👕 Get New Ernie Ball Merch Now!
  • Ernie Ball
  • Music Man
  • Sterling by Music Man
  • Security notice: Ernie Ball staff will never send you a direct message about a prize or giveaway, and will never ask you to click a link to "claim" anything.
    If you receive a message like that - even from an account whose name looks official - do not click the link. Please report it using the Report link on the message so the moderators can act. A scam campaign impersonating admin accounts was blocked on 29 July 2026; those accounts are banned and their messages have been deleted.
Axis 30th Anniversary

Bring on the Shred

tvanveen

tvanveen

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 25, 2003
Messages
666
Location
DC
Hi. I'm Tom. I don't shred. My idea of a brilliant guitarist is Tom Verlaine or Johnny Marr.

So, in the spirit of being open minded I've decided it's time to reinvestigate shred. Obviously a lot of you guys love it, so bring it on...

I'm going to buy 3 shred cd's, what should they be?
 
Well I love shredding, and there is a huge amounts out there, but I suggest you start with the following:

Steve Vai: Passion and Warfare

Yngwie Malmsteen: Rising Force

Joe Satrianni: Surfing with the Alian

Now I'm not saying these are the best or whatever, its just a place to start

:)

Actually tune into the EBMM 24hr commercial free radio station, on their main page and dial in SHRED, listen then perhaps pick a favorite from their...
 
Last edited:
first off DO NOT BUY PASSION AND WARFARE, that guy is a cheap excuse for a shredder, the massive quantities of compression on that record make me sick, and the songs just blow.

now on a lighter note, heres my list

1. Dream Theater- images and words (not the best dt album, just the best guitar wise)
2. Steve Morse- Stressfest, or one of his cd's with the dregs

also vinnie moore is very good
 
tvanveen said:
Hi. I'm Tom. I don't shred. My idea of a brilliant guitarist is Tom Verlaine or Johnny Marr.

So, in the spirit of being open minded I've decided it's time to reinvestigate shred. Obviously a lot of you guys love it, so bring it on...

I'm going to buy 3 shred cd's, what should they be?
Click to expand...

Do you have any preferences on what kind of shred you're looking for? I'm sorry I don't know who Verlaine and Marr are (maybe you can introduce me along the way?)
Neo-classical, heavy, progressive, metal, country (is there such a thing as country shred?) ?

What Raz recommended is certainly good.
 
aaronb said:
first off DO NOT BUY PASSION AND WARFARE, that guy is a cheap excuse for a shredder, the massive quantities of compression on that record make me sick, and the songs just blow.

now on a lighter note, heres my list

1. Dream Theater- images and words (not the best dt album, just the best guitar wise)
2. Steve Morse- Stressfest, or one of his cd's with the dregs

also vinnie moore is very good
Click to expand...

I don't want to defend Vai because I don't like his music myself, but I would NOT go as far as calling him a cheap excuse for a shredder. He has a valid place in a history of shred, so his name appears appropriately in this thread.

As far as DT goes, I really like some of the solo work from their latest cd Train of Thought. It's pretty insane.
 
In the spirit of shredding LIVE....

I'd go:

Dream Theater - Live @ Budokan
Steve Vai - Alive in an Utra World
Dixie Dregs - Bring 'Em Back Alive
Satriani - Live in SF

What's shredding on a record if you can't do it live...
 
aaronb said:
first off DO NOT BUY PASSION AND WARFARE, that guy is a cheap excuse for a shredder, the massive quantities of compression on that record make me sick, and the songs just blow.

now on a lighter note, heres my list

1. Dream Theater- images and words (not the best dt album, just the best guitar wise)
2. Steve Morse- Stressfest, or one of his cd's with the dregs

also vinnie moore is very good
Click to expand...
Weren't you banned at one point
:mad:
 
There are tons of great shred guitar out there.

Here are my three picks:

Racer X - Superheroes

John Petrucci/Dream Theater - Anything

Steve Morse - Anything.

All else mentioned were great as well.

BTW, Steve Vai is not a cheap excuse for a shredder and his music does not blow. How many albums you got out there bud?!?! None....I thought so. No need to put down a player because you do not like him/her. The players you did mention are great in their own right as well. No need to go there with the insults. :rolleyes:
 
To this day I listen to Passion and Warfare and I still think its ahead of its time...I can't seem to get past it, isn't it toted as Steve VAi's greatest achievement?
 
