Favorite Current Iron Maiden Lead Guitarist

Who is your favourite current Iron Maiden lead guitarist?

  • Dave Murray

    Votes: 51 39.5%
  • Adrian Smith

    Votes: 63 48.8%
  • Janick Gers

    Votes: 15 11.6%

  • Total voters
    129
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SinisterMinisterX

Illuminatus
Staff member
Another obvious poll that's worth starting. But before you start posting, a warning...

This thread is NOT about bashing or insulting any of the guitarists listed. If you want to proclaim, for example, that "Janick suxx0rs", take it elsewhere.

We all know that all three of the fellows listed above are talented. Yet at times throughout my life, I have distinctly preferred the solos of one particular guitarist. When I was a teenager (in the 80s) I preferred Adrian's solos. However, for the past several years, I have found myself really enjoying Dave's solos in particular. Therefore Dave gets my vote.

You may be wondering why I prefer Dave's solos. (Or you might not, but I'm going to tell you anyway, and then it will be stuck in your brain for all time, mwahahaha!) To my ear, Dave's style has a fluidity which Adrian and Janick lack. For those of you who know musical terminology, Dave has the smoothest legato playing of the three. His solos seems to spring effortlessly from somewhere deep inside of him, a trait that few guitarists have. He makes soloing look effortless, like the guitar is another part of his body rather than an external instrument.
 
I'm forced to agree with SMX on all counts - and to add in that Davey has the best "solo face" of the three.
 
Although Adrian's solos are more perfected than the others, I have to say that I prefer Dave's. Davey's guitar sound is in general smoother and fuller, which is why I appreciate it more (as I'm not a guitarist, I'll avoid the technical details, though). It's simply a matter of taste, I suppose. [!--emo&:)--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/smile.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'smile.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
 
Probably Dave. Adrian is brilliant as well but Dave provides a spark of energy few guitarists can.
 
They are all 3 great players, but Adrian has got that special feel when he bend strings, see the flight of icarus video and watch his solo... that's what i mean!!
 
H is my favourite, i like his solos because they're very melodic and not always very speedy. But this is a very hard poll. Janick is of course my favourite when it comes to showmanship! [!--emo&:D--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/biggrin.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'biggrin.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
 
[!--QuoteBegin-SinisterMinisterX+Jan 10 2005, 06:48 PM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(SinisterMinisterX @ Jan 10 2005, 06:48 PM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--]When I was a teenager (in the 80s) I preferred Adrian's solos. However, for the past several years, I have found myself really enjoying Dave's solos in particular. Therefore Dave gets my vote.
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...Said the man who started all of this "worship the mullet" and "H is god" stuff. [!--emo&:P--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/tongue.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'tongue.gif\' /][!--endemo--]

But I will agree with you for the maost part. Dave is the (dare I say it?) best of the three (well, I did).
 
[!--QuoteBegin-StrangerInAStrangeLand+Jan 11 2005, 10:49 PM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(StrangerInAStrangeLand @ Jan 11 2005, 10:49 PM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--]...Said the man who started all of this "worship the mullet" and "H is god" stuff. [!--emo&:P--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/tongue.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'tongue.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
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Damn. I was afraid someone would notice that. [!--emo&:D--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/biggrin.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'biggrin.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
 
[!--QuoteBegin-LooseCannon+Jan 11 2005, 01:36 AM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(LooseCannon @ Jan 11 2005, 01:36 AM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--]Davey has the best "solo face" of the three.
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[!--emo&:D--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/biggrin.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'biggrin.gif\' /][!--endemo--] [!--emo&:D--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/biggrin.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'biggrin.gif\' /][!--endemo--] [!--emo&:D--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/biggrin.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'biggrin.gif\' /][!--endemo--]

I voted Davey!
 
Dave gets my vote too. But only on the purely skill part. He has to be the most boring member of the band to look at during a concert.

For best live guitarist I'd vote for Janick
 
The poll is about the favorite LEAD guitarist.

My favorite guitarist is Dave Murray, whithout any doubt. I've learnt guitar listening him, I like his attitude, his simplicity, his haircut [!--emo&:P--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/tongue.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'tongue.gif\' /][!--endemo--]

But about the lead playing, I like all of them : I think they all have their own style which is a part of the Maiden sound. Each one has some great solos

So I vote for "I can't choose".
 
Someone vote Janick!! He is probably sitting at his pc screen crying over this poll bless him [!--emo&:P--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/tongue.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'tongue.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
 
I voted 'They're all great' for the simple reason that they are. Each one is great in his individual area. Case closed!
 
To me, H is the best cos not only is he a brilliantly inspired axe player even if he's sometimes a bit of a "slowhand" as Eric Clapton fans would say. but who needs virtuoso like Yngwe Malmsteen playinh 10 000 notes a minute without any feeling... Every note H plays oozes grace, BUT he can also sing pretty well AND write some great songs which the two other ones can't (OK Davey tried harder these last years but apart from Still Life, Deja Vu & possibly Rainmaker what main contribution to the band did he come up with?)
Plus H was always the one with the good looks and the pretty face (well, forget 'bout this bloody mullet just 5 minutes please) & NO: I'm not in love! But if you just put them all 3 in line on or off stage, really, there's no discussing about who's got the presence and the best guitar licks: H simply stands above the rest.
 
[!--QuoteBegin--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--]OK Davey tried harder these last years but apart from Still Life, Deja Vu & possibly Rainmaker what main contribution to the band did he come up with?[/quote]

'Kin great solos! You can't discount Davey! [!--emo&:o--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/ohmy.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'ohmy.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
 
Adrian... been listening to IM for years, and his solos always stick with me for some reason or another... while it's true that his technique isn't as refined as Dave's, his overall feel and emotion ring thru in his work... Dave's awesome as well, and I've yet to really sit and analyze Janick's work... but since y'all made a dude choose... well... [!--emo&:rolleyes:--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/rolleyes.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'rolleyes.gif\' /][!--endemo--]...
 
Voted for the "cant choose" thingy over there. This is because theyre all great (what a shock), and the favourite one changes nearly every day. This way I dont have to think how stupid I was when I voted one of the three. [!--emo&:lol:--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/lol[1].gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'lol[1].gif\' /][!--endemo--]
 
It's a close call, but I have to say Adrian. In my ears, his solos are the most diverse, and also the ones that tend to catch me the most. His style of guitar playing, as in Stranger In A Strange Land, The Nomad, Paschendale or the electric version of Journeyman (just a few examples) is just the way I like it best.
Davey is a very close second (in fact, I'd consider both among the 5 best active guitarists), and Jan is a still close third.
Just a question, where is Dennis Stratton? I know it wouldn't be a fair contest for him, but he did have some great moments on the first album.
 
[!--QuoteBegin-Perun+Feb 2 2005, 03:48 AM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Perun @ Feb 2 2005, 03:48 AM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--]Just a question, where is Dennis Stratton? I know it wouldn't be a fair contest for him, but he did have some great moments on the first album.
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That's exactly why I didn't bother including him when I created this poll. He would almost certainly never get any votes. I agree he did some good work (I particularly like his solo on Phantom), but if Janick can't get any votes, Dennis has no chance.
 
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