Simon McBride announced as Deep Purple's new permanent guitarist By Jackson Maxwell published 19 September 22 "Simon’s playing is up there with the greats," the classic rock titans said in a statement welcoming him permanently into the fold
Push your skills to the limit with 5 Steve Morse licks By Charlie Griffiths published 2 September 22 Alternate picking, string skipping through the arpeggios... This dip into the former Deep Purple guitarist's playing is bootcamp for your shred chops
The 30 greatest rock guitar albums of 1972 By Greg Prato published 24 August 22 In '72, Alice Cooper and Bowie grew ever more theatrical while the riffs of Iommi, Blackmore and co got bigger. 50 years on, we celebrate the best from a banner year for rock
The greatest guitar albums of the ‘70s: Getting the Led out with Sabbath, the Who, Pink Floyd and more By Jenna Scaramanga published 19 August 22 Punk was a revolution, disco a global phenomenon, but the guitar music of the '70s was dominated by the giants of rock. Here are the decade's top 10 guitar albums, as chosen by you...
Steve Morse announces his departure from Deep Purple after 28 years with the band By Jonathan Horsley published 23 July 22 The band pay a warm tribute to Morse as the guitarist leaves to look after his wife, who is battling cancer
Manny Charlton, Nazareth guitarist and co-founder, dies at 80 By Jackson Maxwell published 7 July 22 Known for his brawny, no-nonsense riffing, Charlton also helmed the demos for Guns N' Roses' Appetite for Destruction
Legendary producer Ken Scott says Steve Morse is the best guitarist he has ever worked with By Jonathan Horsley published 27 June 22 Scott has worked with Jeff Beck, the Beatles, Mick Ronson, Pink Floyd and more, but he reveals why Deep Purple and Dixie Dregs guitarist is the greatest of them all
Watch Deep Purple perform with stand-in guitarist Simon McBride for the first time By Matt Owen published 24 May 22 The Irish blues-rocker is temporarily filling in for Steve Morse, who has put his Deep Purple duties on pause to take care of his ill wife
Simon McBride on joining Deep Purple: “Steve Morse is an amazing guitarist, so I know I’ve got big boots to fill…” By Amit Sharma published 20 April 22 The Northern Irish blues-rocker talks taking on one of rock's biggest gigs, shaking up his tones on new album The Fighter, and the one thing every guitarist needs to consider when writing guitar solos
Ritchie Blackmore: "It's much easier to flow across the strings on a Gibson. Fenders have more tension, so you have to fight them a little bit" By Mordechai Kleidermacher published 14 April 22 In this classic 1991 GW interview, the Deep Purple guitar hero chats about his whammy bar violence, his switch from Gibsons to Strats, and why he thinks Smoke on the Water has endured as a rock classic
Steve Morse announces temporary hiatus from Deep Purple due to personal reasons By Matt Owen published 31 March 22 Blues-rock ace Simon McBride has been brought in to replace Morse, who is taking time out to support his ill wife
Watch fan footage of Yngwie Malmsteen's career-spanning setlist at recent Pennsylvania show By Sam Roche published 25 November 21 The shred legend blazed through Parabellum cuts including Wolves at the Door and Relentless Fury, older hits like Rising Force and Black Star, and Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water during his Nov 23 show at the Midtown Arts Center in Harrisburg
Deep Purple announce new covers album, Turning To Crime, premiere hard-rocking version of Love's 7 and 7 Is By Jackson Maxwell published 6 October 21 Set for a November 26 release, the album features Purple's interpretations of songs from an eclectic array of artists – including Bob Seger, Cream, Little Feat and Fleetwood Mac
Petition launched for Ritchie Blackmore’s hometown to honor the guitarist with historic blue plaque By Matt Parker published 24 August 21 The petition seeks to pay homage to the Deep Purple and Rainbow guitar hero in his native Weston-super-Mare
Yngwie Malmsteen missed out on a spot with Kiss because he gave his height as a metric measurement By Matt Owen published 10 August 21 The Swedish speed demon reveals he was also offered gigs with UFO, David Lee Roth and Ozzy Osbourne, and addresses murmurs that he came close to joining Deep Purple
How to play blues like Ritchie Blackmore By Richard Barrett published 6 August 21 This solo workout goes deep into Deep Purple MkII-era Blackmore and unpacks his electric blues style in detail
Watch Ichika Nito transform Smoke on the Water into a virtuosic math-rock riff By Matt Owen published 21 July 21 The Japanese virtuoso gave the humble four-note riff the Ichika treatment, turning it into a monstrous fretboard masterclass
Catalinbread unleashes Ritchie Blackmore-inspired double-pedal boxset By Matt Owen published 24 June 21 These trippy-looking offerings aim to sound as good as they look by way of period-accurate appointments and like-for-like preamp and treble booster circuitry
Ernie Ball Music Man updates Steve Morse Signature series with two new models for 2021 By Matt Owen published 24 February 21 The new-and-improved guitars sport striking finishes, DiMarzio pickups and a series of complex tonal controls
Glenn Hughes: “People talk about my vocals, but I’ve never, ever felt this good about playing bass“ By Joel McIver published 2 February 21 The ‘Voice Of Rock’ and Deep Purple icon speaks candidly about his bass playing over the decades, why he should have never left Trapeze, and how the Dead Daisies reignited his four-string fire