Latest articles by Richard Bienstock
“I loved Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads. Then something happened where it was like you had to be in the guitar Olympics”: Billie Joe Armstrong explains why he rekindled his relationship with the guitar solo on Green Day’s newest album
Saviors might be the band’s most solo-heavy record to date – a result of Armstrong re-embracing lead playing and, as he tells Guitar World, putting “a spotlight on a little bit more of what I’m capable of”
“When 18 and Life played back and I heard Scotti play the first three notes in the solo, I got chills. I called Jon Bon Jovi and said, 'Do you ever get chills listening to your own music?'”: Snake Sabo and Scotti Hill on Skid Row's massive debut album
Skid Row's two-guitar tandem discuss building their own pedals, in-the-works Kramers, and what they learned from each other while recording their star-making, self-titled 1989 debut
Neil Young showcases his savage overdriven tones and channels Hendrix in the most menacing solo rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner you’ve ever heard
Wielding his legendary 1953 Gibson Les Paul, Old Black, Young put his own spin on the US national anthem, nodding to a certain Woodstock performance along the way
“It felt like I had been training my whole life for that gig”: How Nuno Bettencourt ended up playing with Rihanna
Rihanna x Nuno is one of the great pop/rock collaborations of our time, and it pushed the Extreme guitarist to his limits. Here’s how it all went down – and why the duo never did perform More Than Words…
“He’s the funkiest dude in the shredder family tree”: The world’s greatest guitarists explain why Nuno Bettencourt isn’t your typical guitar hero
Brian May, Zakk Wylde, Steve Vai and Tom Morello join an all-star cast to explain what makes the Extreme virtuoso one of the guitar world’s most valuable players
Tom Morello says his favorite Nuno Bettencourt solo is one you haven’t heard – and it’s “his version of Eruption”
The Rage Against the Machine guitarist says he followed Extreme religiously on the Boston circuit before they were signed: “I was blown away by this 16-, 17-year-old guitar phenomenon”
Nuno Bettencourt recalls two-hand tapping in front of Eddie Van Halen: “He stops me and goes, ‘Hey, none of that silly stuff!’”
The Extreme virtuoso tells Guitar World about his first-ever meeting with EVH
Kim Thayil picks Soundgarden’s landmark guitar moments
In honor of the grunge icons’ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nomination, their lead guitarist picks the standout songs on which he and Chris Cornell made their case for Seattle’s most daring guitar exports
The greatest rock concerts in music history
From Metallica's Damaged Justice to Ozzy Osbourne's Diary of a Madman tour, Guitar World presents the most incredible concerts and roadshows in rock and metal history
The 25 greatest Pantera songs of all time
With Dimebag Darrell's no-holds-barred playing at the fore, these are the best tracks from the metal institution's catalog
![[L-R] Tim Commerford and Jonny Polonsky](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Qp6KwQp7utSnfC5jHaNaAA-840-80.jpg.webp)
Tim Commerford and Jonny Polonsky on the unlikely origins and promising future of their eclectic new trio project, 7D7D
The Rage Against the Machine bassist on why playing with Polonsky is like “jamming with Hendrix”, and his failed experiments with short-scale basses in RATM
The 20 heaviest songs before Black Sabbath
Behold, gentle reader, a sizzlin’ slew of down and dirty tracks that helped forge heavy metal
Gibson and Sweetwater partner with Amped Guitar for free three-month membership to Augmented Reality learning platform
Amped offers two-way online learning experience via AR app
Kiko Loureiro shares Megadeth audition tape for Holy Wars and Trust - one day after learning to play the songs
“I don’t think I would able to do this again five years later,” he says
Misha Mansoor records major-key version of Stairway to Heaven, dubs it Escalator to Hell
The Periphery guitarist offers his own take on the Led Zeppelin classic during self-quarantine
Kiko Loureiro posts his original Megadeth audition tape playing Hangar 18 - after learning the song the day before
Dave Mustaine's response? “There’s a lot of wrong notes!”
Solar Guitars introduces two new Type S models in eye-popping colors
Poplar purple burst and flame trans blue matte finishes headline a host of impressive features
Ernie Ball is now manufacturing face masks to help fight coronavirus
The guitar string company will donate the masks to local charities and residents
'Ethereal tuning' is officially A Thing, and it sounds amazing
YouTube guitar sensation Ichika showcases the tuning in a mesmerizing two-hand tapping instrumental
Could an SE version of John Mayer’s signature PRS Silver Sky be on the cards this year?
A social media post from BlackSmith Strings suggests a more affordable version of the Strat-esque guitar is finally in the works
The best-selling guitar amps of 2019 revealed
Reverb unveils its top 20 list of the amps you loved most this year
Bob Rock recalls the first time he asked Metallica to tune down: "James Hetfield looked like he wanted to kill me"
Rock also talked about "not getting" Enter Sandman in an extensive interview with Gibson TV
Jared James Nichols: “I’ll never forget the moment I first saw Zakk playing in the flesh with Ozzy – it was beyond powerful. I was mesmerized”
The Les Paul-loving, Wisconsin-bred rocker talks guitar epiphanies, tube amp dynamics, and explains how full-tilt blues power involves a neck-breaking approach to recording
