Photo Gallery: Guitar World Magazine Covers Through the Years — 1985

In 1985, Guitar World eased off the heavy metal accelerator that had hit the floor the previous year.

Sure, there were articles on Vivian Campbell, Lita Ford and Warren DeMartini, but aside from Edward Van Halen making his fourth cover appearance, the feature pieces stuck pretty close to blues and classic rock.

It was also a remarkable year for Guitar World as the magazine celebrated its fifth birthday. Thus began the tradition of commemorating special occasions with special issues. The fifth anniversary issue was the first to feature Jimi Hendrix on the cover and included commentary from 1985's most notable players such as Billy Gibbons, Adrian Belew and Eric Clapton.

Check out the collection of covers from 1985 below beginning with Jeff Beck. And don't miss next week when we kick off 1986 with neo-classical shred icon Yngwie Malmsteen.

Image 1 of 6