# What are the 10 best shred albums ever?



## stubhead (Oct 2, 2007)

I came late to this shred thing, in the 80's and 90's I was listening to McLaughlin, Morse, Bach, Paganini, SRV.... I sort of saw the hair, spandex & eyeliner back then, heard the guy shrieking about Satan the Dark Master and steered clear of a lot of bands. I've picked up some of the best new albums like Marty Friedman's _Loudspeaker_, Gilbert's _Get Out of my Yard_, and _Suspended Animation_ from John Petrucci.

I've also gone back in time and found Vai's _Passion & Warfare_, Satriani's _Surfing with the Alien_ & Tony MacAlpine's _Maximum Security_ but I'd like to know what else to look for. Yngwie Malmsteen always seems to have that shrieky spandex fellow to watch out for? Another thing I've noticed is that shredders often put a couple of wimpy, slow, "sensitive" songs towards the end of their CD's - I guess to get more nookie? If I want "sensitivity" I'll bust out some Barry Manilow, when I buy a shred album I WANT TO BANG MY HEAD. BANG, BANG, BANG.


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## AVH (Oct 2, 2007)

Old school but very heavy:

Check out Forbidden Evil by Forbidden. One of my all-time fave thrash albums.

Thrash + Shred =


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## Metal Ken (Oct 2, 2007)

Becker's Perpetual Burn?


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## DDDorian (Oct 2, 2007)

_Perpetual Burn_ by Jason Becker is a must; he was originally in a neoclassical shred band with Marty Friedman called Cacophony that put out two albums that aren't too bad either, but be warned, there are terrible vocals involved, heh.

If you haven't checked out Buckethead he's probably worth a look. He has a ton of albums and different projects ranging from meditative new-age to atonal metal weirdness, most of which take place in his surreal universe of breakdancing, evil robots and kung-fu. _Giant Robot_ is probably the best place to start, but be warned, it could very well be too kitschy to enjoy on the first few listens.

Richie Kotzen is worth checking out too; he first came to prominence with some neoclassical shred releases, then joined Poison for a while, became Paul Gilbert's replacement in Mr. Big and is now solo again. He does a lot of different stuff, from shred to bluesy hard rock and acoustic ballads, and even put out a jazz album with Stanley Clarke and Lenny White. He has a great voice to boot, very Chris Cornell in delivery. Try _Get Up_ or _Into The Black_ for a taste of what he's doing these days, or check out his self-titled debut or the Shrapnel best-of for a taste of pure shred


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## Metal Ken (Oct 2, 2007)

Also, Paul Gilbert's 80s output with Racer X \m/


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## Desecrated (Oct 2, 2007)

Is there any dark/evil/horror shred albums ?


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## Michael (Oct 2, 2007)

If you want to bang your head to a shred album, get Rob Johnson's Chronicles of Shred. 

I'm a huge fan of Marcel Coenen. Both of his solo albums are a must.  And lately, I've really been loving Steve Morse's High Tension Wires album.


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## Apophis (Oct 2, 2007)

Joe Stump
Theodore Ziras
Michael Angelo Batio
Marty Friedman - solo
Impellitteri
Cacophony


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## kmanick (Oct 2, 2007)

Check these guys out.

Greg Howe
Vinnie Moore
Richie Kotzen
Michael Lee Firkins


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## Metal Ken (Oct 2, 2007)

Desecrated said:


> Is there any dark/evil/horror shred albums ?



John Lowrey's last one, with its satanic hillbilly thing going on.

Also, its not really a 'shred' album, per se, but Mastery's disc is great. its instrumental thrash with lots of solos and whatnot all over the place.


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## sonofabias (Oct 2, 2007)

Check out Shawn Lane if you have the opportunity ,though he's not metal, it is shred with a capital S!


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## stuz719 (Oct 2, 2007)

Jeff Beck - "Guitar shop"
Tuck Andress - everything
Django Rheinhardt - everything
Martin Taylor - everything


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## SeanC (Oct 2, 2007)

Cacophony - Speed Metal Symphony
Jason Becker - Perpetual Burn
Marty Friedman - Dragon's Kiss
Michael Romeo - Dark Chapter

Those are my favorites.


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## Edroz (Oct 2, 2007)

hmmm . trying to come up with some that haven't already been mentioned, but worth checking out:

Chastain - Ruler of the wasteland
Chris Poland - Return to metalopolis
George Lynch - Sacred groove
Joey Tafolla - Out of the sun
Frank Gambale - Live!
Yngwie Malmsteen - Concerto suite ...


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## playstopause (Oct 2, 2007)

stuz719 said:


> Jeff Beck - "Guitar shop"



Shred?
That's a great album, but that's not shred imo.


+ 1 for Shawn Lane.


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## Daggorath (Oct 2, 2007)

sonofabias said:


> Check out Shawn Lane if you have the opportunity ,though he's not metal, it is shred with a capital S!




+1

Check out Guthrie Govan, Andy Timmons, Michael Romeo, Allan Holdsworth, Greg Howe, Frank Gambale, Brett Garsed, Tony MacAlpine, Dave Martone, Rusty Cooley.


