Pete Prown began writing about guitars and music in 1985. Today, he’s a regular contributor and music editor at Vintage Guitar magazine, and his work has been featured in Guitar Player, Guitar for the Practicing Musician, Guitar One, and Car Stereo Review, among others. Prown has also written several guitar books, including Legends of Rock Guitar (with HP Newquist, 1997); Modal Riffs for Rock Guitar (1995); Gear Secrets of the Guitar Legends (with Lisa Sharken, 2003); Shred! The Ultimate Guide to Warp-Speed Guitar (with Rich Maloof, 2006); Ultimate Heavy Metal Guitars (2023); and The Ultimate Book of Blues Guitars (2024).

Contents
Introduction: Loud and Proud

Chapter 1: The Dawn of Heavy
Eric Clapton
Jeff Beck
Jimi Hendrix
Pete Townshend

Chapter 2: Forging Metal
Jimmy Page
Tony Iommi
Ritchie Blackmore (Part 1)
Leslie West
Martin Barre
Mick Box

Chapter 3: Rock and a Hard Place
Johnny Winter
Joe Perry & Brad Whitford
Brian May
Robin Trower
Don “Buck Dharma” Roeser
Rick Derringer
Ronnie Montrose
Frank Marino
Mick Ralphs

Chapter 4: Arena Rock
Eddie Van Halen
Ace Frehley
Tom Scholz & Barry Goudreau
Nancy Wilson
Neal Schon
Angus & Malcolm Young
Pat Travers

Chapter 5: Euro-Crunch
Ritchie Blackmore (Part 2)
Michael Schenker
Scott Gorham & Brian Robertson
Glenn Tipton & K.K. Downing
Rudolph Schenker, Uli Jon Roth & Matthias Jabs
Dave Murray & Adrian Smith
Randy Rhoads

Chapter 6: Prog Power
Kerry Livgren & Rich Williams
Alex Lifeson
Michael Wilton & Chris DeGarmo
John Petrucci

Chapter 7: The Headbanging ’80s
Phil Collen & Steve Clark
Gary Moore
Joan Jett & Lita Ford
Brad Gillis & Jeff Watson
Mick Mars
John Sykes
Vernon Reid

Chapter 8: Shred
Yngwie Malmsteen
Steve Vai
Joe Satriani
Vivian Campbell
Jason Becker
Paul Gilbert
George Lynch
Tony MacAlpine & Vinnie Moore

Chapter 9: Thrash, Smash & Bash
James Hetfield & Kirk Hammett
Dave Mustaine
Kerry King & Jeff Hanneman
Scott Ian

Chapter 10: End of the Century
Slash
Zakk Wylde
Dimebag Darrell
Ty Tabor
Jerry Cantrell
Tom Morello
Kim Thayil

Chapter 11: Black, Death, Math & Masks

Chapter 12: Metal after the Millennium
Mark Tremonti
Alexi Laiho
Herman Li
Brent Hinds & Bill Kelliher
Nita Strauss & Nili Brosh

Resources
Image Credits
Acknowledgments
Index