By the time Ronnie James Dio left Black Sabbath in 1982, he'd already worked with two guitarists indelibly etched on heavy metal’s Mount Rushmore as founding fathers of the genre.

On the same night that he first met Sabbath's Dark Lord of the Riff, Tony Iommi, at LA's infamous Rainbow Bar and Grill in 1979, the two wrote the monolithic Children of the Sea, sparking the potent partnership behind the following year’s classic, Heaven and Hell.

Five years earlier, while opening for Deep Purple as a member of Elf, Dio’s commanding vocal presence prompted Richie Blackmore to recruit him for a projected solo single. As with Sabbath, the collaboration swiftly ignited a songwriting partnership, and by 1976, Rainbow had delivered Rising, a game-changing blend of neoclassical hard rock and dark fantasy imagery.

After quitting Sabbath in 1982, the vocalist’s return under the Dio banner (with fellow Sabbath evacuee Vinny Appice on drums and ex-Rainbow bassist, Jimmy Bain) with Holy Diver upped the ante once again. Fusing the melodies of Rainbow with a shot of Sabbath-style heaviness, the band introduced a succession of hungry young shredders whose playing gave the band a contemporary edge.

And if the pressure of matching the soloing standards set by Ritchie Blackmore and Tony Iommi wasn't enough, any six-stringer who fancied the gig would also have to prove themselves as a worthy songwriting partner for the man who'd co-written Stargazer and Neon Knights.

“At the audition, he didn't say, ‘Play a solo for me,’ the band's '90s guitarist, Tracy G, reveals. “[He said] ‘Give me some song ideas.’” He needed someone who could write for him.”

Each player who passed through the ranks rose to the occasion, expressing their own distinctive styles in the role, both as soloists and collaborators.

Dio’s dedication to traditional heavy metal through the '80s hair band boom – and as grunge, alternative, and nü metal dominated the '90s – meant that certain albums were under-appreciated. With this in mind, let's investigate how each of Dio’s gunslingers helped shape the sound of the band.

Vivian Campbell (1982-1986)

Much has been said about the eventual deterioration of the relationship between Ronnie Dio and Campbell, leading to his ouster during the 1986 leg of the tour to support the band’s third album, Sacred Heart (1985).

However, before things went south, Campbell’s contributions were central to 1983’s classic debut, Holy Diver, and its estimable follow up, The Last in Line (1984). He co-wrote the latter album’s titanic title song, and the earworm riff to the former’s MTV hit, Rainbow in the Dark.

Aged just 21 at the time, Campbell had been recommended by Bain, after catching him in action with Sweet Savage, a NWOBHM outfit who’d supported Thin Lizzy, whose former guitarist Gary Moore “... was probably my biggest influence,” as Campbell told this writer in 2013.

Campbell’s performances throughout Holy Diver showcased a ferocious combination of speed and intuitive feel. Highlights such as his vicious pinch harmonics (a trademark of his style), the slicing bends on Stand Up and Shout, and Don't Talk to Strangers' dazzling, masterful extended lead break, immediately established him as one of the era's most exciting new guitar heroes, alongside John Sykes and Jake E Lee.

After stints with Whitesnake, Shadow King, and alongside his ongoing role in Def Leppard, Campbell returned to playing the early Dio material with Last in Line (also featuring Bain and Appice) in 2013.

At the time, he told this writer, “Back in the day, I never knew what I was doing. I've always been a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants guitar player. I never rehearsed solos before going into the studio. I just waited until the light went red, then I started playing. It either came out great, or it came out shit. So, it's been challenging for me to relearn my own work, because it was never thought out. But it's been a great challenge, and I've really enjoyed it.”

For his part, personality differences aside, Dio once told Guitar World, “Viv was absolutely perfect. He took chances and played with incredible speed.”

Craig Goldy (1986-1988, 1999-2002, 2003-2010)

With bandmembers and fans reeling from Campbell's firing, Craig Goldy faced an uphill battle of Everest-like proportions on joining Dio in 1986.

Perhaps due to having previously faced the challenges of replacing Jake E Lee (briefly a member of Dio in 1982) in Rough Cutt (managed by Wendy Dio and mentored by the man himself) in 1982, and opening for Deep Purple on their Perfect Strangers comeback tour while in the band Giuffria, Goldy stuck to his guns and rose to the challenge admirably.

“A couple of times, in the audience, there were guys standing up front flipping me off – ‘Vivian number one,’” he told this writer in 2015. “I would play Blackmore and Viv’s solos about 90 percent note for note, because it would mean something to the audience. They don't want to know my interpretation, it's about giving them what they love and creating a bond. By the end of the night, they were going, ‘Goldy number one!’”

However, in the studio, Goldy was free to express his own distinctive soloing style. Moreover, his familiarity with Ronnie Dio’s catalog led to a long and fruitful collaboration during three separate runs with the band – making him their longest-serving axeman – with significant songwriting contributions on Dream Evil (1997), Magica (2000), Killing the Dragon (2002), and Master of the Moon (2004).

Though overshadowed by blowback from the line-up change, Dream Evil (1987) was arguably the Dio band's best since their debut, with Goldy’s writing freshening up the formula. His solos offered a keen sense of melody and an emotive touch on the sweeping epic, All The Fools Sailed Away, and deadly-accurate shredding on Night People.

During his final stint with the band, Goldy remained with Dio from 2003 until their dissolution after Ronnie Dio’s passing seven years later, and was a part of the all-star Dio Disciples between 2011 and 2018. He continues to work on his own projects.

Asked what lessons he learned from Ronnie Dio by Guitar World in a 2013 interview, Goldy said, “There are so many, but a lot of it is first the music has to feel good. The groove has to be great because a lot of guitar players write for the riff first.”

Rowan Robertson (1989-1991)

Reading of Craig Goldy’s first departure in 1988 in the metal press, 17-year-old British Dio fan Rowan Robertson sent a demo tape to the band's record label. Remarkably, he soon found himself in LA, having passed the audition and landed the gig, a situation he later described to Guitar World as “a fairy tale.”

Of all the band's guitarists, Robertson faced the steepest learning curve of all. Despite never having been in a professional recording studio, and with “... zero experience writing before Dio,” as he told Musikholics Webradio in 2020, he was assured by Ronnie Dio that all would be well.

Thanks to a combination of the frontman’s encouragement and Robertson's burgeoning talent, the young prodigy flourished as a songwriter, co-penning all eleven tracks on 1990’s Lock up the Wolves.

In addition to featuring knockout songs like the Wild One and My Eyes, the record positioned Robertson as a jaw-dropping six-string phenom, as the latter track’s ninja-level legato runs vividly illustrate.

Sadly, Lock Up the Wolves would be somewhat overshadowed by the dominant glam and thrash styles of the era, despite its quality. As Dio and Robertson began working on riffs for a follow up, the vocalist received an invitation to reunite with his Black Sabbath colleagues, and Robertson and his bandmates were put on ice.

Reflecting on the end of his Dio tenure, Robertson told Guitar World, “I definitely had mixed feelings; on one hand, it was upsetting being told the gig was over for the time being, but on the other hand, I did feel a sense of new freedom to do my own thing.”

“I wouldn’t want to speak for Ronnie,” he continued, “but I do think he felt a responsibility toward us as his band because he was supporting us all, and I believe he was a bit pained about it when he rejoined Sabbath.”

Robertson has subsequently enjoyed a long and fruitful career, playing with Violet’s Demise, Wicked Outlaw, DC4, and Bang Tango.

Tracy G (1993-1999)

At the time of his passing, Ronnie Dio had enjoyed a well-deserved victory lap with his Mob Rules-era Black Sabbath bandmates, as Heaven And Hell. Back in 1992, amid the fractious fallout from Sabbath’s post-Dehumanizer split, he and Vinny Appice reactivated Dio, with guitarist Tracy G, formerly a member of World War III (with Appice and Jimmy Bain).

Perhaps the most controversial and misunderstood of Dio’s guitarists, Tracy G was nonetheless the perfect man for the job at the time. His wildly original, idiosyncratic style paired shred chops with screaming whammy bar dives, curveball effects, and a Jeff Beck-inspired injection of chromaticism, microtones, and dissonance, as exemplified on the pounding Jesus, Mary and the Holy Ghost.

“If you don't play like an already-famous guitar player, people think you're not happening,” he told Guitar World in a recent sit-down. “Maybe I'm doing my own thing, though. Maybe I don't care. I mean, Vivian Campbell, Craig Goldy, and Rowan – great guitar players, but I wasn't trying to be any of them.”

While some fans may have preferred a more traditional soloing style, Tracy G's unique approach gave Dio a much-needed edge in a musical landscape where grunge, alternative, and industrial sounds had forced more traditional metal underground.

Despite his postmodern approach, Tracy G had ample common ground with Ronnie Dio as a songwriter, having grown up on the sounds of Black Sabbath and early Rainbow.

“You could do something as heavy as Children of the Grave,” he says, “and then play Planet Caravan. That's what I [wanted] to do. It's like colors, if you were painting. I'm stealing from every genre of music; some flamenco, jazz, metal, blues, punk. Just making this collage of stuff, but it still has a common denominator – heavy.”

Recalling his audition, he says, “We just jammed on songs, no Dio songs, no singing. Ronnie’s just in the corner, listening. And I'm playing riffs that I already had, and riffs I made up right there on the spot, and it already sounded like a band. I said, ‘I think we could make one of the heaviest Dio records ever.’”

Strange Highways (1993) bravely rebooted Dio’s sound in a barrage of stomping, mutant riffs, and a rage-fuelled performance from the man himself. Your mileage may vary, but for this writer, it's every bit as essential as Holy Diver and Dream Evil.

In 1999, label pressure eventually prompted Ronnie Dio to return to the band’s traditional sound, after Angry Machines (1996). Though the frontman offered him the chance to remain in a two-guitar line-up alongside Craig Goldy, Tracy G opted to follow his own path, and has since released an impressive catalog of music on his own label.

Today, an increasing number of fans have warmed to the adventurous sound of Strange Highways.

“Ronnie wanted to try new things,” Tracy G reflects. “He chose that. It was just so new and different. I'm still getting tons of compliments on it. I'm pretty proud of that record, and everything I did with Ronnie. He had nothing but good things to say about me at the time, and he was a happy man back then. He took a chance on me, and I'm grateful that he did.”

Doug Aldrich (2002-2003, 2005, 2009)

Though his time with the band would be brief, Doug Aldrich made a powerful impression as a member of Dio.

Like Vivian Campbell, Aldrich cited Gary Moore one of his biggest influences. In a 2018 interview with Guitar World, he highlighted how Moore's mix of feel, aggression, fluid legato, tremelo picking, blues, and classical elements found its way into his own fiery signature sound.

When family commitments forced Craig Goldy to leave Dio in 2001 as the recording of Killing the Dragon (2002) began, Aldrich stepped in, in time to co-write Along Came a Spider and Scream, while also proving to be a perfect fit as a soloist across the album.

Demonstrating impressive versatility, he proved to be equally adept when letting rip with a molten facemelter of a lead break on the title track, or while negotiating the shapeshifting chord sequence of Push with a more measured approach.

Scheduling conflicts with his other gig in Whitesnake saw Aldrich leave Dio to make way for a returning Craig Goldy in 2003. He would subsequently fill in for Goldy on tours in 2005 and 2009.

Furthermore, his performances on Evil or Divine – Live in New York City (2003) and Holy Diver – Live (2006) give an exemplary object lesson in how to play the signature licks of well-known guitar solos while weaving in your own distinctive flourishes. Aldrich is currently a member of the Dead Daisies.

Just as Ritchie Blackmore brought a relatively unknown Ronnie James Dio the attention of a wider audience in Rainbow, the much-missed vocalist’s own band allowed a diverse array of guitarists to shine.

Although Holy Diver and The Last in Line remain Dio’s most commercially successful albums, Guitar World recommends that readers embark on an Epic Quest for Shred (this is Dio we're talking about, epic quests are entirely appropriate) through the albums listed above. Your journey will be richly rewarded.

Vivian Campbell has opened up on his time in Ronnie James Dio’s band, setting the record straight over his infamous departure in the 1980s.

After Dio had left Black Sabbath and formed his own band with the help of Vinny Appice, the legendary metal vocalist eventually recruited Vivian Campbell as a replacement for Jake E. Lee.

As such, when Campbell joined, work on Dio’s 1983 debut album was well underway, but only a few years and a couple of records later, the band were already on the hunt for their third electric guitar player.

At the time, and in the following years, the messaging coming out of the camp made clear that Campbell had left out of his own free will. However, as Campbell himself says in a new interview, that wasn’t entirely accurate.

Speaking to dopeYEAH, Campbell looks back on his Dio departure, and stresses that he didn’t voluntarily leave, despite what the band’s camp was saying: he was fired.

“I was fired from the band, and Ronnie, for whatever reason, went on in the press in the years after that, and made that a strong point, like, ‘Viv left the band,’ is what he always said,” Campbell recalls.

“And I remember reading this stuff – and this is before the internet and social media – and you needed to have a publicist to have a public forum, and I couldn't afford a publicist. But, I remember reading this and thinking, ‘Why did he say that I left the band?’

“I never left the band. I was fired. I never wanted to leave that band. I really gave 100% to that band. The whole thing was very, very painful to me, so I just shut it [out]. I wanted nothing to do with it.”

As for why he was fired from the band, Campbell claims that creative tensions, and disagreements over the running of the band, were the key points that created a schism between the pair.