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## Jongpil Yun (Oct 2, 2007)

Yngwie Malmsteen - Rising Force, Trilogy, Concerto Suite for Electric Guitar in Eb Minor, Attack!!

Racer X - Street Lethal, Second Heat, Technical Difficulties, Superheroes

Outworld - Outworld (Rusty's band)

Jason Becker - Perpetual Burn

Cacophony - Speed Metal Symphony

Marty Friedman - Dragon's Kiss

Bumblefoot - Hands, some other crap (Guitars Suck ftw)

I wouldn't consider guys like Lane, Holdsworth, Gambale, or Govan to be "shred", because to me, shred implies a strong neobaroque or neoromantic influence.


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## Metal Ken (Oct 2, 2007)

I thought shred was just insane guitar playing? And can you get more insane than Shawn Lane? 


BTW, Impellitteri has some good songs.. some of his newer stuff is pretty good (Albeit Cheesy). Check out Crunch & Eye of the Hurricane from him.


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## Jongpil Yun (Oct 2, 2007)

Metal Ken said:


> I thought shred was just insane guitar playing? And can you get more insane than Shawn Lane?



If shred = insane guitar playing, then yes, Shawn Lane would be at the pinnacle, but it's not like you can look up shred in the OED.


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## bostjan (Oct 2, 2007)

Shred is defined as kick-ass guitar playing.
Shawn Lane is shred. 
Yngwie is shred. 

I'd go so far as to say that Matthias IA Eklundh is shred.  Even if he isn't, check him out.
Jason Becker, Ritchie Kotzen, Tony MacAlpine, whatever, they are all shredders, IMO. 

Of course, the definition I found seems to be subjective. 

IA's stuff is insane in his solo albums, and Freak Kitchen is great!

I also think Ron Jarzombek requires a mention. Check out Watchtower and Spastic Ink!


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## Lucky Seven (Oct 3, 2007)

Uli Jon Roth's "Transcendental Sky Guitar" is one of my very favorites. He's a 7 stringer. He's also pretty much the earliest contributor to the neoclassical metal genre. Sails of Charon FTW!


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## distressed_romeo (Oct 3, 2007)

In addition to the guys who've been mentioned, check out any of the following names...

Derek Taylor
Stephan Forte
Darren Housholder
Scott Mishoe
Derryl Gabel
Borislav Mitic
Santiago Dobles
Michael Romeo
Chris Broderick
Andy James
Mario Parga
Martin Goulding
Charlies Griffiths
Jasun Tipton
Tom Kopyto
Steve Morse
Nuno Bettencourt
Tom Hess
Mike Walsh
George Bellas


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## All_¥our_Bass (Oct 3, 2007)

Anything by Necrophagist. Personally I have Epitaph and Onset of Putrefaction, which both kick major ass!!


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## sonofabias (Oct 3, 2007)

Shawn Lanes record "The powers of Ten", also Kiekko Laurairo sp?(Angra-brazil) Michael Harris and James Murphy.Everyone has pretty much named the best known shred gods but you should check out the Mike Varneys Shrapnal label and guitar 9 records for a wide selection of known and unknown shredders.


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## distressed_romeo (Oct 3, 2007)

sonofabias said:


> Shawn Lanes record "The powers of Ten", also Kiekko Laurairo sp?(Angra-brazil) Michael Harris and James Murphy.Everyone has pretty much named the best known shred gods but you should check out the Mike Varneys Shrapnal label and guitar 9 records for a wide selection of known and unknown shredders.



There's some great stuff on Guitar 9, although there're a lot of cookie-cutter records on there as well. +10000 for James Murphy by the way.


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## Shawn (Oct 3, 2007)

Here are my top 5~

1. Tony Macalpine - Evolution
2. Tony Macalpine - Violent Machine
3. Tony Macalpine - Chromatacity
4. Tony Macalpine - Premonition
5. Tony Macalpine - Maximum Security



I might as well add these too~

Joe Satriani - Crystal Planet
Eric Johnson - Venus Isle
Steve Vai - Passion and Warfare

etc.

etc.

Too many to list!


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## Drew (Oct 3, 2007)

Of the ones I can think of, while drunk, that I own:

1.) Joe Satriani - Crystal Planet
2.) Steve Vai - Alien Love Secrets
3.) Neil Zaza - Staring at the Sun
4.) John Petrucci - Suspended Animation
5.) Tony Macalpine - Maximum Security
6.) Joe Satriani - The Extremist
7.) Rusty Cooley - selftitled
8.) Jason Becker - Perpetual Burn
9.) Buckethead - Colma
10.) Steve Morse - High Tension Wires

A few got the nod not for how "shreddy" they were, but for how "shreddy" they DIDN'T seem, while still blowing my mind.


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## Jongpil Yun (Oct 3, 2007)

Drew said:


> 7.) Rusty Cooley - selftitled



 

I reeaaally don't like that album. IMO the only good tracks are Dominion, Jazzmine's Song, and Piece of Mind, although Hillbilly Militia has a great riff. A lot of it to me seemed like all the worst people have to say about shred, self-important unmelodic wankery blah blah.

