thanks! hopefully caonima finds it

Yvette Young and Blixa Bargeld are the most interesting ones that come to mind just as far as listening to their playing goes

Now we've gone too narrow because there's barely any guitarists I can think of who only do instrumentals.

Yeah I'd say the do fall under that category for sure. I don't mind them but I don't think they are as good as the better Japanese bands in that style.

Black Sabbath basically invented the metal power chord and riffing style. Napalm Death sped metal up to the point where it became a whole new genre, we owe them the invention of the blast-beat. Although there were other "black metal" groups Bathory were the first to define what became the black metal guitar sound, a new way of thinking of guitar in metal where the guitar is almost an ambient texture. Slayer just set the bar for heaviness in general, Reign In Blood arguably still hasn't been topped for intensity.

X Japan, Unlucky Morpheus, Galneryus, Sigh

1. Black Sabbath, Slayer, Napalm Death, Bathory
2. 80s thrash and death metal, also X Japan style power metal and anything trying to sound like that
3. Celtic Frost, Sepultura, Lovebites

somewhat better but still a miss for me

the first shredder!

If you closed your eyed and listened, and didn't know what you were listening to, if it was a track you have never heard - can you tell who the guitarist is just by the sound of the playing. That's the difference between (for example) Eddie Van Halen and the thousands of guys who can play "kinda like" Eddie Van Halen.

Yngwie Malmsteen definitely. Sure he's pretty sketch these days but the old records still hold up, the entire Japanese metal scene probably wouldn't sound how it does now without him. Vai and Satriani also still sound as good as they ever did.

Yeah if I were to compare it to anything it would be bass playing technique, but to do that, wtih that accuracy and speed, on electric... he's just on another level. Never seen anyone do it quite like him