Features

Vivian Campbell on joining Dio just before recording their classic debut album

By Janelle Borg Published 20 August 26

From The Archive Campbell was thrown in at the deep end when he wound up working with Ronnie James Dio on Holy Diver

David Bowie’s guitarists on what it was like to play with the Thin White Duke

By Joel McIver Published 19 August 26

10 years after Bowie's death, Adrian Belew, Peter Frampton, Carlos Alomar and other guitar-slinging comrades-in-arms recall high times alongside the master

When Nils Lofgren tried to join the Rolling Stones

By Phil Weller Published 19 August 26

From The Archive Lofgren almost flew out to audition after Mick Taylor’s eventual successor put him in touch with the Stones

Meet Robert Jon and the Wreck, the rock fanatics who sound like they rolled out of Georgia in ’82

By Alan Paul Published 18 August 26

Eddie Van Halen, the Allmans, Tom Petty… The list of influences is long and it all goes into the Orange County rocker's ’70s-flavored stew

Deep Purple guitarist Simon McBride on sharing the stage with Ritchie Blackmore – and the reunion nobody thought would happen

By Andrew Daly Published 18 August 26

Deep Purple’s current guitar player was caught off-guard when the band got the call from Blackmore. But as he tells Guitar World, he was very happy to be his rhythm guitarist that night

Sin City filmmaker Robert Rodriguez lifts the lid on his guitar collection

By Daryl Robertson Published 17 August 26

The filmmaker takes us through his extensive guitar collection, including gifts from the likes of Billy Gibbons and Kirk Hammett, and reveals why he needs 24 frets to perform with his cinematic Latin-rock band

How a Fender Strat anniversary event led to Queen’s first world tour since Freddie Mercury’s death

By Matt Owen Published 17 August 26

From The Archive May shared the Strat Pack stage with a singer whose performance convinced him to get the Queen machine up and running again

How Mike McCready overcame his addictions to form a grunge supergroup

By Jonathan Horsley Published 16 August 26

Emerging from rehab in 1994 gave McCready a sense of purpose and clarity, and a newfound creativity as he put together Mad Season with Layne Staley on vocals

How a chance family connection brought Raphael Saadiq a lesson with one of the greatest bass players of all time

By Chris Jisi Published 16 August 26

Since breaking through as the frontman of Tony! Toni! Toné!, Raphael Saadiq has forged a career alongside A Tribe Called Quest, Snoop Dogg and Q-Tip, while playing a key role in the sound of D’Angelo’s acclaimed neo-soul albums

The enduring allure of the O.G. Stratocaster – and how drastically different two first-year Strats can be

By Dave Davidson Published 16 August 26

We take a closer look at a pair of Strats that might share a birthday but have quite different sounds and specs, as Fender was evolving the design in real-time when it launched in ’54