Early on, when money was tight for the project, Campbell says an understanding was established between Dio and his band members, whereby upon the release of the band’s third record they’d figure out a more equitable financial arrangement.

“[Dio] was going to present it as a band, and by the third album, we'd make it a more equitable situation,” Campbell continues, “And that's what got me fired: because the third album came along, and I was like, ‘Hey, Ronnie, you remember [our agreement]?’

“We literally were working for like, 100 bucks a week. We were getting paid less than the road crew [on the] first tour, second tour, third tour. But it wasn't about money. It was about the principal.

“I'm thinking, ‘We got to talk about what Ronnie promised us years ago,’ [and Dio said], ‘I don't want to talk about it. Let's finish the record first.’ So we finished the record. I broached the subject again. ‘Hey, Ronnie, can we [talk about it]?’ ‘I don't want to talk about it now.’

“I'm saying, ‘Ronnie, we got to talk about this. You promised. We've sacrificed a lot. We've contributed more and more. It's not like we were just hired to play these parts. We contributed to that.’

“The next thing I knew, I was fired, and then in the press Ronnie was introducing Craig Goldy as a new guitar player, saying, ‘Yeah, well, they've quit.’ And I'm reading this thinking, ‘I didn't quit. You fired me.’”

In recent news, Campbell – who'd later play with Whitesnake and Def Leppard – named his new guitar hero.

Vivian Campbell has a new electric guitar hero – a young, unsung British blues rock guitarist who has been left gobsmacked by getting a nod from his idol on social media.

Campbell – whose own glittering career boasts stints with Ronnie James Dio and Def Leppard – has taken to Instagram to shine a light on an up-and-coming player who he believes could have an equally influential impact on the guitar world.

“I have a new guitar hero: Oscar Ball,” he writes while sharing a clip of Ball delivering a crooning guitar solo. “This is how it’s done, kids; tone and technique, fire and finesse. I need to practice more.”

The young guitarist is part of the Essex, UK, quartet The White Gates Band. Formed in 2022, the group, who cite Red Hot Chili Peppers and Paramore as core influences, have released a smattering of singles since May 2024. There’s a heart-wrenching blues sensibility to Ball’s playing, icing the band’s light, alt-rock grooves and catchy choruses. See the sweet and supple lead lines on the chorus of Tears of My Past for proof.

Ball can be heard playing an ES-335 in Campbell’s post with an extremely clean and dynamic clean tone just as impactful as his licks. The way it kicks into overdrive in the latter stages is impeccable, too. He is playing the band’s unreleased track, In My Mind, in the clip.

It’s easy to see why Campbell is so rapt, but that hasn’t made the public show of appreciation any less shocking for Ball.

“OMG! Thank you so much for sharing,” he replies in the comments. “One of my absolute heroes sharing a live solo of mine!”

The band is young with just shy of 1,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, but Campbell has been quick to spot and champion their talents, which could do their stock wonders.

Speaking to Guitar World last year, Campbell detailed the guitar solo advice he got from Dio when cracking 1984’s barnstorming The Last In Line. The advice, he says, aided a more tasteful solo as, “left to my own devices, it would have been a case of how many notes I could fit in!” It sounds like Ball has taken a similar approach.

He’s not the only player keen to pass the baton to a new generation of talents, either. Eric Clapton has named two hotshot players to have won his heart in recent months. He picked an unlikely candidate as his favorite contemporary player and has singled out a Japanese neo-soul guitarist as one to watch.

Whitesnake evolved out of David Coverdale’s post-Deep Purple solo project, and fittingly, Coverdale has been the only consistent member across the band’s history.

There haven’t been two Whitesnake albums with the same lineup since 1982, and Coverdale’s revolving door of talent has included some of the finest rock guitarists of all time.

Blues luminary Bernie Marsden, shred god Steve Vai, and journeymen Reb Beach and Vivian Campbell have all filled out the ranks. Here are all 12 of them, in chronological order.

Micky Moody – (1977–1983)

Moody played on David Coverdale’s first two solo albums, White Snake (1977) and Northwinds (1978), meaning he was in Whitesnake before the band even had a name. Moody co-wrote three songs on the second album, starting one of rock’s classic songwriting partnerships.

Moody’s wicked vibrato, fat Les Paul tone, and excellent moustache made his partnership with Bernie Marsden the definitive Whitesnake guitar lineup for many. Live… In the Heart of the City (1980) in particular is considered one of the classic live rock albums, showcasing the early ’Snake at their finest. Moody also notably co-wrote Fool for Your Loving, a UK hit originally intended for BB King.

Post-Snake, Moody worked with Graham Bonnet and Roger Chapman before reuniting with Bernie Marsden under various names including M3, Company of Snakes, and the Moody Marsden Band. He also showed his pure blues credentials by performing with Mud Morganfield, son of Muddy Waters.

Bernie Marsden – (1978–1982)

Marsden’s early career saw him playing with a pre-Michael Schenker UFO, doing one infamous tour with Suzi Quatro, and then joining Deep Purple founders Ian Paice and Jon Lord in Paice Ashton Lord.

Marsden joined Whitesnake for their first EP as a band, Snakebite (1978), and remained in situ until 1982, when he was replaced by Mel Galley. Marsden’s approach was more melodic than Mick Moody’s, and they made a formidable combination. Marsden co-wrote Here I Go Again, playing on the original 1982 version and making bank from the 1987 smash hit remake.

Marsden has been recognized with both a signature PRS guitar and a limited edition Gibson Custom Shop run of his ’59 Les Paul, ‘The Beast’. He was also invited on Joe Bonamassa’s Blues Cruises, a symbol of his stature in the blues community. He died in 2023 of bacterial meningitis, aged 72.

Mel Galley – (1982–1984)

In the 70s, Galley had been in Trapeze with Glenn Hughes, and he also played on Hughes’ post-Deep Purple solo album, Play Me Out (1977). With Coverdale frequently raiding the Deep Purple talent pool, it was no surprise he ended up working with Galley.

Galley co-wrote the singles Give Me More Time and Love Ain’t No Stranger for Slide It In (1984), with the latter becoming an enduring live favorite. In 1984, though, the guitarist broke his arm, resulting in nerve damage that meant he could no longer play.

He left Whitesnake, but developed ‘the claw’, a device that enabled him to play again, and joined Phenomena in 1985. Galley died in 2008 following a diagnosis of esophageal cancer, aged 60.

John Sykes – (1984–1987)

Thin Lizzy alumnus John Sykes was still playing with Phil Lynott when David Coverdale came calling. Whitesnake were huge in Europe but unknown in the USA, and Cov had ambitions to change that.

For their next act, Whitesnake would combine British blues-rock with American glam metal. Sykes, whose style was part Jimmy Page and part Eddie Van Halen, was the perfect choice. The guitarist initially refused to join, but Coverdale kept offering more money until he could no longer refuse.

Sykes’ first Whitesnake job was re-recording guitars for a remixed Slide It In for the American market. With Whitesnake finally making a US breakthrough, Sykes and Coverdale co-wrote the band’s 1987 album (released as Whitesnake in the USA), including the uber-hit ballad Is This Love.

Their relationship was strained, though, and Coverdale claims that when he took time off for vocal recovery, Sykes tried to replace him with a different singer. Sykes vehemently denied these claims for the rest of his life, but either way, he and producer Mike Stone were sacked. Sykes and other Whitesnake refugees formed Blue Murder, whose 1989 debut album is the spiritual successor to 1987.

Although Sykes only made one full Whitesnake album, it sold over eight million copies in the USA alone. For many listeners, the Sykes era is the definitive Whitesnake.

The guitarist died in January 2025, after a battle with cancer. He was 65 years old.

Adrian Vandenberg – (1987–1998)

The Flying Dutchman refused to join Whitesnake in 1985, but accepted the invitation in 1987, joining the band just as they exploded in America.

John Sykes had been fired before 1987 was completed, and Vandenberg’s first job was to record the guitar solo for the new version of Here I Go Again. Vandenberg’s solo appears on the album and in the video. For US radio, session legend Dann Huff recorded a new solo.

Coverdale got on well with Vandenberg, and elected to write Slip of the Tongue (1989) exclusively with him. A wrist injury sidelined Vandenberg from recording, though, and Steve Vai played all guitars on the album.

Uniquely among former Whitesnake guitarists, Vandenberg maintained a good relationship with Coverdale into the 1990s. The two co-wrote the 1997 album Restless Heart, which was slated to be a Coverdale solo album until the label insisted on Whitesnake’s logo. Vandenberg also appeared on the 1998 unplugged live album, Starkers in Tokyo.

After Whitesnake, Adrian formed Manic Eden and eventually revived his original band, Vandenberg, in 2020.

“I definitely regret that the lineup with Steve [Vai] and I didn't get to continue,” Vandenberg told Guitar World in 2023. “But grunge came up, and I've always been the kind of guy who sticks to his guns and does what he does best.

“So, if I could go back, I would have chosen to stay together and make at least one more album. I wish we had stuck to our guns, stayed together, and gotten back in the saddle like good cowboys.”

Vivian Campbell – (1987–1989)

The former Dio guitarist was recruited for Whitesnake’s mammoth 1987 world tour. It was a good decision for Campbell, who earned more money from that tour than he did in his entire time with Dio.

Campbell managed just one studio visit during his time in the band, recording a guitar solo for the single version of Give Me All Your Love ’88 which sounded as though he was using a Floyd Rose for the first time.

In 1989, Coverdale announced he would be writing the next album with Vandenberg alone, and Campbell got his marching orders from Whitesnake’s tour manager soon afterwards.

The guitarist busied himself playing on Foreigner vocalist Lou Gramm’s solo album Long Hard Look, and in Gramm’s new band, Shadow King, until he bailed in 1992 to join Def Leppard.

Campbell and Coverdale did eventually bury the hatchet, and in 2015, Campbell joined Whitesnake on stage in Sheffield, England to perform Still of the Night.

Steve Vai – (1989–1990)

Whitesnake's label wanted the band to have a superstar guitarist, and did not feel that Adrian Vandenberg was the one. The solution was to also employ Steve Vai, then the hottest name in shred thanks to his stint with David Lee Roth and his appearance as Jack Butler in that guitar-centered classic of '80s cinema, Crossroads.

With Vandenberg injured, Vai played all the guitars on 1989’s Slip of the Tongue, turning in a performance almost as over-the-top as Coverdale’s lyrics.

The recording started just as Vai received his prototype Ibanez Universe 7-string, and he used it on every track, making Slip of the Tongue the first mainstream rock album ever recorded with a 7-string electric.

Vai left in 1990 to pursue his solo career. Given how things turned out for hair metal over the next few years, this was probably wise.

“David was a prince! He had a lot of confidence in me and basically knew he needed to just let me do my thing,” Vai – reflecting on his time with the band – told Guitar World in 2020.

“David knew what I was capable of and didn’t really interfere with what I wanted to do. I just did it, and if there was something he didn’t like I was happy to change it because it was his thing.

“Working with David was great and there was something in his phrasing as a singer that I just adored.”

Warren DeMartini – (1994)

Steve Vai once named Ratt guitarist Warren DeMartini as one of the guitarists he most admired in the ’80s, so perhaps he was a natural choice as Whitesnake’s next axeslinger.

DeMartini never recorded with Whitesnake, but toured with the band in Europe and Russia, where hard rock’s popularity hadn’t taken quite the kicking it did in the USA. DeMartini reunited with Ratt in 1999.

Steve Farris – (1997)

Farris’ first brush with fame was playing the guitar solo on Kiss’ Creatures of the Night in 1982. He was asked to audition for the band, but lost out because he couldn’t sing.

Instead, he formed Mr Mister, scoring hits with tracks like Kyrie and Broken Wings. He played second guitar on the tour to support Restless Heart in 1997, though he had not played on the album.

“I was recommended to [Coverdale] by my friend Marco Mendoza,” Farris recounted to Guitar World in 2024. “David called me after hearing my tape and asked me to go on the road. So I met up with him and we went out drinking, then I went on the road with him.

“I could have stayed on and never turned down any gig with Whitesnake. We came off the road, and Whitesnake was going to be done. Of course, David has had multiple versions of the band since.”

Doug Aldrich – (2003–2014)

When Coverdale decided to reactivate Whitesnake in the early 2000s, Aldrich was the perfect foil. Like John Sykes, he combined a healthy respect for blues with a ferocious high gain tone, and if anything, his shred chops were even sharper than Sykes’. Even more importantly, he brought the Les Paul back to the band for the first time since 1987.

With Aldrich as musical director, the reinvigorated ’Snake were so aggressive that former bassist Neil Murray complained, “the modern Whitesnake play the old stuff in a very heavy-handed, rather bludgeoning way.” The live albums from this era are essential for anyone who thinks this sounds like a compliment.

Aldrich had made his name playing on the Transformers: The Movie theme in 1986 with Lion, and in Hurricane with future Foreigner vocalist Kelly Hansen. From 2003 to 2010 he managed to juggle being in both Whitesnake and Dio, recording with both bands. He left Whitesnake in 2014 to join the Dead Daisies.

Reb Beach – (2003–present)

Beach already had a pretty strong CV when he joined Whitesnake, having played in Winger, Dokken, and Alice Cooper’s band. Despite having some of the most impressive tapping chops in the game, he ended up somewhat playing second fiddle to Doug Aldrich.

Beach appeared on Good to Be Bad (2008) and Forevermore (2011). When Aldrich departed in 2014, Beach finally got to write with Coverdale, receiving credits for five tracks on Flesh & Blood (2019). He’s still in the band, making him the longest-serving Whitesnake member in history.

