This week's essential guitar tracks: Fresh eyebrow-singing solos from Judas Priest, and a former coma patient delivers jaw-dropping Dimebag-meets-EVH shred

Richie Faulkner and Andy Sneap of Judas Priest perform onstage during the Power Trip music festival at Empire Polo Club on October 07, 2023 in Indio, California.
(Image credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Power Trip)

Hello, and welcome to Essential Guitar Tracks. As you may well know, every seven days (or thereabouts), we endeavor to bring you a selection of songs from across the guitar universe, all with one thing in common: our favorite instrument plays a starring role.

Our goal is to give you an overview of the biggest tracks, our editor’s picks and anything you may have missed. We’re pushing horizons and taking you out of your comfort zone – because, as guitarists, that’s something we should all be striving for in our playing. 

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Matt Owen
Senior Staff Writer, GuitarWorld.com

Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.

With contributions from