Metallica style

TODAY I'D LIKE to talk about downpicking — picking or strumming consecutive downstrokes — and why it can be so musically effective. This is something I learned from studying the riff-writing style of

So says Kirk Hammett, guitarist with, er, Metallica. What does he do instead? Well, there’s a new book about guitars on the shelves and a solo album on the horizon

The month’s best guitar music – a hand-picked selection of the finest fretwork on wax

ONE OF MY biggest musical influences is the king of blues power, Albert King. There are so many things that define his unique approach to playing, and I think about these things every time I pick up m

OVER THE LAST two columns, I’ve demonstrated a handful of what I consider to be essential “blues approved” licks that work well both as embellishments to rhythm parts or as phrases within a solo. Our

Featuring smashed guitars, mental breakdowns, and the appearance of David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails’ Self Destruct touring cycle has passed into legend. Photographer Jonathan Rach was there to capture the carnage