Reflecting on his unique place within the band in a 2021 Guitar World interview, Beach said, “You want to know something wild? I’m the 46th member of the band! Isn’t that crazy? There’s been so many incarnations of Whitesnake, and I’ve been a member for 17 years. That’s longer than anybody except David.

“If I can attribute it to anything, I think it’s because I’m very easy to work with. I don’t like to make waves. I have a strong singing voice, so that’s a good thing. It’s hard to find a guitar player who can sing in tune and has a pleasing voice. So I’ve got that going for me.”

Joel Hoekstra – (2014–present)

After Doug Aldrich, Whitesnake needed another heir to John Sykes: blond, toting a low-slung Les Paul, and equipped with terrifying chops. Enter Joel Hoekstra, who had demonstrated his shred abilities in Night Ranger, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and in the Broadway production of Rock of Ages.

Where Aldrich was best known for his hammer-on licks and alternate picking, Hoekstra had a terrifying way with eight-finger tapping, taking Whitesnake even further from their blues roots.

His Whitesnake debut was The Purple Album (2015), a collection of re-imagined songs from Coverdale’s Deep Purple stint. He also co-wrote tracks and recorded on Flesh & Blood (2019), Whitesnake’s last original album to date.

On his decision to join the hard-rock juggernaut, Hoekstra told Guitar World in 2014, “David [Coverdale] is rock royalty, so any chance you get to work with him, you take seriously. Not to mention that the material in Whitesnake is also a guitarist’s dream!”

Everybody loves Thin Lizzy. They’re tough enough for punks, heavy enough for metalheads, poetic enough for romantics, and melodic enough for pop fans.

The Boys Are Back in Town is at least as memorable for its guitar breaks as for its chorus, and Lizzy’s supremely catchy guitar themes have been played by some of the finest guitarists on earth.

After Phil Lynott’s untimely death in 1986, many assumed Thin Lizzy were finished for good. In 1996, however, John Sykes resurrected the band, installing himself as lead vocalist, alongside Darren Wharton (keys), Scott Gorham (guitar), and Brian Downey (drums), all of whom had toured and recorded with Phil Lynott, plus bassist Marco Mendoza.

Since then, the lineup has regularly changed, with only Gorham and Wharton as constants. Opinion remains divided over whether this new band is truly Thin Lizzy, but there is no doubting the depth of guitar talent that has travelled under the Lizzy flag.

Phil Lynott – (1970–1983)

Although he is of course best known as the band’s singer, main songwriter, and bass player, Phil Lynott played a credible amount of guitar in Thin Lizzy. He is credited with playing acoustic guitar on albums from 1971 to 1976, and supplied additional electric guitars on 1972’s Shades of a Blue Orphanage.

He certainly had an ear for the guitar, discovering some of the finest rock musicians of all time to complete his band’s lineup. When Lynott died in 1986, he had been talking about reforming Thin Lizzy and had even booked studio time for the band.

Eric Bell – (1970–1974)

Even if he had done nothing else, Eric Bell’s place in rock history would be assured by his performance on Whiskey in the Jar.

That seminal twin-guitar harmony directly inspired Iron Maiden and Metallica and set the template for Thin Lizzy’s greatness to come. Bell’s three albums with Thin Lizzy suffer from the fact that the band were still finding their direction, and Lynott still developing his songwriting chops, but Bell still shone.

Check out the excellent slide work on Mama Nature Said, and his blazing solo in The Rocker. His 2016 solo album features Song for Gary, a tribute to his friend and fellow Thin Lizzy alumnus Gary Moore.

Speaking to Guitar World in 2024 about how the Whiskey in the Jar solo came together, Bell recalled, “One night we played in Wales, and while driving home I was sitting in the back seat. I went into this dreamlike state and started thinking about Irish pipes. I said, ‘Right, forget about the guitar. Let’s run with this.’

“I heard Irish pipes in my brain, and the solo started forming in my mind. I’d never thought that way before,” he continued. “Once I’d gotten into the song and the solo was underway, I hit it hard as it was happening. It was just one of those special moments where every note worked. It was very unusual.”

John Du Cann and Andy Gee – (1974)

For a brief period in 1974, Eric Bell was gone, Gary Moore was unavailable, and Thin Lizzy were just the duo of Phil Lynott and drummer Brian Downey. Englishman John Du Cann and German Andy Gee were hastily drafted for touring duties.

Du Cann was best known as guitarist for Atomic Rooster, who achieved a UK top 5 single with Devil’s Answer just before he left the band. Andy Gee had played alongside Peter Green on Pete Barden’s The Answer (1969).

This lineup of Thin Lizzy dissolved without recording any music, but it did make one contribution to Lizzy’s recorded history. Gee and Lynott rewrote the unreleased Eric Bell-era track, Suicide, into a dual guitar arrangement, solidifying the importance of guitar harmonies to Lizzy’s sound. This version of the track was later recorded for the Fighting album, with Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson playing the parts.

Scott Gorham – (1974–1983, 1996–present)

Thin Lizzy’s longest serving member and the spine of the band, Scott Gorham is for many the sound of Thin Lizzy.

With Brian Robertson he formed what many consider the band’s defining guitar partnership, but his co-lead performances with every Lizzy guitarist have been exceptional.

He and Robertson made the Les Paul the only acceptable Thin Lizzy guitar, and refined the harmony guitar sound Eric Bell had pioneered.

Gorham formed Black Star Riders in 2012 with the current members of Thin Lizzy as a vehicle for new music, but he left in 2022, preferring to concentrate only on Thin Lizzy. There hasn’t been a Lizzy tour since 2019, but Gorham has been making noises about getting back on the road.

Speaking to Guitar World in 2024 about his audition for the band, Gorham said, “Phil took my number, on this tiny little piece of paper. And I thought, ‘Great, he’s not gonna lose that, is he?’

“I’m thinking, ‘I probably did pretty shitty.’ But that night, Phil gave me a call and said, ‘We’ve all been sitting around listening to the tapes.’ I went, ‘Tapes? What tapes?’ They’d been recording [my audition] the whole time. I had no idea. Probably pretty good that they didn’t say anything.

“Phil said, ‘We all agree that you’re the guy. What do you say?’” Gorham continued. “I couldn’t get the word ‘yes’ out quick enough. Hearing how talented all these guys were, you’d be crazy not to want to get in this thing called Thin Lizzy.”

Brian Robertson – (1974–1978)

The Boys Are Back in Town. Jailbreak. Don’t Believe a Word. Thin Lizzy’s biggest hits – and their most recognizable sound – are the work of Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham. The fat Les Paul-and-Marshall tone, the immaculately executed harmonies, and Robertson’s masterful use of wah all are all Lizzy trademarks.

This was the lineup that released Live and Dangerous, which stands as one of the mightiest double live albums of all time, regardless of how much of it was recorded in a studio. Fans still argue over whether Gary Moore or Brian Robertson’s take on Still in Love With You was the better.

In 1982 Robertson joined Motörhead, recording the studio effort Another Perfect Day and no less than three official live releases in just 18 months with the band. Robertson last appeared on stage alongside former members of Thin Lizzy at the August 2005 tribute show immortalized in the DVD One Night in Dublin: A Tribute to Phil Lynott.

Gary Moore – (1974, 1977, 1978–1979)

Moore’s three stints with Thin Lizzy have an outsize influence on the band’s history.

In 1974, Moore joined the band long enough to demo three tracks. He recorded the spectacular guitar showcase Still in Love With You for the Nightlife album before unceremoniously dumping the band. He returned in 1977 to fill in for an injured Brian Robertson on the band’s US tour. In this period, he recorded overdubs for seven songs from Thin Lizzy’s first two records, which were eventually released as bonus tracks with the remastered albums.

When Moore finally stuck around long enough to make an album, 1979’s Black Rose: A Rock Legend, it turned into one of Lizzy’s finest. His Les Paul-fueled takes on traditional Irish melodies for Róisín Dubh will still give you chills. Moore died suddenly in 2011, aged 58.

Midge Ure – (1977, 1979)

Although best remembered now for Ultravox and for co-writing Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas, Midge Ure had a long association with Thin Lizzy.

In 1977, he and Gary Moore contributed guitar overdubs to four songs from Thin Lizzy’s debut album, later released on The Continuing Saga of the Ageing Orphans. When Moore abandoned ship in 1979, Ure joined for the remaining Black Rose tour dates.

He’s appeared with them occasionally since, including the 1996 Vibe for Philo, a Lynott tribute gig which also featured appearances from Eric Bell, Henry Rollins, and two members of Def Leppard.

Dave Flett – (1979)

With Midge Ure moving to keyboards towards the end of the Black Rose tour, former Manfred Mann guitarist Dave Flett rounded out the lineup.

Snowy White – (1980–1982)

Once Gary Moore departed for the third and final time, Lynott and co recruited Pink Floyd backing guitarist Snowy White, who was rehearsing for The Wall tour.

White recorded two albums with the band, Chinatown (1980) and Renegade (1981). Some of White’s live performances also made the group’s 1983 live album, Life.

Though well-regarded by his bandmates, White felt out of place in the boisterous, hard-partying group.

“Musically, we did some great things, but our mindsets were not aligned,” White explained to Guitar World in 2023. “I was quite surprised at how much time was wasted. I wasn't used to that sort of rock and roll thing where it's, ‘Oh, we don't really care about wasting money and not being on time.’ It certainly took me a while to get used to that, because when I'm booked in the studio at a certain time, I'm there.

“I tried to get used to it, and I did alright. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't for me. I put everything into it that I could, but I didn't fit in socially. I was the only former member not in attendance at Thin Lizzy's famed final concert, which shows how well we got on socially.”

John Sykes – (1982–1983, 1996–2010)

After a tumultuous 1982 in which Scott Gorham took a sabbatical and Snowy White left the band, Lynott sought to get Lizzy back on track. Former Tygers of Pan Tang guitarist John Sykes was the man for the job.

With his crushing tone, screaming harmonics, and violent vibrato, Sykes was a proto-Zakk Wylde. He took the band’s sound closer to metal, and the resultant Thunder and Lightning charted higher than the band's two previous albums.

Post-Lizzy, he recorded Whitesnake’s blockbuster 1987 album and formed Blue Murder. Controversially, Sykes reactivated Thin Lizzy in 1996, ten years after Phil Lynott’s death, and fronted the band until 2010. Sykes died in 2025 following a battle with cancer. He was 65.

Ricky Warwick – (2010-present)

Having cut his teeth and found success in the band the Almighty in the '90s, Ricky Warwick took the late John Sykes' place as the resurrected Lizzy's frontman in 2010.

Though a few guitarists would take their place next to Gorham in the coming year and change (more on that in a second), Warwick has also, then and since, provided steady guitar-work to the band himself.

“Everything they wrote was memorable,“ Warwick said of the band's music in a 2021 interview with Guitar World. “It was all built out of great melodies and standalone parts that were instantly recognisable as hooks, from the vocals to even the drums. There were a lot of cool pushes and pulls, or notes you might not hear initially, but it was all special and all vital.

“And Scott Gorham’s vibrato is second to none. I’ve never heard him bend a note flat or sharp – it’s always spot on. Whenever we’ve had changes with the line-up, I know the vibrato of that player is very important for him – the vibratos need to match up for the dual leads. That’s very high up in his list of priorities.“

Vivian Campbell – (2010–2011)

Campbell joined Thin Lizzy for one tour during a hiatus from his day job in Def Leppard, appearing on the band’s Live in London 22.01.2011 release. A Thin Lizzy superfan since his childhood in Belfast, Campbell had already delivered a note-perfect rendition of the Don’t Believe a Word solo for Leppard’s 2005 covers set, Yeah! He credited his stint in Thin Lizzy with reigniting his passion for guitar.

Richard Fortus – (2011)

With Vivian Campbell returning to his Leppard mothership, Scott Gorham invited Guns n’ Roses axeman Richard Fortus to complete Lizzy’s 2011 tour. Fortus performed with the band at High Voltage festival, which was captured for yet another live release.

After Thin Lizzy, Fortus returned to GnR, managed a stint with hard rock supergroup The Dead Daisies, and somehow shoehorned in a pop session career that has seen him play with Rihanna, among other big names.

Damon Johnson – (2011–present)

An extremely well-travelled guitarist, Johnson first hit the radio with mid-'90s rockers Brother Cane. He subsequently played on a Sammy Hagar solo album, a Faith Hill track, and co-wrote songs for Santana and Stevie Nicks, before eventually finding a home with Alice Cooper’s band from 2004 onwards, until Scott Gorham brought him to Thin Lizzy in 2011.

Feeling that it would be disrespectful to record new music under the Thin Lizzy name without Phil Lynott, Johnson co-founded Black Star Riders, an original band made up of the current members of Thin Lizzy. In recent years, he's also performed with Lynyrd Skynyrd.

“I was incredibly flattered that Scott would even ask,” Johnson told Guitar World in 2024 when asked about his invitation to join the band. “When it happened, Alice Cooper was the first person I called. I talked with him about how much I loved Thin Lizzy, and Alice was super supportive. I showed up the first day beyond prepared, knowing the Gary Moore and Brian Robertson versions.

“After the first couple of rehearsals Scott said, ‘Buddy, you’re playing your ass off and we love it. But don’t feel like you have to play those songs note for note. I want you to be Damon Johnson… I want you to bring your style.”

Recorded in the spring of 1984 at Caribou Ranch studios, way up in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, expectations around Dio’s second album – aka the follow-up to 1983’s Holy Diver, a worldwide smash hit – ran about as high as the Rocky Mountains themselves. 

