BEST BAND EVER: Results!

CriedWhenBrucieLeft said:
Buckethead, while doing stadium-rock-soloing-cheese fairly well, has a deep undercurrent (in much of his work) of heartwrenching pathos; an emotional depth that I genuinely don't hear in a quite a lot of other instrumental guitar music e.g. Friedman, Vai, Satch, Malmsteen, Gilbert, Lane, etc etc. Deeply resonates with me anyway. And I know it's hard to imagine for those of you who've just seen videos of Buckethead playing Jordan & shredding etc; but seriously, Buckethead has written some beautiful, haunting music that deserves a wider audience. There's also a rawness & unpolished feel to much of his music which I find refreshing (sometimes) in comparison to most production-heavy Metal/Rock music.
Click to expand...
Damn, I wish I could sig the whole lot of this. Such an excellent and fitting description! :notworthy::notworthy:
 
Last edited:
I'm not as much shocked as disappointed that Chuck Schuldiner getting beaten by half a guitarist.
 
Extreme metal is always going to have an uphill battle in this type of games here.

I can't help but feel like K.K. Downing is held in high esteem mainly by association. He's nowhere near as good of a guitarist as Glenn Tipton, but they're considered a package deal by many.
 
Which is why I'd rather have Chuck in the band. Yeah, he was the leader of a death metal band, but take that away and give him any other genre of metal and he'd still be fine in it. His inspirations and passions were many, whereas I'd hate to see KK tackle anything other than slim metallic stuff, and fear seeing it happen with him alone.
 
Look, Downing has done some controversial outings in recent times, but calling him half a guitarist is nonsense. Because Priest happened to have two guys, individuals should not be undervalued.

Priest was not great because of one singer or because of one major guitarist (and singer). No, Priest has been renowned for its two guitar approach in metal. They were not only the first, they were also some of the best. Downing was part of that.

I am fond of his songwriting contributions. Let's not think he has always played the minor role; before Priest came up with their never changing credit of Tipton/Halford/Downing(and later Faulkner of course) back in 1980, Downing had major input in some songs, here are a few:
Victim of Changes (Downing/Halford/Tipton/Atkins)
Dreamer Deceiver (Downing/Halford/Tipton/Atkins)
Deceiver (Downing/Halford/Tipton)
Run of the Mill (Downing/Halford/Tipton)
Never Satisfied (Downing/Atkins)
Burnin' Up (Downing/Tipton)
Before the Dawn (Downing/Tipton/Halford)

I doubt if Downing had always lesser input in all 1980-2005 songs. It looks more like Priest just never changed their songwriting credits because it's hard to imagine that Downing never had a great(er) idea, was never allowed to have the most input. OK, overall, he does not stand up vs Tipton's contributions, but that goes for many others in this game.

I like his rhythm guitar playing as well. E.g. that solo segment section (with the long Tipton solo) in Painkiller would never have ruled so much without that awesome rhythm guitar, panned on the left side.

Solo wise, people love his sharp, aggressive, bending solos countering Tipton's style.

Take this screaming, piercing, howling solo, perfectly fitting to the song's nature:
Solo in One Shot at Glory
His iconic Sinner solo (Unleashed in the East version)
and Victim of Changes (Unleashed in the East version)
Running Wild wouldn't be the same as well. (KK left channel)

Downing gave Priest its venomous, "vicious/evil" sound. It contributed to the darkness and atmosphere of the music.

But he also managed to take some beautiful melodic directions.

Take these for example:
solo in Between the Hammer and the Anvil
solo in Jawbreaker
1st solo in Rock Hard Ride Free
solo in Before the Dawn

Monumental milestones in the history of metal.

And of course the back to back solos in many songs (Green Manalishi (excellent KK here), The Sentinel, Hard as Iron (great start by KK again!), Ram it Down, etc.
 
Last edited:
The problem for me is that I take the guitarwork as a whole in forming my decision. Priest is a good band, but they have two guitarists that do their stuff and I'm not interested in actually figuring out who's doing what. I just like to take the music as a whole. Same with Maiden. I'd probably vote against Dave, Adrian, and Janick if they come up, mainly because they work better as a trio than by themselves. Not to say they aren't good on their own, but they're much better together.

Dave Mustaine and Chuck Schuldiner were usually a part of a two-guitarist band, but it's easier to see what they did compared to their partners because they stand out. And they're great solo as well - Chuck did everything except the drums on Scream Bloody Gore.

In my hypothetical band, I want a guitarist who can do everything and share the stage. If it's really going to be a duo at the end of this, then I'd much rather see Chuck Schuldiner paired up with, I dunno, Buckethead or whoever you want than KK Downing or Glenn Tipton paired with anyone else.
 
Schuldiner had cool riffs and that’s pretty much it. Downing wouldn’t be my first, nor my fifth choice in a hypothetical band but I don’t see why I would pick Chuck if I were to make anything other than progressive death metal.
 
Night Prowler said:
I'm quite shocked that Brian May is beating Slash. People really seem to hate Guns 'N' Roses here :facepalm:
Click to expand...
My preference has nothing to do with hating GNR. They're actually pretty close for me and that pairing was easily the toughest. I recognize both guitarists' greatness but I am not crazy about either. I went with Brian May because he is far more inventive and creative. Slash is a great guitarist and in some ways underrated, not so much by the mainstream but by nerdy music forums and guitar enthusiasts. He shows a surprising amount of versatility in his work outside GNR. He has several iconic moments in GNR and the Sweet Child riff will forever be a teen-age rock band staple. That being said, there isn't really anything unique or new about his playing. He's definitely perfected that blues/hard rock style, but I have to give it to Brian May for pure innovation. Either are worthy of continuing though.
 
Agree with Mosh. May is more of an innovator. Slash certainly has an iconic tone, and has several legendary rock radio moments, but he never really brought anything new to the table...which I would consider a requisite for being a "top" guitarist.
 
It’s a real shame the two most iconic guitarists above are matched against each other.

The first match is a couple of extraordinary talents who no one ever heard of.
The third supplied unique tone to iconic bands.
The fourth only matter in metal.

But Van Halen and Knopfler tick all the boxes: skill, feel, songwriting, commercial success, originality and a style that is uniquely theirs. They defined their bands.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top