“We wanted to be more in your face!”

Rising stars of the UK’s thriving post-punk scene, their latest album a top ten hit, Shame specialise in punchy three-minute songs. So why do they need three guitarists in the band? As they explain, it’s all about interplay...

“SINGING IS WONDERFUL, BUT THERE'S SOMETHING VERY CATHARTIC AND ZEN ABOUT PLAYING LEAD GUITAR”

Myles Kennedy is best known as a singer – for Alter Bridge and for Guns N’ Roses legend Slash. But on his new solo album, he’s taking the spotlight as a guitarist

CEDRIC BURNSIDE

Aged just 13, Cedric Burnside was immersed in playing blues music with his grandfather, aka “Big Daddy” - the legendary R.L. Burnside. Now commander-in chief of the second generation of Hill Country Blues, the younger Burnside’s latest album, I Be Trying, encapsulates the past, present, and future of a whole genre in a way that only he could. “It’s who I am,” Cedric says. “This Hill Country Blues stuff is definitely not new to me. I was born with it in my blood.”

“IT WILL BE TWO YEARS SINCE WE PLAYED A GIG. THAT'S THE FIRST TIME THAT'S HAPPENED SINCE I WAS FIFTEEN”

As the Manic Street Preachers prepare to tour again, guitarist/ vocalist James Dean Bradfield speaks to TG from the band’s rehearsal space in Wales and reveals how he gets his chops up - by jamming classic rock and soul tunes, and working that little finger...

“I WANT YOU TO FEEL THAT RAGE”

Mdou Moctar has been hailed as ‘the Hendrix of the Sahara’. And in his new album, Afrique Victime, he channels the spirit of revolution – with a tremolo-picking technique that has to be heard to be believed...

“The novelty of a post lockdown music environment is new for everyone. We're starting to enjoy music again”

In a small town in Wiltshire, something magical is happening. A band is playing a gig! And not just any old band – it’s Squid, whose new album Bright Green Field is arguably the best debut of 2021. Guitarists Louis Borlase and Anton Pearson tell TG how “lucky” and “emotional” they feel to be playing live again, and explain the band’s improvisational ethos: “It’s about putting adventure over precision.”

“PEOPLE LOVE LIVE MUSIC BECAUSE IT'S NOT PERFECT”

The Darkness have played everywhere – from pubs and clubs to the giant stages of Download and Glastonbury. And so, as they get ready to rock again, frontman Justin Hawkins presents a handy refresher course for TG readers – on how, and how not, to play live. His motto: “A note played with supreme confidence, no matter how wrong it is, will always be the right one.”

“I'M PRETTY LIMITED WHEN IT COMES TO PLAYING SOLOS. BUT I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I'M DOING WHEN I PLAY A RIFF, WHICH IS CRUCIAL...”

Joe Duplantier is the mastermind who has made Gojira the most exciting metal band of the modern age. A self-taught guitarist who says, “I like to explore the instrument from a slightly different angle”, he tells TG about his new signature model and Gojira-branded plug-in, and discusses the creation of Fortitude – arguably the best metal album of 2021...

FENDER MUSTANG MICRO £89.99 Less is more...

Gear is subjective – we all gravitate to different things, sometimes surprisingly when it’s something we didn’t expect to like. But there’s a fundamental question we like to ask about new guitar gear; is it going to make a lot of people want to play more?

GET YOUR GEAR GIG-READY

Get your rig ready for action and prep for live performances with TG’s how to guide

Billy Gibbons

ZZ TOP’S LEGENDARY GUITARIST LEARNED FROM THE BEST. NOW, WITH A NEW SOLO ALBUM, BILLY GIBBONS IS PASSING ON HIS WISDOM TO TG READERS, INCLUDING ONE VERY SIMPLE, MONEY-SAVING DIY TIP: “SAW OFF THE LEG OF A KITCHEN STOOL,” HE SAYS, “AND YOU’VE GOT A NICE METAL SLIDE!”

Epiphone Emily Wolfe Signature Sheraton

A Wolfe in stealth clothing

ROYAL BLOOD

As architect of Royal Blood’s wall of noise and mighty riffs, Mike Kerr is a bassist inspired by the great guitarists. But the set-up of his rig has remained a closely guarded secret – until now. “This is a worldwide exclusive!” he tells TG as he reveals all about his gear – from signal-splitter to a bespoke baritone guitar that plays “like a giant bagpipe!”