In the end, The Last in Line, released in early July of 1984, turned out to be the band’s highest charting album, with the single of the same name even breaking into Billboard’s Top 10.

“We stayed at Caribou Ranch for the duration of the sessions, and we’d eat together in a mess hall,” says guitarist Vivian Campbell, who had also worked on Holy Diver. “It was a focused environment that enabled us to do some great creative work.” 

According to Campbell, the writing process was collaborative, with the band creating songs together in rehearsals prior to the recording sessions. Of the album’s nine tracks, seven are co-credited to band members, including Campbell (six songs), bassist Jimmy Bain (five) and drummer Vinny Appice (four). Of course, there’s the case of the album’s beloved opener, We Rock, which was created on the spot in the studio.

“Vinny had a beat, Ronnie hummed a bit of a melody, I worked out the chords and riff and we were away in no time at all,” Campbell says. 

“As was typical with Ronnie, I wasn’t surprised to see that I didn’t get a writing credit. I was in my early twenties back then, and I felt very sheepish about asking for my due.”

Speaking of youth, Campbell occasionally found himself at odds with his boss’s perspective. 

“Because I was so much younger than Ronnie, I’d look at bands like Ratt, Van Halen and Dokken and think they seemed so much looser and were having more fun than we were. 

“They didn’t take themselves as seriously as Ronnie, who was rooted in Seventies classic heavy metal. I was thinking we were a little out of step at the time. At our first photo shoot, Ronnie asked me why I was smiling – and then he told me not to.” [Laughs]

Campbell’s playing with Dio – particularly on The Last in Line’s multi-faceted title track – brought him plaudits aplenty back in the day, none of which hurt his chances of joining Whitesnake, Lou Gramm’s band and, most famously, Def Leppard. 

“Ronnie gave me great advice about building a guitar solo with memorable lines – and not overplaying,” he concludes. “I appreciated that guidance; if left to my own devices, it would have been a case of how many fucking notes I could fit in. [Laughs] 

“When we do The Last in Line and We Rock with my Last In Line side band, I always play the solos exactly the same as when I recorded them, which I never did at the time. Re-learning them gave me an appreciation for my playing back then, which I never had when I used to hear them on the radio, back when I used to think my playing sucked…” [Laughs]

• The Last in Line is out now via Warner.

“I first saw Jeff when he toured with Stevie Ray Vaughan on the Guitar Shop album. I saw their co-headline tour at a sports arena in downtown LA. It was equally inspiring and depressing to witness Jeff Beck play live. You go there thinking you’re a guitar player and you leave realising that you’re a guitar owner! 

“He was just in a league by himself. He was in a class of one. There was no-one who did what Jeff did. It was technical, but there’s nothing anyone can play that somebody else can’t figure out. You could get yourself a Strat like he played and with enough practice you could play like Jeff Beck, but what was amazing about Beck was always the inspiration. It was the ideas that he had.” 

The floating bridge

“In later years he got into playing that Strat with the floating bridge. The way that he would play with his fingers – to play any sort of guitar music with your fingers is incredibly liberating. You’re opening up these avenues that just don’t exist to those of us that play with a flat pick. It’s not unusual to go to Nashville and see people play with their fingers. 

“In bluegrass or country that’s expected, but to use those techniques and expand upon those techniques and in more of a rock format was something that hadn’t been done before. His expanding on those techniques involved pinched harmonics with his thumb, just getting all sorts of tonal delicacy that you don’t get using a pick, all whilst controlling the volume with his pinky, swelling and giving the guitar that majestic effect.”

The master of reverb

“Jeff obviously grew up in the era before we had all these fancy guitar effects that we have nowadays. He was a master exponent of reverb, which I think is overlooked. Reverb was it, basically, and tape delay. He had a very cultivated ear for the use of reverb. It kind of went over my head the first time I would listen to some of his stuff, and then I go back and think, ‘Oh, it sits so well there because it’s a very clever use of reverb.’”

The Jeff Beck experience

“It all mostly comes down to: ‘How the fuck did he think of that shit?’ All other guitar players, we have our patterns we’d always go back to, your physical patterns to play your licks. Jeff did that on occasion but more often than not he was exploring. He seemed to be just pushing boundaries and exploring ways to express himself beyond the norm. That was always the appeal to me, and then to witness it live. 

“To witness any music live is a much more immersive experience and that’s really what it’s all about. To go to a Jeff Beck show and to surround your body with the majesty of his music was just a great uplifting experience, but then you go home when you look at your guitars and it’s like somebody let all the air out of a balloon. I didn’t know if I wanted to play them or sell them!” 

Big boots to fill

“I didn’t set out to try an emulate Jeff on my cover of Led Boots [from the tribute album Jeffology, 1995]. That’s just how I was playing at that time. I was using the Tom Anderson Strats, so I also had a floating bridge, albeit a Floyd. That wasn’t so terribly long after the Guitar Shop album, which was a big album for me. 

“I did like being able to have the floating bridge and shimmer chords, to get that more lyrical vibrato on single notes, and to do interesting things when you pull up on the bridge. 

“I guess obviously I’ve been influenced by Beck to an extent and I think that was probably the zenith of it around that time. I’m not conscious of having any particular licks in the song where I’m like, ‘Oh, this is a real Beckism.” It naturally filtered into how I was playing at the time.”

The guitarist’s guitarist

“I was fortunate to see him play live a couple of times. It was akin to a religious experience. It was at the Greek Theater the last time I saw him play. You look around the room and there’s guitar players everywhere like [Etta James/Paul McCartney guitarist] Brian Ray, Steve Lukather, Mike Landau and all these LA session players. We all went to bow at the altar of Jeff Beck because we all felt the same way.”

Master of nuance

“When I was in Sweet Savage, so I was probably 17 or 18 at this time, the other guitarist Trevor Fleming said, ‘Have you ever heard this guy Jeff Beck?’ He gave me a cassette of Blow By Blow. I listened to that for several days and I remember copying a lick from it. That’s still part of my repertoire. 

“To be honest it wasn’t life-changing for me to hear that record. It wasn’t until later years when I realised just how head and shoulders above everyone else he was. It was in the later years with the Stratocaster and the floating bridge, that’s when he really became this master of nuance.”

The player

“It’s inspirational that at his stage in his life and his career he would still be wanting to push that envelope and wanting to get there. I don’t get the impression that he thought a lot about wanting to move the goal posts on how the instrument was played. He just did it.

“It seems almost godlike that he had this connection to inspiration when he was playing, and he had the tools in his hands to express it. But I never got the impression that Jeff thought much about guitar playing. I think he just played.”

It wouldn’t exactly be an understatement to say that the Covid pandemic threw a king-sized monkey wrench into Def Leppard’s plans. 

In June 2020, with just two weeks before the band was about to embark on a 30-date stadium tour that would also feature Mötley Crüe, Poison and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, the group was forced to reschedule the entire run for the following summer. 

Nearly a year later, however, with Covid cases continuing unabated, the band announced that the rebooted tour was postponed yet again and would commence this year.

“Let’s face it – no band likes to cancel concerts,” says guitarist Phil Collen, “and obviously, Covid has been a shitty time for people all over the world. On that level, it is what it is. But to be honest, this is a band that’s been through a few situations that derailed us for a bit. We’ve learned how to handle those times and persevere. No matter what, we press on.”

Fellow guitarist Vivian Campbell echoes Collen’s sentiments: “It was very disappointing when we had to postpone those tours, but here we are now. We’ve got the places booked, and we’re ready to go. We’re definitely playing this time.” 

He adds, “There was something positive that came from it. The time off led to an opportunity for us to make a great album, so now we’re in a position to do a huge tour with a fantastic record to go with it. So it’s all good.”

The album Campbell refers to is Diamond Star Halos, Def Leppard’s 12th studio recording and their first in seven years. As the title suggests – it’s a pluralization of a lyric from T. Rex’s Bang a Gong (Get It On) – many of the songs contained in the set draw inspiration from the band’s early musical influences.

To be sure, there’s an unmistakable Seventies glam-rock spirit on power rockers such as Kick, Fire It Up and Gimme a Kiss, and for good measure the band even enlisted David Bowie’s legendary Spiders from Mars keyboardist, Mike Garson, to perform on a pair of stirring ballads, Goodbye for Good This Time and Angels (Can’t Help You Now).

Notably, there are a couple of detours to modern-day Nashville – Alison Krauss turns up to duet with singer Joe Elliot on the country-laced poppers Lifeless and This Guitar – that don’t quite fit the sonic narrative, but they’re sparky pinwheels of hooks and standout cuts in their own right.

All in all, the album is the spunkiest and most vibrant sounding record the band has made in some time, a feat made even more remarkable considering the fact that it was recorded remotely during the high point of Covid lockdowns.

It was a trans-Atlantic endeavor, too, with longtime co-producer Ronan McHugh monitoring the flow of tracks coming in from various time zones: In the States, there were Collen, Campbell and drummer Rick Allen, while Elliot and bassist Rick Savage beamed their parts in from Ireland and the U.K., respectively.

“It really wasn’t as complicated or as difficult as it sounds,” Collen says. “We’ve made lots of records without us being in the same room at the same time.”

Recording separately is one thing; rehearsing for a tour is a different matter entirely. Unsurprisingly, the band is chomping at the bit to get going.

“We can’t wait,” Campbell says. “To tell you the truth, we’ve never left that headspace of being a touring band. We’ve got a lot of rehearsal time scheduled, but I have a feeling that after a few days, we’ll all be like, ‘Oh, yeah, here we go.’ It’s just like riding a bike, really.”

Let’s start with the T. Rex influence on Diamond Star Halos. As a guitarist, what did Marc Bolan mean to you guys growing up?

Vivian Campbell: “He started the ball rolling for me. It wasn’t Marc Bolan the guitar player per se; rather, it was the whole thing – his sound and image. He really was the grandfather of the glam rock movement; he had the hair and the androgyny, and of course, he made music that was such infectious ear candy. 

“I was about nine years old when I first saw him on Top of the Pops. It was such a lightbulb moment where I went, ‘That’s what I want to do. I want to wear my sister’s clothes. I want to blow my hair and play guitar and make a living doing it.’”

You wanted to be that guy on the cover of Electric Warrior.

Campbell: “Yeah, exactly! He looked so great with his long hair and that Les Paul. That started me on the path. He just had the whole package, but the music was there. Out of that grew the different people who actually did influence me as a guitarist, like Rory Gallagher and Gary Moore. But I have to say, it was Marc Bolan who set me on my way to discovering them.”

Phil, how about you?

Phil Collen: “Oh, I thought Marc Bolan was amazing, but for me, it might have been more David Bowie, who was from the same time period. I saw Bowie on Top of the Pops with Mick Ronson playing his Les Paul. The way he held that thing, I was like, ‘My God, this guy is so fucking cool.’ 

“I was 14 and I was trying to identify myself. I’d already gotten into Deep Purple, Zeppelin and Hendrix, but then came Bowie, Bolan, Roxy Music, the Faces, but especially Bowie. That was the music that spoke to me.” 

I was going to bring up Mick Ronson. How did he impact you?

Collen: “The thing about him was... well, there’s his solos. They were phenomenal and they were different, and you could hum them. Great tone and melody. He was the perfect foil for Bowie. He was also a great producer. Walk on the Wild Side by Lou Reed – that’s Bowie and Ronson producing. Mick Ronson had the whole thing as an artist; it wasn’t simply as a guitar player. As an entity, he was amazing.” 

There’s a thread here: Bolan and Bowie... and you use Mike Garson on a couple of tracks. Did you ever think about Tony Visconti as a producer? He’s the guy everybody has in common.

Collen: “Not really, especially when we know exactly what we want ourselves. And to be quite honest, if we’d have brought in a producer, he would have just gotten in the way. Ronan McHugh is like part of the band. Anyone else would fuck it all up. We know exactly what we want. If we brought in anybody else, they just wouldn’t get it.”

Phil, I understand that you wrote Kick late in the record-making process. Turns out, it’s the album’s first single. Did you think the record needed that one sure-fire song?

Collen: “Actually, that song and Fire It Up weren’t written for Def Leppard. Fire It Up was one of the first songs I wrote, and Kick was the last. The co-writer on Kick is a guy named Dave Bassett. I programmed a drum pattern because I wanted to write a rock anthem, something you can sing in a stadium. Same with Fire It Up. 

“The funny thing is, rock anthems sound easy, but they’re really hard to write. Anyway, I wrote them and I played them for Joe. I told him I was going to give them to other people to record, and to each one he said, ‘That’s a Def Leppard song.‘ The other guys felt the same way.”

Who were you thinking of giving the songs to?

Collen: “Anyone from Lady Gaga to Miley Cyrus – you know, somebody who had a different thing. These songs are hard because they can come out corny if they’re not done a certain way. They work as rock anthems. They’re meant for stadiums.” 

It’s interesting that you would think of giving them away. I would assume you’d want to save your best stuff for the band.

Collen: “Yeah, but see, I never go, ‘Am I writing the best stuff?’ I always try to write the best stuff, every time. If it’s not there, it gets left by the roadside somewhere. I’ve got a million things on my phone that’s not the best stuff. Nobody gets to hear it. [Laughs]”

We’ve talked about the glam rock influence on the album, but you’ve got some country-tinged tracks that you did with Alison Krauss.

Collen: “Yeah, our manager was talking to Alison’s manager, and he mentioned that we had these two tracks. We said that we’d love to have her sing on the record and she could choose which song. She listened to them and said, ‘I love them both. Can I do both of them?’

