eveningninja
Skull Kid
Ok guys, plz explain me how you can judge who's the better guitarist.
If I take Alexi and Gilbert as a good example - why do you say that Gilbert is the better guitarist? Imho I think that Alexi reached a level where he can't get any better (if you disregard his last live performences). He can do sweeps, string jumps, fast picking, and all this stuff like a god and I have never seen any thing of Gilbert where I could say that his sweeps, picking stuff and so on is better. But you can't really compare both because it's a different kind of music. Nearly all Racer X songs are from the start to the end focused on the lead guitar whereas Bodom is a metal band with a singer with intro, verse, chorus,... You can ONLY compare both when you give both something they have never played before and THEN you can judge who did a better cover or you give a backing track where where they should improvise something over it.
It bothers me a bit that a lot of you guys think somebody is better because he's longer in business. A lot of people think that Roope is better than Alexi but they just say this because Roope is older and Alexi said a long time ago that he's one of his idols. Same goes for Slayer or AC/DC where I think they both suck.
If you ask me I wouldn't say that Yngwie or Gilbert are better than Alexi because there is no chance to proof it and to be honest... I have never heard any better solos from f.ex. Yngwie and Gilbert than Alexi solos for ETID, Downright Dominate, a lot of Sinergy solos or his playing back in 1999, 2003 or the thing for guitar heroes...
Actualy it should be Alexi>Gilbert/... because Bodom is definitely more famous nowadays and COB=Alexi.
Edit:
I will not say that Alexi is the best guitarist in the world or something but I would put him on the same level as all those old-school guitarist like Gilbert, Romero,bla bla
Only thing I would say is that he's the better songwriter. All made some great songs but not as much as Alexi did. My opinion.
I will easily explain why Gilbert > Alexi.
First of all, it's bullshit that a different kind of music means you cannot observe and analyze their technique for what it is. I can see the motions their hands/fingers are making. Gilbert is FAR more efficient/economical and you can hear this in the clean way he plays. Alexi = tense and sloppy. Doesn't matter that it's a different kind of music.
Gilbert has more economical motion. Watch his fretting fingers, they don't fly off the fretboard like Alexi's do. Gilbert puts this to use by having much more intricate and cleanly-played legato.
Watch Gilbert's right hand. He uses very efficient wrist picking. When attempting high speeds, Alexi tenses up and uses his whole arm to pick. You then see him resort to sweeping and tapping. Notice why these days Alexi replaces many previously alternate-picked lines now with sweeping or tapping? Example: Downfall solo. He does not do this for musical/artistic reason. It's an easy way out for him because he cannot pick relaxed at high speeds. Gilbert can.
Um... the basic observation that all of Gilbert's live performances are twice as clean as Alexi's slop-fest? Gilbert's stuff isn't any easier to play. It's different, and in many ways more complex (Alexi's soloing style is pretty linear), and he nails it live every time. Alexi on the other hand is too busy partying/drinking and thinking he's a badass to practice. Gilbert practices. You know this because his technique remains up to par and he is a guitar teacher <-- this is a good motivation to keep practicing.
Also... watch some Bodom covers. Plenty of people outplay Alexi. Have you seen anyone outplay Gilbert? It's far less plausible.