Still of the Night

From the album Whitesnake (self-titled) by Whitesnake, 1987

This is the venerable John Sykes on guitar, who can make that Les Paul scream like jetliner. Not to mention this song also features some of the coolest use of a cello in rock and roll history. His fantastic work is all over this album, and the album before it titled Slide It In. You can also hear his incredible guitar work on several solo albums, and his work with Blue Murder and Thin Lizzy.

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Rock You Like A Hurricane

From the album Love At First Sting, by the Scorpions, 1984

All the Scorpions albums feature some blazing guitar work, but I love the production and tonal quality of this particular solo. And Rock You Like A Hurricane is simply a well-crafted, timeless song. Rudolf Schenker plays the solo on this one, backed up by the equally brilliant Matthias Jabs. Of course, the Scorpions catalog is huge, and you can find great guitar solos on all their albums. For further listening, check out the album Blackout, which has Matthia and Rudolf trading shreds. In my opinion, these early 80’s albums were their finest.

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Shadows In The Light

From the album Darkness In the Light by Unearth, 2011

Brutal, intense music, Unearth delivers the finest of American metal core music. Hailing from Massachussetts, this is the Unearth’s fifth album release, and showcases incendiary guitar work from Buz McGrath. I was fortunate to see Unearth open for Soilwork in 2018, and the sonic fury is even more intense in their live performances. To me, this solo encapsulates the blistering sound of Unearth in balance with accomplished, talented musicianship.

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Shining Lights

From the album The Ride Majestic by Soilwork, 2015

One of my all-time favorite bands, Soilwork encompasses all that is wonderful about the Swedish heavy metal genre: powerful melodic vocals, thundering drums and grooves, and incredibly talented musicians. Bands like Soilwork and In Flames are not shy about utilizing keys and synths to deepen their sounds. There are SO MANY guitar solos that I could have chosen from Soilwork’s 13 studio albums, but I’m going to go with Shining Lights. This snippet encapsulates the intense, melodic songwriting of Soilwork with incredibly nimble, virtuosic solos by guitarists Sylvain Coudret and David Andersson.

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Maggot Brain

From the album Maggot Brain, by Funkadelic, 1971

Better known as George Clinton’s ever-rotating funkalicious band Parliament, this is early soul music from the group, before Bootsy Collins added the slap bass. Early in 1971, legend has it that guitarist Eddie Hazel was dropping acid, and was asked what if would feel like to hear that his mother had died, and then be told later that she was alive. This guitar solo is Eddies telling of the tale. Hazel was another musician who died young, addicted to drugs and homeless. He was found dead of liver failure in 1992 at the age of 42. This is one band that I’m kicking myself I didn’t see live when I had the opportunity…

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The 7th Day of July 1777

From the album Abigail, by King Diamond, 1987

Another underappreciated guitar god, this is Andy LaRocque, a Swedish musician known for incorporating neo-classical elements into his guitar style, and playing in very exotic scales. Michael Denner is playing rhythm guitar. King Diamond, of course, is an acquired taste. Here’s a guy in frightening facial makeup with a top hat and cane, growling, screaming and wailing across four octaves, while rock drummer God Mikkey Dee slams the rhythm. I love it, but my friends have quietly backed away when I’ve blasted it on the stereo.

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Emotion No. 13

From the Album Lights, Camera…Revolution by Suicidal Tendencies, 1990

Awesome guitar solo by the underrated and underappreciated Rocky George. Last I heard, Rocky was playing guitar with Fishbone. Mike Clark plays the rhythm guitar, and that’s Robert Trujillo, bassist extraordinaire better known from his work with Ozzy Osbourne and Metallica. I think Suicidal Tendencies got a bad rep for being percceived as a band of violence, but I think they simply tapped into the emotions of a community bursting at the seams to express musically. They successfully fused elements of punk and metal together in wildly aggressive, heavy ways, and later added the grooviest, heavy funk when members of the band morphed into Infectious Grooves.

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Who’s Crying Now

Fron the album Escape, by Journey, 1981

This is an album of my childhood, and this solo still gets me every time. Here’s guitarist Neil Schon, doing what he does best: soulful, soaring melodies. Journey needs no introduction, one of the most successful bands of all time, and currently enjoying a resurgence of popularity with a new generation of fans, and a new singer. Props to a great rock band who has kept it together (in various incarnations), since the early 1970s.

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Cemetary Gates

From the album Cowboys from Hell, by Pantera, 1990

Hear the late, great “Dimebag” Darrell (Darrell Lance Abbott) as he blazes through this solo, crunching, diving, wailing, all while still holding on to an emotional, heartfelt delivery. This is a solo for the ages, and just a sliver of what this incredible guitarist could do. Tragically, he was murdered onstage in 2004, at the young age of 38. Hear his work on the Pantera albums, and his last band, Damageplan.

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When All Is Lost

From the album Iconoclast, by Symphony X, 2011

Just close your eyes, and let guitarist Michael Romeo take you on a beautiful journey, traveling across a broad sonic landscape of guitar styles, rhythm, and dynamics. All of the musicians in this band are really top-notch, and they have many albums worth a full listen. I’m not a huge fan of so-called “progressive metal,” but this band from New Jersey really holds their own with solid songwriting, a great lead vocalist in Russell Allen, and really cool album art!

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Sister Blue

From the album Mind Funk (self-titled) by Mind Funk, 1991

I think this is one of the most underappreciated bands of the early nineties. This particular album has some incredibly rocking tunes. I’m highlight Sister Blue here, featuring guitarists Louis Svitek and Jason Coppola. Svitek would go on to play with Ministry.

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