“I wrote This Guitar with CJ Vanston 17 years ago. He’s one of the top piano session players in Chicago. Joe’s been a champion of that song for years. Every five years or so, he goes, ‘We should do This Guitar’. It never felt like the right time, though, but on this album we thought that we’d give it a go. 

“Sav plays 12-string acoustic on it. He’s really precise with his jangles. He sat there all day doing it till his fingers bled. And Viv’s got the tastiest playing I ever heard on it. All these little licks throughout, he’s like Clapton or Gilmour. It’s that kind of thing.”

Vivian, that’s some high praise. Did you play the pedal steel parts on the song? 

Campbell: “I’m definitely not playing pedal steel. I don’t even know where to begin with one of those things.

Collen: “That’s Ronan McHugh playing a keyboard with a pedal steel sound. But Vivan did play a traditional slide on the song.”

Campbell: “They always ask me to play the slide parts, and I don’t know why because I’m a shit slide guitar player, in my opinion.”

I don’t know about that. You sound great.

Campbell: “Thanks. I’m getting better, but I would never say I’m good at it. You have to recalibrate your playing to get on top of the frets instead of in-between. I’m always like, ‘Come on, come on. Just get up there...’”

The song U Rok Mi features a section in which you guys trade solos.”

Collen: “That’s right. I think I do the first, Viv does the second, and then I do the third and we both finish it off. We do a two-part harmony at the end.”

You two have recorded together while in different rooms of a studio, but is there some slight psychological difference to not even being in the same building – or for that matter, the same city?”

Campbell: “Nah. Phil and I have enough miles under our treads to know how to manage that. The only thing that’s challenging about recording at home is the technical stuff. I’m still a complete Luddite with technology. However, once I get a good signal into the box, then I have the luxury of working on my own schedule. 

“I can get a cup of coffee, I can call my sister in Europe, and then I can get back to soloing. It’s a lot easier when you don’t have the pressure of people looking at you going, ‘Come on. Get it done already.’”

Collen: “I’ve been using Guitar Rig since 2011, and I’ve had the same preset on it for my Man Raze albums and Def Leppard albums. That’s my go-to. Live, we play through Fractals. When I do small gigs, I use Blackstar stuff, combos and what not. It’s different, but it sounds exactly the same.”

Campbell: “For me, this was my first time working with Guitar Rig. It’s funny – that dropdown menu just keeps going. You find something and go, ‘OK, that’s interesting. Hmm, that’s cool. Maybe I’ll come back to that.’ You just keep scrolling till you find something inspiring.”

Now, you guys have a lot of guitars, but if you could boil things down, what were your main instruments for this album?

Collen: “For me personally, it was a natural Jackson PC1. I’ve had it since 2007, and it’s the one. I use it on a lot of the solos and things because it just sounds right. I do like my red Jackson PC Supreme – it’s got the fattest neck they’ve ever made.

“It sounds great, but for some reason I didn’t use it all over the album, and I should have. But I kept coming back to the PC1. There were also a couple of Telecasters. I used Squier Telecaster on the solo on This Guitar, and there’s a Squier Starcaster for the lick at the beginning.”

Viv, how about you?

Campbell: “Mostly Les Pauls. I used my Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul and my original Dio “Holy Diver” Les Paul. I also used a ’66 Telecaster. It’s been refretted with jumbo frets so I can actually bend on it. And I used my original Tom Anderson Strat for when I needed some shimmer or a little front pickup action. Those were the four that I used.” 

Last question: Do you ever turn on the radio and hear one of your songs – maybe a big hit – and you think, “Man, I wish I could do it over. There’s something about it that’s not right”?

Collen: ”Yeah, but the thing is, every song is a reference point, and you grow from it. Maybe there’s something on the track that’s a little naïve from a guitar playing standpoint, or lyrically there’s something that makes you cringe. But you get past it and move on. 

“It’s like, one time the crew brought me a video of me playing with my old group Girl on The Old Grey Whistle Test. It was the Eighties and I was wearing spandex; you cringe and go, ‘Oh, my God. That’s so embarrassing.’ On the other hand, that was then and it was really cool.”

Campbell: “I used to get that, but you have to remember everything is a snapshot in time. You hear a song and it’s what happened in the studio that day. It’s pretty amazing, these little throwbacks. It’s like looking in a diary.”

• Diamond Star Halos is out now via UMe.

Only four British bands have had two 10-million selling albums in America. The first three – The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. And the fourth? No, not The Rolling Stones. Not The Who. Not Queen. It’s Def Leppard.

Formed in Sheffield in 1977, the band rose to fame in the ‘80s with the two blockbuster albums that sealed their place in that exclusive club – 1983’s Pyromania and 1987’s Hysteria. 

And the key to this success is their mastery of the rock anthem – as illustrated in hit songs such as Pour Some Sugar On Me, Animal, Photograph, Rocket, Rock Of Ages and Let’s Get Rocked.

This summer, they head out at last for the twice-postponed Stadium Tour in the US with Mötley Crüe, Poison and Joan Jett. But while Leppard could easily tour for the rest of their lives off their back catalogue, the urge to make new music is still strong within them. “A lot of artists stop growing and creating,” says guitarist Phil Collen. “We haven’t.” 

The making of new album Diamond Star Halos was a first for the band – as they worked remotely from their homes, recording song ideas and individual parts on laptops, sharing material via Dropbox, which was then collated into finished tracks by the band’s long-serving producer Ronan McHugh. But the band’s signature sound remains very much intact on an album packed with new anthems in the classic Leppard tradition.

The first single, Kick, nods to their glam rock heroes from the early ’70s. Even the album’s title is taken from the lyrics to the T.Rex glam classic Get It On. And throughout the album, Phil Collen’s partnership with Irish guitarist Vivian Campbell, is as strong as it’s ever been – something that’s evident from the get-go with the blazing trade-off solos in the opening track Take What You Want.

These guys have been playing together for 30 years now. Phil joined the band in 1982 during the making of Pyromania. Vivian joined 10 years later following the death of the band’s original member Steve Clark.

Creating stadium rock bangers is Def Leppard’s speciality, and here, Phil and Viv present their guide to how it’s done...

1. The song is king

Vivian: “The real reason why Def Leppard is so different to so many other bands is we know – it’s not about us, it’s about the songs. It’s not about how well I can play guitar or how well Phil can play guitar. It’s about the fucking song. You do your guitar parts as best as you can but at the end of the day the song is going to outlive all of us.”

Phil: “You’ve got to listen to what the vocal’s doing. You have to respect that main melody, and then you can alter stuff around it. It has to be within the vocal structure, because you can fuck something up.”

2. Know when to let rip

Phil: “The reason we’ve played safe in the past is because you’re respecting the song maybe too much. With this one, because we recorded remotely and there was no-one else in the room it’s like, ‘Fuck it.’ You can overthink and play too safe. You’re like, ‘I don’t want to tread on anything.’ 

“With this one, I was like ‘Well, I’m going to experiment. I feel this should be like this,’ and go off. I’d send it to everyone then if no-one says, ‘That’s a bit over the top!’ then you’re fine.”

Vivian: “I do feel that my playing is better than ever and certainly more comfortable. I have a lot less anxiety about it, probably because I’m doing it so much since I started Last In Line (the group he formed in 2012 with fellow ex-members of Dio – the band in which he made his name in the early ‘80s). 

“The passion was reignited and I’ve definitely built upon it. When it came time to do guitar solos I didn’t have the pressure of other people in the room. You know, ‘Lunch is coming up. When is he going to do this?’”

3. Leave a gap for the snare

In the past, Leppard learned so much from Mutt Lange, the producer of Pyromania and Hysteria, they even called him the ‘sixth member’ of the band. 

Many of Lange’s hits have riffs that pause for the snare drum – check out AC/DC’s Highway To Hell and Back In Black or The Cars’ You Might Think. The same is true for Leppard’s new single.

Phil: “With Kick, I think I had the chorus and then it broke down to the verse. I wanted something with gaps, like Pour Some Sugar On Me. When we did that my original riff was a bit like White Lines by Grandmaster Flash, a continuous thing. Mutt was like, ‘Oh no, man, you got to leave a gap for the snare!’ That just brought it to life. I wanted to do that for the verse of Kick.”

4. Playing matters more than gear

Vivian: “I moved from Los Angeles to New Hampshire, so I don’t have many guitars at home. Most of my guitars are in Def Leppard’s locker in southern California. It’s probably just as well because there’s enough choice in the drop-down menu in Guitar Rig without auditioning every Les Paul again. 

“I don’t want to get into the weeds too much. It’s about the performance more than the guitar, the preset or anything. To be honest, a lot of my choice came down to which guitar has the freshest strings!”

Phil: “On this album, I used a Squier Tele Thinline on the solo of This Guitar. It was just a standard thing I bought years ago in Dublin and it’s just great. It’s a Squier Starcaster at the beginning. And for the solo on Gimme A Kiss, I actually used a Squier Super-Sonic with a wah.

Vivian: “Do I have any more signature gear planned? God no. I want less gear, not more. How you play guitar begins and ends with your hands. The rest is just shit to get in the way and shit that’s gonna go wrong.”

Phil: “Everything is recorded with Guitar Rig. I’ve been using the same main preset since 2011. I made some presets for Guitar Rig 6 but I didn’t want to update my computer because I was scared it wouldn’t work anymore. 

“Sometimes I’d send Ronan [McHugh, producer] the unamped sound so he can reamp it, but with a lot of this stuff the main demo sound is what’s on the record. Live we use Fractals, and whenever I do solo gigs I use a Blackstar Silverline. There’s subtle differences obviously, but it all sounds like me – it sounds exactly the same!”

Vivian: “Because your tone is in your hands it doesn’t really matter. Phil can pick up my Les Paul, and it sounds like Phil through my gear. I’ve played solos before with his Jackson, like the solo in the song Paper Sun [from 1999’s Euphoria]. You can hear because I forgot to turn the sustainer off and you can hear there’s one point where it goes into feedback. So tone is 100 per cent in your hands.”

5. Perfection sucks!

Phil: “The intro to Kick was from my demo. You can hear this ringing that sounds like someone hit a jar or something. It’s the guitar just overloading and peaking. We left it on because it sounds cool. The solo was a total guide, mistakes all over the place. I’m like, ‘Fuck it, sounds great!’ I love it just the way it is, so we left it on. 

“Normally we do 30 tracks of a vocal harmony. On this one, some of the stuff is just me doing eight tracks. I would do a guide vocal in my echoey front room. Grab a [Shure] SM58 and just sing, like, ‘I’ll do it properly later on but this is how it goes.’ Ronan would go ‘That’s great! Just use that,’ and someone else would harmonise. You can actually hear everyone’s voice. 

“Joe [Elliott, vocalist] was fucking spectacular. He was doing stuff in Dublin on his laptop with a little shitty mic that he does his radio show on, and that’s some of the stuff that ended up on the album. That’s Mutt Lange’s thing. You’d say, ‘It has to be perfect.’ He’s like ‘F*ck no, I hate perfect!’ He said it just has to sound and feel right.”

6. Work with people who are better than you

Phil: “It really helps me as a songwriter to write with someone who’s better than me, or different to me. The speed that they do things is a little intimidating sometimes but it’s just great to be around. I was writing with Sam Hollander, who wrote High Hopes for Panic! At The Disco. He’s just awesome. It was really inspiring working with him because he’s so quick firing.  

“You know he’s just writing away and just bouncing whole ideas. We had the whole thing done in an afternoon. You want to be around someone who’s gonna do that. When I did the G3 tour with Satriani and Petrucci. We were doing Highway Star and from the first rehearsal I was like ‘Fuck, I’m gonna have to practice a lot more because I’m just gonna get left behind by these guys.’ 

“They’re just it’s so far over the top. John goes, ‘Well, if I do this harmony, Phil, you can do this.’ It was further than I’d ever stretched on anything I’d ever done. I love someone giving you a helping hand and pushing you at the same time.”

7. Create hooks everywhere

Phil: “I always go back to Killer Queen [a number 2 UK hit for Queen in 1974]. There’s a hook almost like every two bars or something!

Vivian: “In Def Leppard world, we wouldn’t be very excited about just power chords. Normally we’d be looking for a jangle to go on top. The jangle is what starts to elevate it to something other than the ordinary. That’s not just a chord thing. We’re looking for a part to go on top of that.

Phil: “You can even do lead parts around the vocal, but you have to have that bedrock there. On the title track from Hysteria we had the vocal melody beforehand and Steve [Clark] would come up with something different. Again, it’s got to respect the melody. As Keith Richards so eloquently put it, weaving sonic tapestries.”

Total Guitar says: ‘The jangle’ can be distorted arpeggios (Let’s Get Rocked), clean arpeggios (Photograph), or jamming on a ringing open string (Pour Some Sugar On Me). Check out Love Bites, Hysteria and Animal for lead guitar hooks that fit around the vocal. 

Our tab example shows how Leppard write lead parts around chord progressions. One note changes on each repeat to fit the chord changes, but that note isn’t necessarily a root note. Over the E chord, the lick starts on G# (the major 3rd) and moves smoothly up one fret to A when the chord changes to A major.

8. Layer your chords… 

Vivian: “In a really good Def Leppard song, Phil and I are never playing the same parts. In the hard rock world, there’s this school of thought that you have two guitar parts playing the same thing to make it sound heavier. If I get a demo from Phil, I would never play the chords in the same register he’s put them down already. I just try inversions. 

“There’s countless ways you can play a chord up the guitar neck. But the bridge section in Hysteria where the notes were recorded one at a time for the chord – we’ve never done anything like that since. I think that’s too much work!”

