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RARE PHOTOS: Jason becker - The Real Truth

“You’re hanging out with your hero, then they go, ‘Okay, cool. Now pick up the guitar and show us what you got’”: Virtuoso Luis Kalil recalls the time he met – and played for – Jason Becker, at the shred icon’s house

The Red Devil Vortex guitarist started uploading Cacophony covers to YouTube in 2014, and soon caught his idol’s attention

Guitar World

“I would go by John’s room and he’d be working on alternate picking to a metronome. I’d never seen anyone do that before”: He arrived on the shred scene with Paul Gilbert, Jason Becker and John Petrucci… then he vanished

After starting a family and his own company, Darren Housholder's priorities changed – but he’s gradually brought music-making back into his world

Guitar World

"It crushes me not to be able to play guitar": Manowar founder Ross 'The Boss' Friedman diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease

Ross The Boss formed proto-punk band The Dictators in New York City in 1973, and metal icons Manowar in 1980

Metal Hammer

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“We parked up outside Steve Vai’s caravan. His guitar tech saw me. Next thing you know, Steve’s there, and I’m trying my best to play Tobacco Road”: He was a guitar god at 8, then he disappeared – the unlikely story of Thomas McRocklin

Vai handed him the Passion and Warfare guitar and produced his debut album, only for his protégé to give it all up. Decades later, McRocklin came back stronger – and pursued his own guitar path

Guitar World

“His future is as bright as his talent is undeniable”: Jason Becker hails Matteo Mancuso as a guitar hero destined for greatness – after the two virtuosos meet up

Mancuso impressed Becker with both his virtuosity and his heart

Guitar World

Ozzy Osbourne’s solo band has long been a proving ground for metal’s most outstanding players. From Randy Rhoads to Zakk Wylde, via Brad Gillis and Gus G, here are all the players – and nearly players – in the Osbourne saga

Among the ranks of Ozzy's six-string sidekicks are some of the most admired and imitated rock guitarists of all time. Some have lasted for years, others a single gig, and some on both ends are part of the elite group of musicians to have been fired over the phone by…

Guitar World

“We knew listeners usually wanted a memorable song rather than an insane guitar solo or riff, but we wanted to be extreme”: Jason Becker and Marty Friedman on their wild ride making Cacophony’s Go Off! – one of the Eighties’ most in-your-face shred albums

With dreams of being the next Poison or Whitesnake, two young shred virtuosos took their songwriting to the next level for their 1988 Shrapnel Records classic

Guitar World

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“We shared and borrowed gear from our students, who usually had better gear than we did”: How Jason Becker and Marty Friedman made one of shred’s most celebrated albums with a little help from their pupils

When the two virtuosos went into the studio to record under the Cacophony name, they brought a bunch of gear that had been lent to them by students

Guitar World

“This experience has deeply touched my heart in a way I never expected”: Jason Becker gifts guitar to viral 11-year-old metal star Maya Neelakantan following heartwarming meeting

The rising metal guitar phenom played one of Becker's own Telecasters and Danelectro sitar guitars during the emotional visit – and ended up taking the latter home with her

Guitar World

6 scales from around the world that every guitar player should know – and how to use them

Tired of the same old blues scales and pentatonics? Try these on for size…

Guitar World

“When I recorded with Jason Becker, he was still able to speak… he articulated exactly what he wanted, down to every pinch harmonic, vibrato and out-of-tune note”: Shrapnel veteran Michael Lee Firkins reflects on the final days of shred

The former Shrapnel star discusses bringing bluesgrass to shred, working with the great Jason Becker and his pivotal role in establishing the Yamaha Pacifica

Guitar World

“We’ve always played fast, and that hasn’t changed. But the big thing is finding new notes that instantly fit within that zone”: Herman Li on DragonForce’s new era of maximalist shred, AI in music and the fine art of string bending

These days, amid the fire and the flames of DragonForce’s extreme power metal, you’ll detect a little something extra in Herman Li’s playing: an emphasis on melody and dynamics