It's the one everyone knows very well. I like some of his other stuff better, but, Passion and Warfare is still a great album....compression and all! :cool:
 
Aaron aka aaronb, I decided to go check out your website, hoping to find some good shred music there... Well I found some ok old school death metal instead.... I was even able to locate something reminiscent of a solo towards the end of "For a lie"... tapping was it? hard to tell because the rest of the band did their best to prevent anyone from actually hearing it... too bad.... anyway nothing close to Vai's level of performance, I'm sorry...
 
mhorse said:
Aaron aka aaronb, I decided to go check out your website, hoping to find some good shred music there... Well I found some ok old school death metal instead.... I was even able to locate something reminiscent of a solo towards the end of "For a lie"... tapping was it? hard to tell because the rest of the band did their best to prevent anyone from actually hearing it... too bad.... anyway nothing close to Vai's level of performance, I'm sorry...
Click to expand...

+1
Sorry I'm not much of a player either, but dang that's funny :D
 
First of all, get yourself some "Dream Theater". John Petrucci is by far my favourite player and knocks the socks off satch, vai and co. both musically and technically. I would recommend "Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulance" or Scenes From A Memory.

Secondly, no one has mentioned Michael Romeo from "Symphony X", get yourself the "The Odyssey" or "The Divine Wings Of Tragedy". Not full on shredding, just propper music with some great playing by MJR.

Thirdly, get yourself "Elements of Persuasion" by James Labrie (the singer from "Dream Theater"), the guitarist Marco Sfogli is a phenominal player influenced strongly by JP and the whole album completely rocks!!!!! :D
 
Danjp1928 said:
First of all, get yourself some "Dream Theater". John Petrucci is by far my favourite player and knocks the socks off satch, vai and co. both musically and technically. I would recommend "Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulance" or Scenes From A Memory.

Secondly, no one has mentioned Michael Romeo from "Symphony X", get yourself the "The Odyssey" or "The Divine Wings Of Tragedy". Not full on shredding, just propper music with some great playing by MJR.

Thirdly, get yourself "Elements of Persuasion" by James Labrie (the singer from "Dream Theater"), the guitarist Marco Sfogli is a phenominal player influenced strongly by JP and the whole album completely rocks!!!!! :D
Click to expand...

I don`t know about Petrucci knocking Satriani`s socks off!!!!! But i will say Tony McAlpine could give John a run for his money! Don`t comment if you`ve never heard of Tony because he is that good a player! :)
 
Wow! I've been away from the forum for a few months and one of the first posts I see is a Vai bashing post! First of all, let me say that Passion and Warfare is not my favorite Vai album. It is definitve of his playing though. All the weird noises aside, Vai is a master of the instrument and his musical knowledge is next to none IMHO.

Aaronb, you might want to listen to "Whispering a Prayer" or "Boston Rain Melody" if you want to hear both feel and speed from Vai...

Back to the point of this thread, my definitive shred albums would be

1. Steve Vai - Fire Garden
2. Dream Theater - Images and Words
3. Cacophony - Speed Metal Symphony
 
Oh I forgot: Tribal Tech - Illicit. That albums will smoke all your shorts!

I dunno about Sfogli...sounds like cardboard, might be a good technician but his tone and originality leave a lot to be desired...
 
Raz said:
Well I love shredding, and there is a huge amounts out there, but I suggest you start with the following:

Steve Vai: Passion and Warfare

Yngwie Malmsteen: Rising Force

Joe Satriani: Surfing with the Alien
Click to expand...

I think for a START into "shred", these are EXACTLY the same three albums I would recommend. These three guys helped make all the other guys commercially viable (notice, I said viable, not necessarily popular or greatly successful). Without these guys, the rest wouldn't have had much success recording albums for sale at all (including Dream Theater, whom I love!).

Now as far as Petrucci v. Satriani, well, come on. That's a riduculous argument. They are both amazing players and each of them would be the first to tell you that even "shred" guitar playing is not about competition.
 
Norrin Radd said:
I think for a START into "shred", these are EXACTLY the same three albums I would recommend. These three guys helped make all the other guys commercially viable (notice, I said viable, not necessarily popular or greatly successful). Without these guys, the rest wouldn't have had much success recording albums for sale at all (including Dream Theater, whom I love!).

Now as far as Petrucci v. Satriani, well, come on. That's a riduculous argument. They are both amazing players and each of them would be the first to tell you that even "shred" guitar playing is not about competition.
Click to expand...

That's what I was trying to establish. a good starting ground. You've got neo-classical, melodic and all around shred in there. Had I pointed him to Rusty Cooley, then perhaps we may read about him in the paper suffering a near fatal one :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Classic Rock N Roll Slinky
Back
Top