Deep Purple get colourful on the cover of Australian Guitar issue #138, out now

Well, it’s official: the end of the world is nigh. 2012 ain’t got jack on this absolute clusterfudge of a year, what with a global health crisis, riots over human rights, recessions on recessions, and… Giant murder hornets? 2020 is the year Black Mirror and The Onion collide in real life to create the inescapable nightmare not even Hollywood’s best horror moguls could make up. At least when we’re all pent up inside our homes and going outside is either illegal or too dangerous to consider, we still have music to keep our spirits up.

That’s basically the gist of Australian Guitar #138: celebrating the guitar, and all the life-affirming art people can make with it, in the midst of what seems like total chaos. Leading the show is an exclusive deep-dive into the career-defining 21st album from heavy rock pioneers Deep Purple (who of course have lived through their fair share of global catastrophes, jamming their hearts out since the ‘60s), a look at Gibson’s new collection of signature Slash guitars (featuring an interview with the sultan of solo guitar himself), and our take on the new age of guitar lords using YouTube to get their name out there.

This is no regular edition of Australian Guitar, though – with more reading time on everyone’s hands than ever before, we’ve decided to cut down on the ads in this issue, packing every page we could with as much incredible content as possible. So in addition to our regular heap of exclusive interviews, columns and gear reviews, you’ll find in-depth lessons for two iconic tunes (one by Metallica and the other by David Bowie), an extended Producer Profile and Recording Tips section, a rundown of all the best distortion pedals on the market, tips to shred like Angus Young and a guide to making the most of your online gear-hunting endeavours, plus a special feature to celebrate Pride Month in June. 

Exclusive interviews in this issue:

• All Time Low
• Birds Of Tokyo
• Brian Fallon
• Caligula's Horse
• Code Orange
• Grey Daze
• In This Moment
• Jason Isbell
• The Naked And Famous
• Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever
• RVG
• Sleepmakeswaves
• Trivium
• The Used

All the hottest gear reviews:

• Acoustica Mixcraft 9 Pro Studio
• Ernie Ball Music Man Cutlass Jason Richardson HH 7-String
• Fender Lead III
• Fender '62 Princeton Chris Stapleton Edition
• Gibson Cheryl Crow Country Western Supreme
• Audient EVO 4 Portable Audio Interface
• Pigtronix Resotron Tracking Filter
• Yamaha THR30II Wireless Combo
• Marshall Origin 50H Amp Head
• Mooer GE-150 Amp Modeller / Multi-Effects Unit

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