Phil: “If you want to make it broader, if someone’s playing a powerchord or a barre chord, and the other one’s doing an open version, that sounds great. If you’re playing a D you could add an A chord, you know the first and the fifth. You put the parts in different octaves and also you do a different rhythm.”

Total Guitar says: In Pour Some Sugar On Me, the chorus has the chords E, A, and B split across multiple guitar tracks. It is possible to play all those notes on one guitar, but with distortion they can sound muddy and out of tune. 

Harmonised chords sound clearer, just as a Thin Lizzy-style twin guitar solo sounds clearer than playing doublestops on one distorted guitar. You can get more ambitious by layering these E and A shapes over each other. 

Animal begins with an F5 powerchord layered over a Bb5 to create a big Bbsus2. The riff in Photograph includes a partial D5 chord layered with an A5, which makes Asus4. To hear parts in different octaves and with counter rhythms as Phil describes, listen to the chorus of Hysteria with headphones on. 

Today, adding vibrato to chords is a metal signature. But Vivian Campbell, who helped pioneer the style, has admitted he didn’t even notice he did it at first.

“I put vibrato on my chords. I never realized I did until Ronnie Dio pointed it out to me,” Campbell said of his discovery in a new interview for Total Guitar. “It was only because I played a Les Paul, and [with] Les Pauls you can be in tune on a first position chord, but by the time you’re on the fifth fret playing a barre chord it’s a little fruity. By the time you’re further up it’s really exotic.

“When you had a floating tremolo bar you could always use a little shimmer to offset any tuning irregularities,” he noted. “But with a fixed bridge I’m thinking, ‘Ah, that string’s a little out,’ so I would just naturally put vibrato on chords to mask it. 

“I didn’t realize I did it until after being with Dio for a year or two. Ronnie says, ‘You know what I really love about you?’ and he leaned into me. ‘What I really love about your rhythm playing is you put vibrato on chords.’ I went ‘I do?!’”

You can hear this style most obviously with Last In Line, Campbell’s side band formed with former Dio members after Ronnie’s death. But Campbell says this approach is also one of the things that makes his playing sound different from Def Leppard bandmate, Phil Collen.

Vivian also commented on the differences between his style and that of Def Leppard founder Steve Clark, who Campbell replaced after his death in 1991.

“I play very differently from Steve,” Campbell offers. “I play a lot of palm muting so there’s a much more percussive element to how I play lead guitar parts.

“I think there’s definitely a heavier approach. I pinch harmonics a lot because of my Rory Gallagher influence. I just can’t help myself. I got a really heavy vibrato thanks to my Gary Moore influence. 

“We’re all made up of our influences, so I bring a heavier element to the Def Leppard both in the studio and when we play live, but we all share that same mentality of being in service of the song.”

While Campbell’s attack in Dio was never exactly timid, it’s grown even heavier in recent years thanks to his discovery of metal picks.

“I was always on a course to use heavier picks,” he explains. “I started back on Holy Diver just using Fender medium picks, and I started using heavier Tortex picks through the years. 

“I didn’t know metal picks were a thing until I joined Def Leppard. At first, it was uncomfortable because it’s too heavy – there’s no give whatsoever when you connect with the string – but now I can’t play electric guitar with a plastic pick anymore.”

On Def Leppard’s new album, Diamond Star Halos, Vivian’s playing is some of his most fiery with the band. He attributes that to playing with Last In Line again.

“I’m still doing Last in Line shows,” he says. “The passion was reignited and I’ve definitely built upon it.”

• Diamond Star Halos is out on May 27 via UME.

Joe Satriani surprised many guitarists by picking Def Leppard’s Phil Collen for the 2018 G3 tour – not least Phil himself. But Collen says the most lasting impact from the run came from John Petrucci, whose touring rig was based around the Fractal Axe-Fx.

“Petrucci had the the first one and he said, ‘Check this out!’ It sounded great,” Collen says. “That’s why I got it, and then I said to the rest of guys, ‘I’m getting rid of my rack!’ [Co-guitarist] Vivian Campbell heard it once and said, ‘I’m in!’ and [bassist] Rick Savage trusted me from day one.”

Def Leppard are known for their love of technology. Multi-million-selling album smash Hysteria was at the cutting edge of recording techniques, and drummer Rick Allen was an early adopter of electric drums after the car crash that claimed his left arm.

Despite that, their live guitar rigs were resolutely old-school before Petrucci brought them into the 21st century. The setups had been rack-based, with Marshall JMP-1 tube preamps and EL34 100/100 power amps, along with the discontinued JFX-1 rack effects unit.

Collen’s tech John Zucker replicated this sound using the Axe-Fx Tone Match feature. Says Phil of the old rig, “It was just too much to power. You had a power amp and a rack and then effects and stuff like that. Now it all works in one. On stage I use the Atomic powered speaker.”

Besides the gear revolution, the G3 experience also pushed Collen as a player. “We were doing Highway Star and from the first rehearsal I was like ‘Fuck, I’m gonna have to practice a lot more because I’m just gonna get left behind by these guys,’” he recalls. 

“They’re just so far over the top. John goes, ‘Well, if I do this harmony, Phil, you can do this.’ It was further than I’d ever stretched on anything I’d ever done! I love that idea of someone giving you a helping hand and pushing you at the same time.”

Guitar-wise, Phil has been playing new versions of his signature Jackson PC1 with hotter X2N bridge pickups.

“What I’m shocked about with the X2N is I can turn it down!” he laughs. “I don’t really have clean tones on tour. I just turn the guitar down and that cleans up perfectly, even with the Fractal.

“My new PC1 has a walnut top. It’s got a skinny neck on it which bugged me but the thing sounded so good I used it on some of the solos on our new album [Diamond Star Halos]. I used it on Open Your Eyes and From Here To Eternity. It’s got an X2N, Sugar Chakra, and a Sustainer. This one’s got an ebony fingerboard so it’s a harsher sound than the maple, which is a bit more classy – on a PC1, anyway.”

The Sugar Chakra is Phil’s signature DiMarzio Strat-sized humbucker. “I’ve been using that on the songs All We Need and Lifeless,” he explains. “Right at the end I use the Sugar Chakra and an X2N together on a clean setting.

“You’d think, ‘Really? How’s that gonna sound?!’ Fucking unique! With the sustainer on, it was just a really unique sound. The Sugar Chakra would be the middle pickup, and obviously the X2N, which is fucking bombastic, being the bridge position.”

Comparing the Sugar Chakra to the full-sized Super 3 humbucker he has used for years, Phil notes its subtle refinement.

“It’s a little less powerful,  but you couldn’t really tell the difference listening to it,” he says. “If you raise it up a little bit then it sounds similar, but it kind of retains some of the Strat-iness. I’ve even got a Telecaster with a Sugar Chakra on it and same deal: it retains its Telecaster-ness as well, so you can get that perfect blend.”

Def Leppard’s 12th full-length album, Diamond Star Halos, returns the band to its roots. The title is a nod to Marc Bolan, who inspired Vivian Campbell pick up guitar in the first place. Appropriately, Campbell revisited the guitar where it all started for him.

“I’ve been playing 7297537 a lot,” says Campbell, who is so attached to his first Les Paul he always refers to it by its serial number. “I moved to New Hampshire just prior to the pandemic, so I don’t have many guitars at home. Most of my guitars are in Def Leppard’s locker in southern California.”

Campbell reconnected with the guitar – which has since been replicated as an Epiphone signature model – in 2012 after forming Last In Line with his former Dio bandmates.

“Because I’ve been playing it a lot with Last In Line I still use the original Dio Les Paul,” he explains. “I’ve just gotten really comfortable with it again. I like the closure of going full circle, starting my career with it and coming back to it.”

The Les Paul started life as a wine red Deluxe and housed a pair of X2Ns in the ’80s, the hottest pickup DiMarzio made. It now contains a matched set of Seymour Duncan ’59s.

Says Campbell, “I was using DiMarzio X2Ns back then because I was playing through a JCM800 Marshall and there just wasn’t enough distortion in that amp, so I front-loaded it with really hot pickups and Boss overdrive pedals. With modern amps you don’t need to do that – there’s so much more saturation available.”

Another old favorite also made a return. “The other guitar was my original blue Tom Anderson with the maple neck,” he reveals. “I used it a lot on the Adrenalize tour when I first joined Def Leppard.”

Campbell played the Anderson for his Def Leppard debut at the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert: “Again, I’m comfortable with it and it was one of the half dozen guitars I have at home.”

When their Stadium Tour was cancelled in 2020, Def Leppard began recording instead. Remote recording posed only one problem: Campbell had no idea how to do it.

“I’m a technophobe. It’s a wonder I can use my iPhone,” he laughs. “Joe [Elliott, vocalist] emailed, ‘If we're not going to tour this year, let’s make a record.’ I’m thinking, ‘That means I’ve got to learn how to use technology again!’ Phil Collen said, ‘Get Logic. It’s really easy.’ I open it up and I’m thinking, ‘That doesn't look easy to me!’”

At his old studio in California, Campbell admits, “I only knew how to record because some clever grownup who built the studio for me came in and showed me how to do it and made notes in case I forgot! So spring 2020 I’m downloading Logic, buying an interface and thinking, ‘How the fuck does this work?!’”

Eventually, producer Ronan McHugh sent him pre-engineered recording templates. At Phil Collen’s suggestion, Vivian downloaded Guitar Rig.

“I would just scroll through presets, adjust the amp settings a little and record,” he recalls. “I also used the Engl plugin for most of the solos. They have one that looks exactly like my Last In Line amp and that’s so easy even I can use it. It was really easy once I got going, but I just have this fear of technology.”

The band, though, loved Campbell’s work. Bandmate Phil Collen praises his playing, especially on the duets with Allison Krauss, Lifeless and This Guitar.

“Lifeless is fucking awesome,” raves Phil. “He used a Telecaster and it’s very different for Viv. My favorite playing of his is on This Guitar. It’s Dave Gilmour-esque. He plays these heartfelt, emotional licks and some really subtle slide.”

The Telecaster, Campbell reveals, is a Def Leppard staple. “Phil’s Jackson and my Les Paul are fat-sounding guitars, so for more specific parts we’re always reaching for a Telecaster,” he says.

Accordingly, Vivian’s ’66 Telecaster is all over the album. “It’s a wonderful guitar,” he enthuses.

“The only problem is the noise when you’ve got any kind of gain going on. They’re so microphonic. Ronan doesn’t like it when we send him tracks with all this buzz. That means you can’t breathe while you play. The Telecaster is never quiet, but you find a position where it’s not as noisy and you can’t move!”

• Diamond Star Halos is out on May 27 via UME.

Vivian Campbell is one of the world's top-tier players who deals in effervescent shred while still knowing how to put a riff together, and it is only fitting that his signature guitar is pretty darn special.

The Vivian Campbell Les Paul Custom is based on a heavily modded LP that Campbell was playing with Def Leppard, but all roads have led him here. His first guitar was a Les Paul, and while he might have flirted with hot-rodded S-styles in the late '80s – like we all did – it wasn't long before he was back with the classic singlecut in hand.

With Def Leppard's box set, The Early Years 79-81, newly released and in record stores now, we got Campbell to tell us the story behind a unique Les Paul.

The genesis of the Vivian Campbell Les Paul

"My first guitar was a Les Paul, when I was 15. In the 80s I played Charvel/Jackson S-types, but came back full circle to Les Pauls just after joining Def Leppard in 1992. For a long time, Gibson wouldn’t even return my calls. Eventually I got a call from Philip Whorton who runs the Gibson Custom Shop in Nashville, asking if I’d be interested in working on a signature model. I said, ‘Absolutely!’ I’m really pleasedwith it. I had the first one at the end of our 2017 tour, and Gibson released it at the Vegas Consumer Electronics Show.

The neck

"We based the guitar on the bastardised Les Paul I was playing with Def Leppard at the time. It had a slim neck from a 1978 Les Paul Custom I’d bought in a Nashville pawn shop for $400, and this one’s very similar. All my Les Pauls have these jumbo Dunlop frets. I cannot bend with little skinny frets, they have to be big and wide. I bend aggressively in solos, and put a lot of vibrato on chords."

The body

"The body is lightweight mahogany. I like light Les Pauls; I’ve had two back surgeries so I do need to be careful! And how’s this for a coincidence: I told Philip I wanted a dark, charcoal-like, translucent finish where you can see the wood grain. He came back with this colour called Antrim Basalt Burst, after the basalt rocks of the Giants Causeway on the North Antrim coast, and I was actually raised in County Antrim. That was a nice bit of serendipity…"

The pickups

"In the mid-90s we were still using wedge monitors on stage, so the guitars were at a hefty volume and would feedback a lot. My guitar tech and I stole some DiMarzio HS-3 pickups off [Leppard co-guitarist] Phil Collen’s guitar tech and put one in the bridge position of my guitar! I got used to the tonality, so that’s what’s in the bridge here, with a DiMarzio Super Distortion in the neck."

The hardware

"TonePros make really good, professional grade, tour-worthy hardware, and I’ve found over the years that I need that. My two heroes are Rory Gallagher and Gary Moore, who were both physical players with a really heavy right hand. In LA in the 80s there were all these great technical players who played like butterflies, barely touching the strings, whereas I was trying to kill the thing! 

"I’ve learned over the years that you have to embrace your idiosyncrasies – your shortcomings sometimes define your style and make you unique. A fixed-bridge instrument fits my aggressive playing style."

