very October, for five years now, ROCKWIRED.COM has given props to the seminal instrument in rock n roll and to the men and women who pick one up and play the hell out of it. This year, ROCKWIRED has picked twenty such ax-wielders who are doing their duty in keeping rock n roll alive and kicking. This annual list never comes easily and ROCKWIRED's editor-in-chief BRIAN LUSH is pleased with this year's list and the wide range of sounds, textures and tones from each of these most valued players. "Every year is different" says LUSH "Some names are very familiar to thsi list and some are brand spanking new. Not only does this list celebrate all of the pomp and theatricality that comes with being a guitarist in a rock band, but speaks to the musicality and the determination of each of these players. I'm super excited by this list of musicians that we have come up with for 2017."

he nineteen eighties was a time when the six string could be counted on to issue some killer melodies and hooks. For the past four years, CHRIS LANE has used his axmanship to issue the very thing that made rock n roll of that era truly kick. The man's artistry is on full display on the band's latest single ALL YOU NEED IS A HEARTBEAT where the gorgeous haired one does a guitarist like NEAL SCHON proud with heavenly riffs and licks. 

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e is one half of one of the creative nucleus of one of  active rock's most electrifying acts and he has layed down one mean foundation as guitarist and co-lead singer. BOBAFLEX is a band that is all about grit and rock n roll excess and McCOY's penchant for the perpetual power chord has kept the band and it's music interesting for a little over a decade now.

PHOTO BY PAYNE PRODUCTiONS

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e may as well get the legends on this list out of the way first. VERNON REID made a grand entrance onto the rock n roll scene in 1989 with the release of LIVING COLOUR's album VIVID an ever since, he has defied the expectations that come with being a mere rock n roll guitarist. The man's dexterity and musicality has allowed the band to cover a broad range of music from metal, blues, soul and hip hop. The man's musical pallette is wide and intimidating.

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f course this guy was going to be a guitar player. His fate was sealed with arms like that! DAVE BATES formed the band EDGE OF PARADISE over five years ago and has led the band on a musical evolution from Wagnerian heavy metal to a more industrial rock sound that has taken nothing away from his rock n roll swagger or lead singer MARGARITA MONET's pyrotechnic theatricality.

PHOTO BY DiANE LYNN PHOTOGRAPHY

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traight ahead rock n roll has been the name of WAYLAND's game since the release of their debut EP WELCOME TO MY HEAD back in 2012. A large part of the band's seemingly unstoppable engine is their lead guitarist PHILLIP VILENSKI who knows how to take his axmanship from strong, sturdy power chords to incendiary leads that leave shock and awe in their wake.

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he mighty penninsula of Nova Scotia seems a million miles away from what many would consider to be the rock n roll life but for years, guitarist and music entrepreneur ISAAC KENT has been working toward his dream of rock n roll glory with his own band DALI VAN GOGH. The band's muscular hard rock sound recalls ZEPPELIN and the cream of the grunge movement, but KENT's superior axmanship makes the band's brand of hard rock a signature one.

NOTE: Earlier we had stated that EDDIE VAN HALEN was from Nova Scotia. This was incorrect. Even we need to brush up on our rock n roll history at times.

PHOTO BY CRAiG WAMBOLT PHOTOGRAPHY

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he scorching, thunderous sound of ZEROKING owes a heavy debt to the axmanship of SHANE DAY. His musicality and dexterity sound heavily influenced by metal, Southern rock and even a tinge of hardcore punk. The band's forthcoming album EMPIRE OF SIN  has each and everyone of us waiting in high anticipation for what this ax man has up his creative sleeve.

full throttle metal sound isn't exactly what comes to mind when one thinks of a locale like Sao Paulo, Brazil. That is why it is absolutely imperative that OWL COMPANY make a good and fast impression here in the States. Their debut album HORIZON sounds like it's gonna be just the ticket thanks to the no nonsense riffage brought to us by guitarist FELIPE RUIZ.

egrettably, HEATHER GILLIS is the only female that made the list this year, but what a find she is. Her handiwork on the six-string had earned her a spot on the late-BUTCH TRUCKS' band FREIGHT TRAIN, but now GILLIS is striking out on her own, forging a sound that incorporates rock, soul and blues and some lap steel playing from the woman herself.

ead singer ANNAMARIA PINNA of the band VAJRA is indeed a spectacle both aurally and visually  but the sound that she uses to lure listeners is due to the six-string know-how of DAVE SUSSMAN. Hard rock riffs are a given in this corner of the musical spectrum but SUSSMAN adds a few eastern flourishes to the band's musical arsenal. 

PHOTO BY MAX R. SEQUEiRA PHOTOGRAPHY

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LOQUENT DEMONS, the new album by BOBAFLEX is already  proving to be the band's finest hour, filled with all of the bombast and balls that fans have come to expect from these guys over the years. We can't think of anyone who can take sex, drugs and rock n roll and give it the grand, epic scope of  a MARVEL movie like these guys have done for almost twenty years. The band's drive comes from a place that is so down and dirty that you need an ax man like DAVE TIPPLE to kick the band's monsterous sound into the stratosphere.

