been training my whole life for that gig”: How Nuno Bettencourt ended up playing with Rihanna
Rihanna x Nuno is one of the great pop/rock collaborations of our time, and it pushed the Extreme guitarist to his limits. Here’s how it all went down – and why the duo never did perform More Than Words…
“He’s the funkiest dude in the shredder family tree”: The world’s greatest guitarists explain why Nuno Bettencourt isn’t your typical guitar hero
Brian May, Zakk Wylde, Steve Vai and Tom Morello join an all-star cast to explain what makes the Extreme virtuoso one of the guitar world’s most valuable players
Tom Morello says his favorite Nuno Bettencourt solo is one you haven’t heard – and it’s “his version of Eruption”
The Rage Against the Machine guitarist says he followed Extreme religiously on the Boston circuit before they were signed: “I was blown away by this 16-, 17-year-old guitar phenomenon”