Guitar World

“An unforgettable, unmissable display of guitar mastery”: A new Jason Becker single fashioned from an old demo has been released – and it brings together a staggering cast of A-list guitar heroes

Championed by Nita Strauss, Some Assembly Required recruits Steve Vai, Lari Basilio, Joe Bonamassa, Steve Lukather, Marty Friedman, Paul Gilbert, Zakk Wylde and countless other guitar greats for an epic 7-minute solo session

Guitar World

“When I finished the solo to this one, Mustaine came into the studio, listened to it once, turned around and, without saying a word, shook my hand" – the story of Megadeth's Tornado Of Souls

Best of 2023: Marty Friedman and a "watershed moment" for Dave Mustaine

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Louder

“We hit play, and the opening chords of Yes’ Rhythm Of Love sounded exactly like the beginning of the first song on my album. I thought we’d stuck in the wrong tape!” Jason Becker loves Trevor Rabin’s work

Former David Lee Roth guitarist and soundtrack composer learned a lot from Steve Howe, but prefers Rabin’s melodic and emotional output in and out of Yes

Guitar World

“Whenever people visited my house and saw the guitar, their faces would light up”: Guitar gifted to Jason Becker by Eddie Van Halen sells for $110,000 at auction

Becker was happy to part ways with the instrument to pay for his ongoing ALS care and hopes it goes to someone who will “love and appreciate it as much as I do”

Guitar World

Jason Becker hailed his “stunning technique and explosive guitar tone” – now Jien Takahashi is building a unique brand of shred shaped by Ritchie Blackmore, Morbid Angel and a quest to prove “a guitar solo can be as persuasive as a singer's voice”

The rising Japanese virtuoso has an undying love for the shred heroics of Becker and Marty Friedman, but also uses his Ibanez, PRS and occasionally his $50 Legend Strat copy to traverse much wider melodic ground

Guitar World

“The last person to really play it like that was Ed”: Eddie Van Halen personally gifted this guitar to Jason Becker in 1996. Now Norm’s demo whiz Michael Lemmo puts the #69 Peavey Wolfgang through its paces in a killer EVH-style demo

The guitar is headed to auction later this month and was brought down to Norman’s Rare Guitars for a preview

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Guitar World

“Jason’s most treasured instrument”: The guitar Eddie Van Halen gifted Jason Becker during their emotional first meeting is heading to auction

The Peavey Wolfgang was signed and played by Van Halen during his 1996 visit to Becker's house, and is being sold to raise funds for Becker's ongoing medical care

Guitar World

“Joe Perry had hit a block, so I was called in to play on Train Kept a Rollin’. They said, ‘Don't tell anyone – no-one can know’”: From Alice Cooper to Peter Gabriel and Aerosmith, Steve Hunter has led one of session guitar’s most remarkable careers

The session veteran tells his greatest war stories: how he wrote the epic intro to Lou Reed’s Sweet Jane, what he taught Jason Becker for his stint with David Lee Roth, and why he believes losing his sight made him a better guitar player

Louder

"It sounds a bit like they’re speaking underwater, but it’s our first shot at this": scientists have recreated Pink Floyd's Another Brick In The Wall using patients' brainwaves

Boffins made the breakthrough while study the auditory regions of the brain - and you can hear the results

Louder

Jason Becker is selling the guitar gifted to him by Eddie Van Halen to raise money for his ongoing medical care

A rare Wolfgang guitar given to Jason Becker by his friend Eddie Van Halen is up for sale to raise funds for Becker's care

Guitar World

Jason Becker is selling the guitar Eddie Van Halen gave him in their emotional first meeting

The Peavey Wolfgang is one of the first 100 produced – and was signed and played by the late great guitar god during his 1996 visit to Becker’s house

Guitar World

Greg Howe: “I realized that I wasn't going to push pure technique any further than Paul Gilbert or Jason Becker. So, I thought, 'OK, what am I going to do after that?'”

The master guitarist reveals how he's moving forward after the tragic death of his fiancé and manager, how he blended John Scofield and George Benson with Van Halen, and the solo album he hopes people have forgotten

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