SCOTT MCKEON

Scott McKeon is a guitarist notable for many reasons. He was the child prodigy that became the face of a Fender campaign to recruit younger talent in the 90s, making his debut on British television at just seven years old.

START ME UP!

Five awesome new products to get your gear engine revving this month…

“WE CUT THIS RECORD IN A DAY”

THE BLACK KEYS’ DAN AUERBACH EXPLAINS HOW THE DUO’S NEW ALBUM OF BLUES STANDARDS WAS CREATED – WITH THE HELP OF ONE OF HIS GUITAR HEROES

“I NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERY NOTE COUNTS”

Armed with a new signature guitar and a monstrous pedalboard, Emily Wolfe is venturing beyond bluesrock on her experimental second album...

YAMAHA PACIFICA PAC612VIIFMX

Yamaha’s do-it-all workhorse range

NEW YORK GROOVE

Those who learned their first chords playing along to Last Nite might wince a little, but The Strokes’ debut album, Is This It, is now 20 years old. In the following years, there has been such an unstoppable tide of popular culture that it’s easy to forget the record’s impact. Is This It was typical of The Strokes’ Janus-faced sound. At once they were referencing the treble-forward jangle of classic American indie and garage rock, and yet they sounded so fresh – proving that it is hard to sound stale when you put so much treble in your guitar sound.

NEURAL DSP QUAD CORTEX

One of the most hotly-anticipated floor modelling units is here to make you rethink your rig

DUNLOP CRY BABY JUNIOR

The world-famous wah finds some middle ground

Van Halen: The Next Generation

Way back in 1978, with the release of Van Halen’s explosive self-titled debut album, Eddie Van Halen emerged as arguably the most influential rock guitarist since Hendrix. His genius as a virtuoso, innovator and rule-breaker would inspire countless players across the years, and that influence continues to this day in the wake of Eddie’s death on October 6th, 2020...

JACKSON DINKY JS24 DKAM DX

A budget speed machine for tomorrow’s shredder

“AIR-GUITARING WITH YOUR HEADPHONES ON!”

On the new Weezer album – knowingly titled Van Weezer – the alt-rock stars are channelling classic Van Halen, working the whammy bar and recycling riffs from Crazy Train and Enter Sandman. As TG’s Grant Moon notes: “They’re turning the gain up full here...”

“We wanted this album to be orgasmic!”

No modern rock band polarizes opinion like Greta Van Fleet. But with new album The Battle At Garden’s Gate, will they finally shake off the ‘mini-Led Zeppelin’ label? Guitarist Jake Kiszka explains how they’re reaching for a sound that’s “orgasmic and cinematic”, and how he is constantly refining and rethinking his art

Steve Lukather

HE PLAYED ON THE BIGGEST SELLING ALBUM OF ALL TIME. HE’S THE DRIVING FORCE IN LEGENDARY ROCK ACT TOTO. AND HE JUST SO HAPPENS TO PLAY IN ANOTHER BAND WITH A BEATLE. IF ANYONE HAS SEEN AND HEARD IT ALL, IT’S STEVE LUKATHER. AND HIS ADVICE TO TG READERS IS SIMPLE: “YOU GOTTA BE CONSISTENT”

“MY HEROES WERE ALWAYS THE RHYTHM GUYS”

THIN LIZZY AND BLACK STAR RIDERS FRONTMAN RICKY WARWICK ON HIS LATEST SOLO ALBUM, VINTAGE GEAR AND COVERING BRITNEY SPEARS

PEAVEY INVECTIVE MINI HEAD

The Misha Mansoor signature, in lunchbox form...

“IT WAS LIKE A GEAR NERD'S DREAM!”

Danish post-punk band Iceage recorded their new album with a wizard-like producer, an array of rare, esoteric offset guitars and an amp favoured by metal hero Zakk Wylde. Guitarist Johan Wieth reveals how this strange combination “works out perfectly”

AND THE CRADLE WILL ROCK...

His father was one of the greatest guitarists that ever lived, and now Wolfgang Van Halen is carrying that famous name forward. In a revealing interview, he discusses the creation of his new album Mammoth WVH – on which he played all instruments, including Eddie’s iconic Frankenstein. He recalls what he learnt as a boy from the best player on the planet, and the fun they had performing together in Van Halen. But as he tells TG: “I THINK IT’S UNFAIR TO HOLD ME AT THE SAME LEVEL AS MY DAD. I’M JUST BEING MYSELF...”