Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt: the 10 guitarists that blew my mind
Prog titan on the players that inspire his work
7. Europe (Kee Marcello/John Norum)
“Can we make this one a tie? They’re such different players. John is much more blues-based, you can really hear the Gary Moore and Michael Schenker in his playing. He wears those influences on his sleeve and plays hard.
“Kee is more difficult to pin down, but he seems very American West Coast-inspired. His lines were very melodic, yet super fast and somehow you could still sing along to them… which was less the case with John Norum, who you could say had more fire to his playing. Both of them, regardless, are exceptional guitarists.”
Get the MusicRadar Newsletter
Want all the hottest music and gear news, reviews, deals, features and more, direct to your inbox? Sign up here.
Amit has been writing for titles like Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Guitar World for over a decade and counts Richie Kotzen, Guthrie Govan and Jeff Beck among his primary influences. He's interviewed everyone from Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy to Slash and Jimmy Page, and once even traded solos with a member of Slayer on a track released internationally. As a session guitarist, he's played alongside members of Judas Priest and Uriah Heep in London ensemble Metalworks, as well as handling lead guitars for legends like Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols, The Faces) and Stu Hamm (Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, G3).
![Brian Setzer performs onstage with the Stray Cats: the rockabilly icon wears a bright blue western shirt and red bandana, and plays a Gretsch G6120T in orange.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zpEmU6T24tVZXGQ2aSyJTm-840-80.jpg)
“I know I will beat this, it will just take some time”: Stray Cats rockabilly legend Brian Setzer has autoimmune disease and cannot play guitar
![Vower's Joe Gosney (left) and Rabea Massaad pictured inside a tent at ArcTanGent Festival, with their Quad Cortex-driven live rigs on the table behind them.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zFzav6LLURG9XQexFR9vbD-840-80.jpg)
“This was the first amp modeller that I’ve tried that feels like a real amp”: Vower’s Joe Gosney and Rabea Massaad reveal their festival Quad Cortex setups – and why there's a Zappa-inspired “harmonic exciter” on the 'board