Top 10 Amazing Guitarists in Bands People Love to Hate

WatchMojo

Even in the most divisive bands, guitar talent shines through! Join us as we highlight extraordinary six-string virtuosos who deserve recognition despite playing in polarizing groups. From nu-metal pioneers to arena rock giants, these guitarists prove technical brilliance can exist within controversial musical contexts.

Transcript

00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we're counting down our subjective picks for guitar players

00:13whose talents languish within the ranks of bands not necessarily known for their musicality.

00:1910. Ted Nugent – The Amboy Dukes and Ted Nugent Band

00:40The Nuge's irascible and abrasive personality has certainly made him a divisive figure over

00:46the years, but there's no denying the man's six-string talents. Nugent first made waves

00:52as a member of the Amboy Dukes, a pioneering psych-rock act. Ted's career roads would eventually

00:59lead him to heavier country, however, with the band that bore his name packing arenas

01:04across North America. Heck, that opening riff to Stranglehold alone makes Ted Nugent Hall

01:10of Fame material in our books, while other hits like Cat Scratch Fever made the Motor City

01:22Madman a household name for rock and roll.

01:259. Dave Matthews – Dave Matthews Band

01:36It's almost a cliché at this point, discussing how excellent Dave Matthews and his band are

01:50at playing their instruments. You'd be hard-pressed to find any critics, to the contrary, even

01:55amongst the most ardent haters of the Dave Matthews Band.

02:0310. Of course, mileage for this kind of music also depends upon one's tolerance for long,

02:11free-form, extended jamming. This sort of post-Grateful Dead, hippie-commune jam band scene features

02:18tons of room for Matthews to show off his guitar skills, sure, but it can also grate on the nerves.

02:30Maybe we're not bleary-eyed enough to appreciate what's going on here, but the Dave Matthews

02:35Band have certainly found their niche.

02:388. Zoltan Bathory – Five Finger Death Punch

02:43Popularity can often be a double-edged sword, with just as many die-hard undergrounders deriding

02:57the commercialized metal of Five Finger Death Punch as there are equally devoted fans. The musical

03:03skills of band founder Zoltan Bathory never really came into question, however.

03:09Since even those who can't stand FFDP can begrudgingly admit that their guitar work usually sounds

03:22fairly involved, Bathory's approach is aggressive and overdriven, but with moments of restraint

03:29that lend the otherwise broad-sounding Five Finger Death Puncha certain emotional resonance

03:35that's connected with their fans.

03:427. Johnny Buckland – Coldplay

03:53It can occasionally be a risk whenever one particular member serves as a commercial focal point for

03:59certain popular bands. It's as if many forget that there even are any other members of Coldplay

04:07aside from Chris Martin. So integral is the piano-playing frontman to his band's success.

04:14This is kind of a shame, because Johnny Buckland's guitar playing has often proved itself to be

04:19tasteful, tasteful, and melodic, particularly when juxtaposed against Martin's higher vocal register.

04:248. Johnny Buckland – Coldplay

04:31Sure, the influences from The Edge and U2 are more than obvious with Buckland's playing, but his note choices

04:38and phrasing always felt to us as something of a secret weapon within an admittedly overexposed band.

04:456. Slash – Velvet Revolver

04:55Scott Weiland's post-Better crooning typically stymied critics of the Stone Temple Pilots. This was

05:09particularly why the singer was such a strange choice to front Velvet Revolver. Slash's head-scratching

05:16follow-up to Guns N' Roses' Royal Rock pedigree. On one hand, we sort of understand why Slash might

05:30want to modernize his sound by bringing Weiland into the fold. That said, Slash's incendiary guitar

05:37playing never felt truly at home within Velvet Revolver, a band that felt as if it was resisting

05:44the Axeman's 80s rock legacy, rather than embracing it. Velvet Revolver tried to have their cake and eat

05:52it too, but the end results felt like a weird nexus point between post-grunge sleaze and hard rock excess.

05:59It never really worked though, despite Slash's best attempts to make the riffs click.

06:055. Mike Muschok – Stain

06:22The new metal movement of the late 90s into the millennium saw a lot of different bands tossing

06:27ideas at the wall to see what would stick. Stain had a couple of heavy tunes to be sure, but

06:34gained their biggest chart success primarily on the strengths of their ballads.

06:42This shifted the spotlight of focus primarily on singer Aaron Lewis, leaving the guitar riffing of

06:48Mike Muschok to flounder by the wayside. Granted, Muschok's talents were also highlighted in his post-Stain

06:57outfit, Saint Ansonia. But his work with Stain definitely didn't receive that much critical

07:03attention during its heyday.

07:054. Ace Frehley – KISS

07:13It's a sort of misconception that the members of KISS weren't proficient at their instruments. The band

07:26simply believed that less was more, and usually concentrated more on songwriting and hooks than

07:32extended impressive instrumentation.

07:355. Ace Frehley – KISS

07:41Yet it's also Ace Frehley that undeniably influenced generations of guitar players to pick up the

07:48instrument. His work on KISS songs like Detroit Rock City, Strutter, and Black Diamond were juxtaposed

07:55against his own solo hits like New York Groove. Then again, KISS has always had a fight against

08:07haters and detractors, with many claiming that their style over substance schtick signified a band out

08:14more for merchandising than music.

08:173. Keith Nelson – Buckcherry

08:28The unrepentant dirt and grime behind Buckcherry's alt-glam sound wasn't for everybody. Hits like

08:35Crazy Bitch pretty much told everybody what Buckcherry was all about, a vibe that almost entirely focused

08:42upon frontman Josh Todd. This essentially meant that guitarist Keith Nelson could go virtually

08:54incognito, despite working hard to write riffs that felt of two worlds. It's certainly arguable

09:01whether or not Buckcherry's attempts at bringing back the 80s were successful, but Keith Nelson's

09:07guitar skills seem to never be in question. 2. Mark Tremonti – Creed – Alter Bridge

09:29Just when you thought it was safe to peek out from the woodwork, look out. There it is, post-grunge

09:35nostalgia. Call it divorced dad rock, or simply nostalgia for whatever was popular during your

09:41teen years, but Creed is back, y'all. Yet even those that couldn't stand Creed back in the day, be it due to

09:54Scott Stapp's vocals or stage presence, could still agree about Mark Tremonti. The man could play the

10:00guitar then and still can't, thank you very much. Tremonti's success with his post-Creed act Alter Bridge

10:08proved that beyond a shadow of a doubt. Still, we don't think we have glasses rose-colored enough

10:21to legitimately bust out a Creed CD in the modern day. 1. West Borland – Limp Bizkit

10:45The man loved a disguise. Maybe Wes Borland was trying to keep himself entertained while performing

10:58with his meal ticket Limp Bizkit, or maybe he was just trolling. Nobody ever reigned on Borland's

11:05parade when it came to the man's fearsome guitar skills, however. Even reviews critical at the

11:15time of Limp's creative output made mention of Borland's unique approach and progressive

11:19experimental influences. This was a musician who probably could have written or released

11:25music as commercial as Limp Bizkit on his own, but it was Wes Borland's presence on stage that helped

11:32his band become the megastars of their new metal scene. Is there an unsung musician you'd like to

11:44shout out? Let us know in the comments!

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