The secret weapon

"As on all my Les Pauls, the volume control for the bridge pickup is a speed knob, and the other three are top hats. Before in-ear monitors I’d have to shut off the volume with my right hand pinky on staccato parts, like the chorus of Pour Some Sugar On Me, to prevent feedback. I don’t need to do that any more, but I thought it was a nice, quirky touch. Somebody has since pointed out to me that Gary Moore did that too, I had no idea!"

• Looking for a Vivian Campbell Les Paul? The Custom model might be hard to find but the ltd edition Epiphone Holy Diver Outfit Les Paul is based on the LP he used with Dio. It has a pair of DiMarzio X2N humbuckers and it wails!

Epiphone has rolled out plenty of impressive signature electric guitars this year, but the company may have topped itself with the release of the highly-anticipated Vivian Campbell 'Holy Diver' Les Paul Outfit.

The limited edition model is based on the guitar Campbell played on the classic Dio albums Holy Diver and The Last in Line – originally a wine red Les Paul Deluxe he purchased in Belfast as a teenager and then sanded down and had painted matte black.

The Holy Diver Les Paul, similar to the original, features a mahogany body with maple cap and is finished in a black aged gloss with single-layer cream binding.

There’s also a three-piece maple neck (with an enticingly enigmatic 'Vivian' profile) and an Indian Laurel fingerboard with trapezoid inlays and medium jumbo frets.

Electronics are headlined by two DiMarzio X2N humbuckers – the same pickups that were in Campbell’s original guitar during his Dio days – as well as brass volume and tone knobs and a three-way toggle switch.

Other features include an ABR-1 LockTone bridge and stopbar tailpiece, a brass output jack, chrome Epiphone strap locks and Epiphone deluxe machine head tuners.

The guitar is topped by a small-sloped dovewing headstock with a traditional Les Paul signature and a Sixties-era Epiphone logo.

“We tried to make it as close as possible to how this guitar was circa 1982,” Campbell says of the 'Holy Diver' in the accompanying video – and that includes having his original model’s serial number, 72987537, stamped on the back along with each new Epiphone’s own “grown-up serial number,” as he puts it.

The Vivian Campbell Holy Diver Les Paul Outfit comes with an EpiLite case and a Certificate of Authenticity. 

For more information, head to Epiphone.

Last In Line, featuring former Dio guitarist Vivian Campbell and drummer Vinny Appice, former Ozzy Osbourne bassist Phil Soussan and singer Andrew Freeman, are currently out on the road in support of their recently released sophomore effort, II. On June 12 the band performed at the O2 Academy Islington in London, and you can check out footage of the band’s performance of one of the new II tracks, “Year of the Gun,” featuring a stellar solo from Campbell, above.

In a recent interview with Guitar World, Campbell discussed his approach to composing solos. “I never used to construct them at all until quite recently and the reason for that is because the very first solo I ever recorded with Dio was “Rainbow in the Dark,” he said. “The solo that’s on that track is the very first take. That imbued me with a false sense of security that as long as I was warmed up and up to speed I could just make it up on the spot. Over the years I’ve come to learn that sometimes it can work and other times it’s like pulling teeth.

“It wasn’t until recently that I gave myself a pass and decided to sit down and construct something first. That’s how I approached solos on the Last in Line albums. A solo is not just a bunch of notes. It has to follow an expression and a path, and it’s a lot easier to do when I have it worked out. Then it’s just a matter of catching the best performance.”

For more information on Last in Line, head here. 

Besides playing on Dio’s classic early to mid-Eighties albums and being a full-fledged member of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-bound Def Leppard since 1992, this constantly in-demand six-stringer enjoyed stints with Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake. Last in Line, the band he founded with his former Dio bandmates, just released a second album, II. But what Guitar World readers really want to know is...

I’ve heard you’re a huge Gary Moore fan. What was it like filling his shoes in Thin Lizzy? —Bill Engelhard

Gary Moore is my absolute guitar hero. So when Scott Gorham called and asked if I could be a stunt guitar player for Thin Lizzy in 2010, I can’t even put into words how excited I was. Just to be on stage with Scott and Brian Downey and playing the songs of my youth was so exciting. It really ignited the passion I had when I was 17 and the aggressive, angry rock guitar I started out on. I came off that tour and called Jimmy and Vinny and said let’s go into a rehearsal room and play! That’s where the Last in Line band was born.

What originally inspired you to go back to your Dio roots and regroup with drummer Vinny Appice and bassist Jimmy Bain for Last in Line? —Toyja Copeland

It actually came out of a jam with Jimmy, Vinny and me. Then Vinny introduced us to [singer/guitarist] Andy [Freeman]. I thought it’d be fun to go out and play the early Dio stuff in clubs around L.A. All of a sudden we were playing in Europe and Japan. Then the label asked if we’d be interested in doing an album and the three of us sat down and recorded Heavy Crown [2016]. Now here we are with our second album of original music [2019’s II]. It’s become something more than just an offshoot bunch of ex-Dio guys playing Dio songs. It’s a serious side project and something I care about deeply.

How does II relate to the band’s work on Heavy Crown? —Scott Matthews

We lost Jimmy a month before the release of Heavy Crown, and it was a real blow to us. Based on the reaction to the record and how much it meant to Jimmy and the rest of us, we made the decision to carry on and were very fortunate to get Phil [Soussan]. He’s a great fit and the band has grown. It’s part of the reason I wanted to call the album II. It’s the second album and a second beginning. The band has developed and the songwriting is more intricate, involved and ambitious.

I love your tone on the first Last in Line album and the new single, “Landslide.” What did you use in the studio? —Ryan M. Dale

I used Engl Ritchie Blackmore heads for all the solos on both records. When we tracked, I cut the first rhythm with the Engl as clean as I could. Then I went back and did a second rhythm with a different amp. Jeff [Pilson] has an amp called a Naked [by Friedman Amps], which is a custom-made boutique amp that I believe is based on an early Marshall JTM45. I’m always using my Les Pauls, primarily my Dio-era Les Paul that I did the Holy Diver album with. That and my other Les Paul, which is the Custom Shop model that came out last year.

How does it feel being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? —Michael Frey

I’m flattered, as indeed are the other guys [in Def Leppard], that we’ve gotten this level of recognition. Last year really saw us cross the generational divide. Thirty to 40 percent of the audience was young enough to be our children. That’s exciting. We’re a band that thrives on audience participation. The more energy an audience gives us, the more we give back.

In your opinion, what makes Def Leppard so timeless? —John Verilli

There’s always been a certain quality to Leppard’s music, and I can say that having been in a few bands prior. When I joined the band, the first thing that was immediately apparent was the discipline and work ethic. Everything from songwriting and recording to rehearsing and live performance. Our vocals are incredibly strong and 100 percent live. We take incredible pride in our ability to do that.

One of your first gigs with Def Leppard was the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in April 1992. What do you remember about it? —Johnny G

My most enduring memory was looking to my left and being very aware that for Joe [Elliott], Phil [Collen], Rick [Allen] and Sav [Rick Savage] it was their first time on a major stage with someone other than Steve [Clark, who died in 1991]. I was very conscious of what they might have been feeling. The other thing I remember was Brian May coming up and playing “Now I’m Here,” which was another major highlight.

How do you warm up before a show? —Chris Pearce

I’m a very heavy player with my right hand so I like to warm up my right as opposed to my left. For years I was more focused on the fingers on my left hand and playing faster. I’ve come to learn that the left hand will follow. It’s more about having the appropriate touch with the right.

What’s your favorite Def Leppard song to perform live? —Sydney McGuire

I always like the deeper Steve Clark cuts like “Too Late for Love” or “Gods of War.” We don’t get to do them very often because we have the lovely problem of having so many radio hits people want to hear. It doesn’t leave us a lot of opportunities to stretch out, but when we do it’s always exiting.

What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s happened to you on stage? —Hannah Mueller

As anyone who’s done this for as long as I have will tell you, it’s when you’re up on stage and suddenly fall off. It’s happened to me on several occasions. I’m just thankful it hasn’t happened in the era of cell phones and YouTube [laughs]. All of my mishaps happened back in the Eighties.

Is there one special venue where you really love to perform? —Robb King

There are a few cities that have great energy, regardless of the venue. Montreal has always been a personal favorite in terms of the energy of the audience. I’m not sure why and it’s not just with Def Leppard. I played there with Dio and even during my brief stint with Thin Lizzy. Def Leppard also played in Buenos Aires in 2017, and it was probably the most rabid audience I’ve ever encountered. The energy off that audience was breathtaking.

What was your live sound setup for the studio recordings on Holy Diver and live Dio concerts? —Dale Paterson

The first Dio album was written and recorded with my wine red Les Paul Deluxe that I bought when I was 15, and a JCM800. When we did the tour I used the JCM800 through Marshall 4x12’s and a little pedal and EQ to kick in for solos and to boost the mids.

Do you still have that custom-sprayed Charvel you played on the Last in Line tour — and can I have it if you don’t want it anymore? —Darren of York

I do still have it. It’s the best-sounding Charvel I’ve ever had. I did strip the paint off it many years ago because it started to crack. It’s been down to the bare wood ever since.

Given the supposed rift between you and Ronnie James Dio, how did his death impact you? —Michele Quinn

Time changes everything and allows you to have a very different perspective. I must admit it’s irksome that all these years later people still think I left the band. I never wanted to leave Dio. I was fired during the middle of the tour. It left a bad taste in my mouth and turned me away from the music. Then in later years Ronnie and I made the mistake of airing our dirty laundry. We should’ve never allowed things to get to that point. It was only after my stint with Thin Lizzy that my passion to play angry, aggressive rock guitar was reignited. Ronnie’s passing allowed me to look at things differently and reassess. That was the whole reason I started Last in Line. I got into playing that stuff again and thought, “Fuck, not only was this great fun to play but I helped create it.” It’s my heritage as much as it was Ronnie, Jimmy and Vinny’s. For many years I allowed myself to believe it wasn’t because I kept it at arm’s length. Now I embrace it.

I’d love to know how your cancer treatment is going. I’m always praying for you and love that you do a side gig to keep your energy going. —Jennifer Cortright

It’s difficult with touring, but I’ve been doing immunotherapy for the last three-and-a-half years. Even when it was at its worst it was the least of my concerns. I’m stubborn and Irish and refuse to capitulate to cancer. I’ve never been so busy and fill every day with work. It makes me happy and my body responds to it. I believe that’s helped me survive it.

How do you approach composing solos? —Derrick Dixon

I never used to construct them at all until quite recently and the reason for that is because the very first solo I ever recorded with Dio was “Rainbow in the Dark.” The solo that’s on that track is the very first take. That imbued me with a false sense of security that as long as I was warmed up and up to speed I could just make it up on the spot. Over the years I’ve come to learn that sometimes it can work and other times it’s like pulling teeth. It wasn’t until recently that I gave myself a pass and decided to sit down and construct something first. That’s how I approached solos on the Last in Line albums. A solo is not just a bunch of notes. It has to follow an expression and a path, and it’s a lot easier to do when I have it worked out. Then it’s just a matter of catching the best performance.

Do you have any tips or suggestions for anyone who’s learning to play guitar? —Sydney McGuire

There are two things I’d tell any aspiring musician. First, find your voice. No two players will ever sound or play alike. Learn to embrace whatever it is that makes you unique and build upon it. The second thing is to work on your personality. When you’re in a band you spend most of the day either in a van, tour bus, airplane or dressing room with your bandmates. You have to interact with people and can’t be an asshole. You can be the greatest guitar player in the world, but if you’re a dickhead no one is going to want to work with you. The most important thing in life is human interaction and how to work with people.

Guitar World recently introduced readers to Mike Squires, a New York-based musician who, among other projects, plays guitar in Duff McKagan’s Loaded. When he’s not doing that, he still likes to grab an instrument and jam—and the place he most likes to do it is the couch in his Brooklyn apartment. Over the past several months, he’s also invited other musicians, from Testament’s Alex Skolnick to half of Buckcherry to McKagan himself—to come and play along with him.

Most recently, he put Def Leppard’s Vivian Campbell in the hot seat, and together they ran through ZZ Top’s “Cheap Sunglasses,” with Campbell on guitar and vocals and Squires holding down the bottom end. You can check out the performance in the video above.

In addition to the jam session, Campbell and Squires talked gear—including the heavily modified Les Paul Deluxe Campbell acquired when he was 15 and has played with every band he’s been in since, including Sweet Savage, Dio and Def Leppard, as well as here on Squires’ couch.

“There’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears in this fretboard,” Campbell says of the guitar.

“I wanna play it so bad,” comments Squires.

For more couch riffs, head here or go to CouchRiffs.com, or check out the podcast.

Last in Line, featuring former Dio guitarist Vivian Campbell and drummer Vinny Appice, former Ozzy Osbourne bassist Phil Soussan and singer Andrew Freeman, have shared the official video for “Blackout the Sun.” The track comes off their forthcoming sophomore album, II.

Said Campbell about the new album, "The musical style of II is different from [2016 debut] Heavy Crown, but it wasn't something that we planned to do. Phil is a more intricate player than [original bassist] Jimmy [Bain, who passed away in 2016] was and that, together with the natural growth and development of the band led us to the songs on the album. 

"As always, we simply started to jam on ideas and see where they led us. But it's fair to say that the songs on this album sound more developed, with more parts and more experimentation than the songs on Heavy Crown. The first album set a tone, but on II we developed that idea and took it to the next logical stage."

II will be released via Frontiers Music Srl on February 22 and can be pre-ordered here. 

