Yngwie Malmsteen critiques 14 tracks from his guitar-playing peers in this Guitar World blindfold test from 1994 By Joe Lalaina The Swedish speed demon doesn't hold back in this classic GW test, which conjured up some surprising, and classically Yngwie, results
Wavves' Nathan Williams on why he took a stylistic left turn on diverse new album, Hideaway By Chris Schwarten From country licks to doo-wop rhythms, the LA trio have made some bold moves on their new Dave Sitek-produced record
Deryck Whibley on mental health: “Life can be really hard, but it can be great, too. We just have to work at it” By Alison Richter The Sum 41 leader teams up with fellow mental health advocate nothing,nowhere for a new take on the band's single Catching Fire, which tackles his wife Ari's suicide attempt
Nels Cline: "I had no desire to gyrate and hump my amplifier and set my guitar on fire – I wanted to take a modest path" By Jacob Uitti The guitarist's guitarist on his musical beginnings, favorite guitars, the secret to Wilco's longevity and his stunningly diverse 2020 solo album, Share the Wealth
Kathleen Hanna: “I love that really sparse guitar sound so much – that’s how I write and that’s what I want to hear” By Jacob Uitti The punk icon talks working with viral rockers The Linda Lindas, her love of “more amateur-sounding stuff” and why she started a T-shirt business to help send Togolese girls to school
BIG|BRAVE's Mathieu Ball: “Whenever we play something too musical, I feel it’s almost a cop out. We have to get rid of any traditional guitar playing!” By Gregory Adams Ball talks open tunings, eschewing leads and using a hand-built guitar on Vital, the Montreal trio's biggest and bravest drone-metal offering yet
William DuVall: "That conception of basic musical competence as punk… I wasn’t one of those people. I was on a quest for the truth and jamming to everything" By Amit Sharma The Alice in Chains vocalist looks back on his early guitar years as he revisits cult hardcore outfit Neon Christ for a deluxe reissue of their 1984 recordings
Cleopatrick's Luke Gruntz: “We want to try and give kids something enticing to belong to in guitar music” By Matt Parker The hard-riffing six-stringer talks mosh pit meltdowns, his “fighter jet” pedalboard and why he loves “stupid” guitar parts
Andrew Watt: “I’m making music with no deadlines – It’s a lot freer. Because of that, cooler choices are being taken” By Gregory Adams A year-plus after his debut GW cover appearance, we find out how the Grammy-winning producer/guitarist goes from working with Ozzy Osbourne to Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber – and back again
Dino Cazares: “I built up my picking hand speed by hanging weights off my wrist” By Greg Prato The Fear Factory guitarist on his machine gun-like technique, compliments from Dimebag Darrell and making the band's long-awaited new album, Aggression Continuum
Michelle Zauner: “Music is a vehicle for expressing myself verbally. Pretty much the moment that I learned my first few chords, I was writing songs” By Jacob Uitti The Japanese Breakfast mastermind talks tackling grief with her new memoir, why she used to be intimidated by the Jazzmaster and new LP, Jubilee
Joe Trohman: “Mental illness isn't a problem. The problem is the shame, the lack of information and the lack of teaching” By Alison Richter The Fall Out Boy guitarist details his mental health journey and how he injects humor into dark discussions with his I Hate Myself podcast
Juliana Hatfield: “There’s some biting stuff on this album – the Fender Mini Twin is cute, but it makes really great fuzz sounds” By Gregory Adams The veteran singer-songwriter details the unconventional recording techniques behind her 19th solo album, Blood
Mdou Moctar: “I really like the Stratocaster sound. Whatever tone I need, I can have it in that guitar” By Jonathan Horsley Strat in hand, the Nigerien phenom is taking Tuareg guitar music global and putting an electric twist on traditional arrangements
Butcher Babies' Henry Flury: “I run all over the stage, so the last thing I want to do is dance on a pedalboard. I let my hands do the talking!” By Alison Richter The Ibanez endorsee on his love of eight-strings, adopting Meshuggah's tuning, and how the pandemic changed his mindset as a songwriter
BRIDEAR: “The charm of this album is that it's not just heavy – it pushed us to play more melodic solos” By Gregory Adams Rising Japanese power-metallers Misaki and Ayumi on writing in perfect guitarmony and the blitz of shred that forms new album, Bloody Bride
Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal: “Every time I do an acoustic version of something, I realize how beautiful the song is at its core” By Amit Sharma The Sons Of Apollo guitar wizard on recording his two new stripped-down and heartfelt acoustic EPs
Glass Animals: “You shouldn't limit yourself. To get new sounds out of the guitar you have to push it” By Bruce Fagerstrom The UK psych-pop outfit explore the guitars, amps, basses and effects behind hugely successful latest album, Dreamland
Ilan Rubin: “Whatever I’m playing, whether it’s chords or a riff, I instinctively envision what the beat under it will be” By Amit Sharma The New Regime multi-instrumentalist and youngest living member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on recording latest album Heart Mind Body & Soul, why he's a fuzz maniac, and what it takes to play with Nine Inch Nails and Angels & Airwaves
K.Flay on her prized gear, music as liberation and how Tom Morello ended up on new EP, Inside Voices By Jacob Uitti The rap-rock singer-songwriter shares her 'less is more' philosophy as she details her six-string journey so far
