Splinterhead said:
Cool -
Intro to Metal guitar - Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Beginner - AC/DC - Back In Black
Intermediate - Metallica - Black Album
Advanced - Dream Theater - Awake
Graduate - Spiral Architect - A Sceptic's Universe
Pretty nice reply there !!
intro- Beginner - same (though if the player can get the tone Angus/Mutt was able to attain, he needs to patent that)
intermediate - Metal Church Howe era. Nothing great in the solo dept. but great fills and outstanding dual guitar work. This also enters them into a world with playing with an elite musician (Kirk arrington drummer) who will get his share of the production volume. One has to learn to make his/her riffs/solos count.
Advanced - Accept Metal Heart/Russian Roulette. Wolf is the ultimate trainer for someone who can play the guitar in their sleep but doesn't have their own style quite figured out. He can shred with the best and can play pentatonic blues stuff that makes you cry. As far as writing.... Wolf is at a graduate level because of his extreme diversity, but he doesn't play at the technical level of an Yngwie etc.
graduate - It is unfair to pick one. Stylistically, this person will be looking to certain players that fit the style he/she has already created. I would offer these options:
Yngwie (still the king of neo-classical)
Wolf Hoffmann (blue collar do it all, but still an elitist by anyone's standards)
Steve Vai - trick-meister. Great innovator.
Vito Bratta - (yes he is from some bad hair band, but he though he was certainly following the footsteps of EVH, he was one of the few that could have beat Eddie at hs own game.)
Bryant