PHOTO BY PAYNE PRODUCTIONS

e first became acqainted with the death metal wizardry of guitarist AARON ROBINSON through his old band FORESHADOW. We had our money on the belief that this band was going to  be a lethal force in the field of death metal but sometimes, the best laid plans  can come undone. FORESHADOW came to an unceremonious end a couple of years ago, but ROBINSON hasn't given up the ghost. Instead he grew more ambitious and formed BLOOD OF ANGELS and has resolved to take the urgency of death metal into the glorious realm of progressive rock. The public has been given a hint of the band's musical horizon with the EP RISE OF THE FALLEN GODS  and it's epic first single ODIN' WRATH. ROBINSON's lethal ax-wielding is at the center of all off this and it will be fascinating to see where it all goes from here.

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he Seattle sound of the late eighties and early nineties  proved itself to be the last significant movement in rock music and came to define a generation. That infuence was certainly not lost on the Georgia- based rock band LULLWATER,  who have taken such inspiration from that scene and it's luminaries, that the band has taken to recoriding much of their rocking catalog in the same Seattle studio where PEARL JAM recorded. Bringing that genuine, crunchy sound to the band's grunge sensibility is guitarist DANIEL BINNIE whose handiwork on the band's latest EP THE SEATTLE SESSIONS truly electrifies.

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uitarist NIKHIL RAO is a relative newcomer to the band A WAR WITHIN. He joined the band halfway through the recording of the band's latest album BELIEVE. Despite coming to the party late, he has proven himself and his guitar playing to be invaluable to the bands wide ranging musical approach in the studio and on a live stage. The band will be hitting the studio pretty soon, according to an interview we did with RAO and it would be interesting to see where the band  can go with the man's input in the songwriting.

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aving spent some time there as a kid, I can tell you that South Dakota is a pretty quiet place to live unless you're in a mighty thunderstorm or a tornado. Another thing that doesn't make the Mount Rushmore State so quiet is the band UNCOMMON KNOWLEDGE which hails from Rapid City and parts of the Oglala Sioux Indian Reservation. The band's sound is pure heavy metal thunder and ax man SHANE LA POINTE knows when to go for the rapid fire riffage and when to bring forth a sound that is forboding and melodic. The band has been cutting their teeth with live shows throughout the plains and the southwest region of the country. The band is bound to catch on with an enthusiastic audience and LA POINTE is sure to get his due as a guitarist worth everyone's attention.




ou can find anything you want in New York City, but we never thought that it was possible to find a progressive metal band  with as many tones and musical textures as DA VINCI had  colors and shades of paint on his pallette.  This is the case for SIGNALS OF BEDLAM, a band comprised of  transplants to the "city the never sleeps" with an expansive sound that  defies mere categorization. When you are dealing with a  sound as big as this, you need a guitarist who is up for the challenge as is TOM HOY.

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ll of the press about the band SEASONS AFTER describe their music and thier latest album MANIFESTO as a rollercoaster ride. And we have to agree. The album is the result of a "manifesto" that the band came up with so they wouldn't repeat the same mistakes they made in previous bands that had cost them dearly. These fellows have learned form their mistakes an issue a sound that is forceful, blistering and wildly passionate. And for all of this, a guitarist like JAMES BEATTIE is just the ax man you need. 

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great band is only as good as the sum of it's parts and the band VYCES is made up some rather impressive parts. Comprised of former members of HEART SET SELF DESTRUCT and OLD FASHIONED BEATDOWN , the band has made some considerable noise with their debut EP DEVILS. Guitarist  SHAWN PATTERSON (formerly of OLD FASHIONED BEATDOWN and PHANTOM COMMUNIQUE) turns in some fine performances on the band's singles THE HIVE, DEVIL and NOCTURNAL.

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ccording to KILLSET's front man TONY LUCA, the band's guitarist DAVE COMER come from a background that is rooted in classic rock, and if you ask us, that's a good thing. The music of KILLSET is all over the place from metal to hip hop, but COMER's in-your-face hard rock approach gives the band's musical aspirations focus and gravitas. COMER's axmanship makes the band's latest release S.T.F.U an exciting listen and will have guitarists everywhere going "How did he do that?"

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veryone else on this list is a guitarist that goes for a bigger, better deal much like you expect in superhero action films. Some of them are rooted in more of a gut bucket sensibility, but a guitarist and performer like RICK SHAFFER lives there. His sound is raw and uncompromising  and calls to mind the works of such lengendary ax men as LINK WRAY or R.L. BURNSIDE. He got his start with the new wave band REDS back inthe eighties and for years, has kept his distorted brand of rock n roll alinve and pumping as he does on on his latest album STOLEN MOMENTS.

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