Last in Line, featuring former Dio guitarist Vivian Campbell and drummer Vinny Appice, former Ozzy Osbourne bassist Phil Soussan and singer Andrew Freeman, have shared the official lyric video for "Year of the Gun." The track comes off their sophomore album, II, out February 22 via Frontiers Music Srl. You can check it out above.

Said Campbell about the new album, "The musical style of II is different from [2016 debut] Heavy Crown, but it wasn't something that we planned to do. Phil is a more intricate player than [original bassist] Jimmy [Bain, who passed away in 2016] was and that, together with the natural growth and development of the band led us to the songs on the album. 

"As always, we simply started to jam on ideas and see where they led us. But it's fair to say that the songs on this album sound more developed, with more parts and more experimentation than the songs on Heavy Crown. The first album set a tone, but on II we developed that idea and took it to the next logical stage."

II can be pre-ordered here. 

The band is also offering pre-orders along with exclusive merchandise bundles and experiences via PledgeMusic.

II track list:

1. Intro

2. Black Out The Sun

3. Landslide

4. Gods And Tyrants

5. Year Of The Gun

6. Give Up The Ghost

7. The Unknown

8. Sword From The Stone

9. Electrified

10. Love And War

11. False Flag

12. The Light

Last in Line, featuring former Dio guitarist Vivian Campbell and drummer Vinny Appice, former Ozzy Osbourne bassist Phil Soussan and singer Andrew Freeman, have announced the release of their sophomore album, II. The band have also shared the first single and video from the album, for the track "Landslide." You can check it out above.

Said Campbell about the new album, "The musical style of II is different from [2016 debut] Heavy Crown, but it wasn't something that we planned to do. Phil is a more intricate player than [original bassist] Jimmy [Bain, who passed away in 2016] was and that, together with the natural growth and development of the band led us to the songs on the album. 

"As always, we simply started to jam on ideas and see where they led us. But it's fair to say that the songs on this album sound more developed, with more parts and more experimentation than the songs on Heavy Crown. The first album set a tone, but on II we developed that idea and took it to the next logical stage."

II will be released via Frontiers Music Srl on February 22 and be pre-ordered here. The band is also offering pre-orders along with exclusive merchandise bundles and experiences via PledgeMusic.

II track list:

1. Intro

2. Black Out The Sun

3. Landslide

4. Gods And Tyrants

5. Year Of The Gun

6. Give Up The Ghost

7. The Unknown

8. Sword From The Stone

9. Electrified

10. Love And War

11. False Flag

12. The Light

Back in December, Riverdogs re-convened in Los Angeles for a one off live performance at the first annual Frontier Records Holiday Bash.

Award-winning filmmaker Sebastien Paquet was on hand to capture the band during the week of rehearsals and showcases leading up to the show, and produced this brief retrospective piece in the band's own words.

Today, Guitar World presents the exclusive premiere of the new mini-doc, which you can watch above. Featuring Vivian Campbell (lead guitar, vocals) and Rob Lamothe (lead vocals, guitar) guiding the viewer through the story of the band and its 27-year history, the film is a fascinatingly unfiltered look at the group, and its creative process.

The band's most recent album was 2017's California. You can pick up a copy of that record here.

For more on Riverdogs, head on over to riverdogsmusic.com.

Gibson has introduced its newest custom model, the Vivian Campbell Les Paul Custom.

The new model for the Def Leppard/Dio guitarist features a Seventies neck profile, passive high-output humbuckers, satin chrome parts, Les Paul Custom "tuxedo" appointments and a rubbed-patina black-and-grey color scheme inspired by the coastal rock formations of Campbell's hometown in Northern Ireland.

The guitar is made up of a two-piece figured maple top, lightweight solid mahogany body with a nitrocellulose lacquer finish, 22 jumbo Dunlop 6100 frets and pearl block inlays. It comes with Kidney Grover tuning machines, Dimarzio neck and bridge pickups and a Custom Shop case.

The Vivian Campbell Les Paul Custom is available now for $5,999. You can watch Campbell demo and discuss the guitar below.

For more info, head on over to gibson.com.

On October 27, Rhino released Whitesnake: Super Deluxe Edition, a 30th anniversary reissue of Whitesnake's classic 1987 album.

This reissue is available in four different editions. One of these is a Super Deluxe, 4-CD/DVD collection including the original album with newly remastered sound, unreleased live and studio recordings, classic music videos, concert footage and a 30 minute documentary, featuring a new interview with David Coverdale. It is also available in 2-CD, 2-LP and single-disc editions.

The Super Deluxe Edition is available for $49.98, while the Deluxe, two-disc edition is available for $19.98 (2CD) and $29.98 (2LP). A single-disc edition is also available.

You can pick up a copy for yourself here.

Guitarist Vivian Campbell—of Riverdogs and Def Leppard fame—recently sat down for the "eight questions" treatment. It went a little something like this.

What influenced you to pick up a guitar?
I was a kid, probably nine or 10 years old. I saw Marc Bolan from T.Rex on Top of the Pops and I just flipped. I knew that’s what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to grow my hair, get a guitar and wear my sister’s clothes. I did two of those things, at least. It was the start of the glam-rock era.

What was the first guitar that you owned?
I had a couple of real cheap toy guitars, because I kept pestering my parents. I kept telling them I wanted a guitar for my birthday, for Christmas, whatever. At first, they didn’t believe me, but I persisted enough that we kinda moved through the toy guitar stage and eventually got some cheap acoustics.

My first actual electric guitar—maybe I was around 12 or 13—was made by a company called Arbiter. It was just some cheap knockoff thing. It was SG-shaped with one single-coil pickup, and it was quite horrible. In fact, I have no idea what it sounded like when it was plugged in, because I never had an amp. I’d be pretty confident it sounded like shit.

What was the first song you learned?
I’m entirely self-taught, so I was just trying to figure things out. I remember I was on summer holiday with my family. I’d learned a few chords at this stage, and I learned how to play “She Loves You.” Beatles songs, that one in particular, have a few pretty rapid chord changes for a kid who doesn’t really know how to play. So I remember being a little chuffed by that.

What do you recall about your first time playing live?
In my mid-teens, about once a year the school would have a function, sort of a school dance thing. I’d just find anyone, some kid who had a drum kit or half a drum kit, and we’d rehearse for about 20 minutes and then we’d go on and play in front of people. I just remember it being a horrible train wreck. In later years, when I actually met more serious musicians, I remember jamming and that feeling, just the joy of when it all comes together, when you’re actually getting something right. That was very, very magical for me.

Have you ever had an embarrassing moment onstage, or a nightmare gig?
I’ve been a professional guitar player my entire life, so I’ve had many of those. I’m happy to say in recent years they’ve been a lot less frequent. I had one show with Dio, I think it was in Oxford, in England. The very first song was “Stand Up and Shout” from the Holy Diver album. I put my foot up on the wedge monitor, and there was no support behind it. I fell right over the thing.

The machine heads got all tangled in my hair, as the guitar was goin’ ruuuhhh-aarrrr-uuuuhh-aaaa! and feeding back as I was trying to yank it out. That was probably the worst. If you do this long enough, it’s guaranteed you will fall off the edge at least once in your career.

Is there a particular moment on the new Riverdogs album, California, that makes you proud as a guitar player?
I’m totally happy with my guitar playing on this record. After all these years, I’m finally getting it down, finally finding my style. There’s a couple of songs where I really let it rip, like “Searching for a Signal”—the solo in that is just manic. “The Heart is a Mindless Bird,” there’s a coda at the end of that where it’s all guitar until the end. That was a lot of fun to do. But there’s a lot more solo stuff, too. God, any of the songs. I’m more than happy with what I played. I think it’s totally appropriate for the intent of the songs and of the band.

What is your favorite guitar or piece of gear?
Several years ago, I bought an Eventide Omnipressor. I took it on the road with me for a couple of tours, but it wouldn’t survive the truck; it was a little bit too delicate for roadwork. That’s a favorite piece of gear of mine, as far as rack gear goes. Gosh, guitars? I don’t know. I have so many Les Pauls now. Nothing that’s collectible or vintage, but I’ve got a lot of great instruments, like a ’56 Goldtop reissue that I’ve put a couple of Lindy Fralin hum-canceling P-100s in.

Do you have any advice for young players?
Yes—but I wouldn’t have listened to this when I was learning how to play guitar. Just to try and find your own style instead of trying to be someone else. When you’re starting off, you just want to play fast. It’s all about technique. I would have told my 15-, 16-year-old self to find your voice. Sometimes it’s your lack of technique that helps you find that style that’s unique to yourself. Embrace your inadequacies.

This year, to celebrate its 20th anniversary, VH1 Save The Music partnered with the Gibson Foundation to recruit 20 musicians and 20 visual artists to create 20 custom guitars that are as much art pieces as they are musical instruments.

Each Les Paul will be auctioned through Julien's Auctions in October, with all proceeds benefiting VH1 Save The Music in its mission to expand public access to music education for children in America's public schools.

Participants include Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen, Warren Haynes, Gary Clark Jr. and longtime Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell.

"As a child, I searched to communicate with those around me and to find my voice," says Campbell, who was introduced to the custom ax before his recent show in Chicago. "Music gave me that voice. I believe music is an expression of our souls and the universal language that we all speak."

The guitar, whose unique finish was actually inspired by Campbell, was created by visual artist Liz Tran.

"Inclusivity and love were key elements in the creation of the custom Gibson guitar," Tran says. "Vivian [Campbell] penned the words and I integrated them into the guitar, along with graphics and sketches of immigrants passing through Ellis Island in the early 20th century (based on photographs by Augustus Sherman)."

You can see the guitar in all its glory below.

For more information, check out the exclusive video above and head here.

We recently caught up with Vivian Campbell, who was eager to discuss Def Leppard's new self-titled album and his more recent project, Last in Line, which reunites the veteran guitarist with his fellow Dio bandmates Vinny Appice and Jimmy Bain. Their new album, Heavy Crown, is set for a February 2016 release.

You can check out the complete interview below.

GUITAR WORLD: How did Def Leppard approach recording the new album?

The first thing we did was to write, record and play live in the studio, which was something we hadn’t done since ’96 and the Slang album. The one thing I think really unifies all of the songs is the Def Leppard vocals. It makes us who we are. Although it’s stylistically a very diverse record, it also undeniably sounds like the band. That’s why we ended up calling it Def Leppard.

What’s the writing process like for Def Leppard? Does it begin with a melody, a riff, a hook?

All of the above. Sometimes, someone will come in with a completed song or someone might just have an idea and we’ll all talk about it. A lot of times on this record, we started off with a conceptual idea or an emotion, and a song was written to fulfill that notion.

What can you tell me about the track “Dangerous”?

Phil had a musical idea for that song and worked up a demo for it. It’s flashy and punky with a very immediate chorus. It’s very reminiscent of “Photograph” in a way, and it's one of the catchiest songs on the album.

How about “We Belong”?

That’s a Joe [Elliott] song and one of my favorite songs on the record. Joe had that written just as we started working on the record. He also had a concept that the song would feature all of us individually taking turns on lead vocals. We’re known for our collective, group vocals and it was nice way to showcase us as individuals. That was a first for the band.

What are Def Leppard’s touring plans for 2016?

We’re looking at next year as being a continuation of this year’s summer tour, especially January and February, because we’re touring again with Styx and Tesla. We’ll definitely be very busy in America and around the world because of this record.

What made you decide to reunite with Vinny Appice and Jimmy Bain for Last in Line?

I’ve got to give a shout out to Thin Lizzy, because it really started during my little role as a stunt guitar player with them back in 2011. To be onstage with Scott Gorham and Brian Downey and playing songs “Emerald” and “Black Rose”—I came off of that tour completely energized. That’s when I called Vinny and Jimmy.

What else can you tell me about Last In Line?

It’s the original band that wrote and recorded the first three Dio albums, Holy Diver, Last in Line and Sacred Heart. That's me on guitar, Vinny Appice on drums and Jimmy Bain on bass. Andrew Freeman, the young chap we’ve asked to sing with us, is going to surprise a lot of people. Ronnie was the best, and we didn’t want to have someone just come in and imitate him. Andrew is a very powerful and passionate singer who does justice to the early songs, yet makes them his own. We have something that’s the original Dio band but is also an entirely different thing.

How did you approach recording the band’s new album?

We went in and started writing songs in exactly the same way we had written for Holy Diver, which was Jimmy, Vinny and I going into a rehearsal room, kicking around ideas and creating a musical bed for Ronnie to come in and write melodies and lyrics to. It all happened very organically. Getting to play with Vinny and Jimmy again on those old songs as well as some new ones has given me a chance to rediscover my 16-year-old angry guitar playing! [laughs]. We knew it was going to be good, but it’s far and away surpassed our expectations.

Will Last in Line be touring next year?

Yes. Our first show is going to be on the Def Leppard Cruise in January. Then as soon as Def Leppard finishes the next run of U.S. shows, the Last in Line album drops and we’ll start doing shows the following week. So it will basically be me jumping off one tour and onto another.

What are you looking forward to most in 2016?

Playing live. It’s the reason we all started doing it. You don’t just pick up the guitar and think, “Oh, it will be great to spend the next year in the studio and make a record.” I’ve always loved the thrill you get playing in front of an audience and playing with other great musicians. It’s also exciting to have new music to promote and play. That keeps the lifeblood pumping in any band.

For more about Def Leppard, visit defleppard.com.

James Wood is a writer, musician and self-proclaimed metalhead who maintains his own website, GoJimmyGo.net. His articles and interviews are written on a variety of topics with passion and humor. You can follow him on Twitter @JimEWood.