Plus! The truth about gear acquisition syndrome, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Mercyful Fate, Arch Enemy, the Kinks and more
(Image credit: Getty Images / Future)
Unbelievably, the guitar received its first jolt of electricity more than 130 years ago – and it’s been humming along ever since.
With that in mind, I invited former Guitar World editor-in-chief Brad Tolinski – who’s also the co-author of Play It Loud: An Epic History of the Style, Sound, and Revolution of the Electric Guitar – to write this issue’s epic cover story, “The Electric Guitar’s 50 Greatest Moments.” And he did – as only he can!
Join us as we namecheck an assortment of beloved weirdos – from George Breed to Lee de Forest to George Barnes to Edward W. Kellogg to George Beauchamp – and a bunch of people you’ve actually heard of!
This jam-packed issue also features:
>>>G.A.S.: Fact or Fiction? Is Gear Acquisition Syndrome a real affliction or a fictitious ailment coined to justify the urge to splurge? GW checks in with experts and self-proclaimed gear addicts to find out if G.A.S. exists or is simply a figment of our imagination.
>>>King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard: We take you inside the strange world of the most eclectic and prolific rock band in our corner of the universe
>>>Mercyful Fate: The G.O.A.T.s of occult metal take stock of 40 years of hellish riffery, their Strat-fueled sound and why there’s no better time than the present for us to come to the sabbath
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>>>Arch Enemy: “They said I ruined the band!” Michael Amott looks back on his days with Carcass and recounts the creation of Arch Enemy’s explosive new album, Deceivers.
>>>Editors’ Choice: Eight of our favorite pedalboards!
We have interviews with Dave Davies of the Kinks, Jim Babjak of the Smithereens, Blake Ibanez of Power Trip and Fugitive, Andrea Benz, Katatonia, Doll Spirit Vessel, Opeth’s Fredrik Åkesson (who shows off his pedalboard), Marcos Mena, Randy Jacobs of the Boneshakers and more, plus a guide to 10 young guitar slingers who are making the Les Paul cool again, the Introducing and Playlist columns and the photo/quote/flashback of the month.
Meanwhile, Joe Bonamassa does a deep dive into Pee Wee Crayton’s Wine-o, Andy Aledort shows you how to get the most out of oblique bends, and Josh Smith and Andy Timmons show you how to play some pretty cool tunes.
This month’s transcriptions are The Dying Song (Time to Sing) from Slipknot’s 2022 album, plus Not Alone by Lari Basilio and Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum.
We have reviews of the Jackson American Series Soloist SL3, Steel Panther’s interesting new 1987 Pedal, the D’Angelico Deluxe Brighton LE Sage and Strymon’s V2 BlueSky Reverberator and V2 El Capistan dTape Echo pedals.
In Power Tools, Chris Gill explores the history and lore of the legendary 1984-85 Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ amp.
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