However, Rusty Cooley has yet to write a single bad solo for Outworld, and in fact, several of them are fucking amazing. I mean really fucking amazing. Actually, the guy is fucking amazing, but I'm not a big fan of his solo work.


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## Alex-D33 (Oct 3, 2007)

kmanick said:


> Check these guys out.
> 
> Greg Howe
> Vinnie Moore
> ...



 
Tony macalpine 
Joey tafolla
paul gilbert 
Guthrie Govan
Reb Beach .....are also on the top list of pioneers of shred guitar .


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## eaeolian (Oct 4, 2007)

bostjan said:


> I also think Ron Jarzombek requires a mention. Check out Watchtower and Spastic Ink!



Blotted Science, too. Although "Control and Resistance" is an example of what can happen when the entire band can "shred"...


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## Metal Ken (Oct 4, 2007)

Jongpil Yun said:


> However, Rusty Cooley has yet to write a single bad solo for Outworld, and in fact, several of them are fucking amazing. I mean really fucking amazing. Actually, the guy is fucking amazing, but I'm not a big fan of his solo work.



I'd be a lot better if i could tweak it. For example, i think that the song Under the Influence kicks ass, but that really wanky part right in the middle where he just does this 4 note per string pattern up and down 4 or so strings for like 4 measures just RUINS it.


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## Jongpil Yun (Oct 4, 2007)

Metal Ken said:


> I'd be a lot better if i could tweak it. For example, i think that the song Under the Influence kicks ass, but that really wanky part right in the middle where he just does this 4 note per string pattern up and down 4 or so strings for like 4 measures just RUINS it.



The time changes and a lot of the stuff in Under the Influence is great, but I hate the main theme. His vibrato seems way too over the top and over done for it.

Also, the little 2-string sweeps in Under the Influence =


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## Wiz (Oct 4, 2007)

Anything by Michael Romeo is the best shred album ever 

I'd recommend Divine Wings of Tragedy for some righteous shredding and riffing.


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## distressed_romeo (Oct 4, 2007)

Jongpil Yun said:


> However, Rusty Cooley has yet to write a single bad solo for Outworld, and in fact, several of them are fucking amazing. I mean really fucking amazing. Actually, the guy is fucking amazing, but I'm not a big fan of his solo work.



 People tend to ignore how good he is at structuring his solos (re. the 'War Cry' solo), his phrasing, and knowledge of playing over changes.

I really liked his solo album, although wish the production was better, and he'd used a real drummer. The Outworld debut still blew it out of the water though.


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## distressed_romeo (Oct 4, 2007)

Oh, amidst all the talk of classic Shrapnel albums, no-one's mentioned Bernd Steidl's 'Psycho Acoustic Overture' album!  Does anyone else own it?


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## distressed_romeo (Oct 4, 2007)

The Modern Guitarist - Index

An insanely detailed run-down of shred, with lots of suggested listening.


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## distressed_romeo (Oct 4, 2007)

James Byrd's 'Son of Man'.

'In My Father's House' is one of my favourite neo-classical tunes. It was available for free download on his site a while ago but isn't there anymore unfortunately, which is annoying as it was on my old computer, and I didn't think to burn it onto a CDR...


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## Wiz (Oct 4, 2007)

Also let's not forget about Mike Varney's Centrifugal Funk (Garsed, Lane, Gambale)


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## Shawn (Oct 4, 2007)

Gambale is flawless on "The Light Beyond".


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## Shawn (Oct 4, 2007)

distressed_romeo said:


> There's some great stuff on Guitar 9, although there're a lot of cookie-cutter records on there as well. +10000 for James Murphy by the way.



 James Murphy has always been one of my favs. The first time I heard Obituary's Cause Of Death back in 1991, I immediately wanted to play like that. I love his work on Death's Spiritual Healing and Cancer's Death Shall Rise as well. Disincarnate shows his best work IMO.


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## playstopause (Oct 4, 2007)

distressed_romeo said:


> The Modern Guitarist - Index
> 
> An insanely detailed run-down of shred, with lots of suggested listening.



That's a GREAT link!


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## 7slinger (Oct 4, 2007)

Dendroaspis said:


> Old school but very heavy:
> 
> Check out Forbidden Evil by Forbidden. One of my all-time fave thrash albums.
> 
> Thrash + Shred =



just put this on my Ipod (guess that's stealing now)

Through Eyes of Glass FTW


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## Baddo (Oct 4, 2007)

sonofabias said:


> Shawn Lanes record "The powers of Ten", also Kiekko Laurairo sp?(Angra-brazil) ...



Kiko Loureiro. -> this guy kicks ass. A must for those who haven't checked out his work.

-Baddo


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## Jongpil Yun (Oct 4, 2007)

playstopause said:


> That's a GREAT link!



 

+rep


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## RXTN (Oct 5, 2007)

Joe Satriani
Steve Vai
John Petrucci
Paul Gilbert
Vinnie Moore


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