Dimebag Darrell Was the Greatest Metal Guitarist?

[Hefalump]

probably the best guitarist that ever lived. perhaps matched or surpassed only by EVH

^^^^^^^^^^^^^;^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sorry, didn't mean to stir you up.
I thought the title was "Dimebag Darrell is the greatest metal guitarist?"

My mistake.

Yes. It's cool.

 

[Thwap]

Yes, your mistake. It's cool.

View attachment 650421

He was not the OP

I can see reading comprehension and thread awareness are not your strong points.

You look good on your horsie though.

 

[Hefalump]

He was not the OP

I can see reading comprehension and thread awareness are not your strong points.

You look good on your horsie though.

 

[Ole Tin Ear]

EVH is probably the greatest rock guitarist.

Tony Iommi is the father of metal.

Randy Rhoads bridged the gap between rock, classical and metal and may be the most influential metal guitarist.

Hugely influenced by all three, Dimebag is probably the greatest metal guitarist.

Honorable mention to Ritchie Blackmoore.

 

[AaeCee]

I love TGP threads where someone or something is proclaimed to be the best.

They foster so much harmony and unity.

 

[Tonewood Terry]

It sucks because Dime was awesome, but like other musicians his appeal only became more mysterious because he died. If he was alive, as with the others we’d never have the what ifs. He and every other musician to die young are overrated by fans, underrated by others.

 

[El Caballo]

Dime was an exceptional metal guitarist. Better than most, but the greatest...Nope. Too many others that contributed way more than Dime. I'd put Hetfield and Iommi before Dime all day long, not to mention RR.

 

[SaintChris]

EVH apparently though so highly of him that he was buried with the original Bumble Bee.

 

[El Caballo]

EVH apparently though so highly of him that he was buried with the original Bumble Bee.

EVH had also been so gassed at that time that I don't think he had made a smart conscientious decision until he soberb up... I mean have you seen the photos of that era... Dude barely had teeth.

 

[Vondragonnoggin]

Chris Oliva
Michael Denner
Adrian Smith
Uli Jon Roth
Tony Iommi
Glenn Tipton
Mark Reale
Jeff Young
David Chastain
Akira Takasaki
Yngwie J Malmsteen
Randy Rhoads

Just some guitarists I enjoyed more than Dimebag Darrel.

I could easily expand that list, but I think that is enough.

Dimebag was great. Don’t get me wrong. I just don’t think he was the greatest.

It’s obviously subjective.

Maybe Dimebag is your top gun - good for you, but he wasn’t the greatest to everyone. I think just about everyone would say “he was a great guitar player” though. That’s pretty great right there.

 

[IAE]

I love that sterile sounding goodness.
Dimebag is definitely on the Mount Rushmore of metal guitarists.

I don’t think it was sterile, I don’t know what to call it other than Randall.

 

[sanrico]

Mark Reale

Dude, mad respect for mentioning this guy. I don't think I know a single person who would recognize this name. Very underrated player.

Also bonus points for Akira Takasaki. The man is awesome.

 

[Doom Man]

Very influential on the current generation of metal, anyway. There are certainly some who are more technical, like Petrucci or Rhoads. And, as mentioned, Iommi pretty much defined metal guitar.

On the CURRENT generation?
Look, I love Dimebag's playing and am not ashamed to admit hearing the opening title track The Great Southern Trendkill as a teen totally changed my musical world, but the guy has been dead for 18 years.
Realistically, he's probably far more influential for the generation even before mine, people born between 1967-1975 and millenial guitar players like myself are the last generation that would have seriously gotten into Dimebag on a decent enough scale.
An 18 year old metal guitarist today is probably listening to the current crop of technical death metal, djenty and metalcore bands, Dimebag is "What my dad listens too" at this point.
Even 'modern' bands like Periphery, Animals as Leaders, Suicide Silence, Between the Buried and Me, The Acacia Strain, Killswitch Engage, they're all 15-22 year old bands at this point and the members are 35-45-ish years old.
Nonetheless, I'll continue to be inspired by Dimebag, but I just have a hard time believing he's at the forefront of metal influence in 2022.

 

[NotTheArrow]

One of the....

Gotta love TGP. OP mentions metal guitarists and guys post page after page of rock guitarists they think are better.

 

[Stressfest]

Meh

 

[Madguitrst]

Ive never heard him.

I bought Vulgar Display Of Power at the recommendation of someone from another musician site back in about 2005.
In 17 years the first two tunes have been listened to and still it sits.

I couldn't get past the vocals, if memory serves..

I don’t get the Pantera love. Never will. A metal band with a hardcore style singer. And?

And this....for you guys:

 

[JDutch]

Some artists have natural talent that makes them appears to make their art flow effortlessly out of them, whereas the effort the rest of us have to put into our creative endeavors is more apparent. In terms of music, I would put Dimebag in that category, along with SRV, Brian Setzer and Jimmy Page. Music simply makes (or made) sense to them, not that they also didn't have to put in the work.

There are a lot of metal guitarists more technically proficient than Dimebag, but Dimebag could write killer riffs and searing, melodic solos, and his style was all his own, and he never seemed to have to try to force anything or like anything was ever over-rehearsed.

 

[JDutch]

View attachment 650400

You might be the only person on the planet that thinks that.

Such an unnecessarily confrontational way to respond to someone else's opinion. Why don't you try using words to explain which part you disagree with or, alternatively, accept that someone else might not agree with you?

 

[Dimebag Darrell]

As much as i love Dime and Pantera , i'd say no. One of the best yes, but the best is subjective. There are many great metal guitarists that have contributed and served metal well in their own way. Rhoads, Iommi and the list goes on... But all of them are GREAT!

 

[The OP]

Too many to give any the "greatest" label.