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As a guitarist, I loved this video! The shred stuff is respectable but, even as a player, I cant listen to it for that long. I still feel the best guitar solos are the ones with the most melody, that can get stuck in a non-guitar players head. Eddie Van Halen was able to seamlessly combine technique, without sacrificing melody.

One of the reasons that made me fall in love with Bullet For My Valentine's early music were their really well conceived and melodic, yet somewhat thrashy guitar solos. They didn't just shred for the sake of shredding, they actually made the solos fit the vibe of the songs, adding value to them, rather than taking away from their structure

It definitely never died in Japan! I’m not a guitarist but grew up in a guitar family and I’m super grateful for how mainstream and alive guitar solos remain in Japanese music. You’ll find guitar solos even in genres where it isn’t typical to have one because they have become such a staple of Japanese music. So many cutesy jpop songs with absolutely shredded guitar solos in them.

Man, seeing Morello in the thumbnail reminds me how damn good the solo is in “Like a Stone”. Then I remember how much I miss Chris Cornell😔

I remember on Chapelle Show, John Mayer was about to do a guitar solo at a barber shop and everyone was like, "cut that shit out!" LOL

overuse definitely killed it. a great solo from 2009 is The Used's Kissing You Goodbye. beautiful, emotional, one of the only solos in band's discography and its very impactful.

I think you nailed it. Basically once Rap overtook Rock, solos went underground. Rhythm surpassed melody. Now the next generation of guitarists are combining the two and it’s exciting if you love guitar.

The overuse of guitar solos during the 80s killed guitar solos, not other genres. There are plenty of good music genres that don't require guitar solos to be enjoyable to listen to!

I loved that you showed a clip of Prince, because too many people don't realize how absolutely amazing he was as a guitarist. From blues to funk to flat out shredding, his purple highness is (imho) one of the most versatile musicians of the last half century.

As a drummer who has never really played guitar I love the idea of the whole band turning into a percussion instrument. NuMetal for life!!

Honestly, the nerdy math rock clean guitar style has massive potential combined with upcoming genres such as hyperpop. Brakence's punk2 album is a great example of how this kind of solo can be implemented with so many other genres like emo rap, electro pop, punk, and r&b. There's plenty of potential with guitars of you're willing to get absolutely weird with it.

Alexi Laiho damn near single handedly “saved” guitar in the early-mid 00s in the metal scene.

I am definitely not a “guitar nerd” but G.O.A.T by Polyphia absolutely slaps. Prog metal is very difficult to make accessible and you gotta give certain bands props for breaking out of the niche like Periphery and Protest the Hero

Guitar solos are still present in rock sub-genres like prog where technicality is a characteristic, but in mainstream terms the rise of textural styles like Post-Rock and Shoegaze, where creating an atmosphere is the focus, had something to do with guitar solos becoming less prominent I think

Grunge killing the guitar solo is a myth. Grunge bands have always had metal influences. Especially with that sludgy sound that is clearly influenced by Black Sabbath.

When I was in the car today I heard the Screaming Trees -- I Nearly Lost You. I love the soloing all throughout that song. Sometimes I discover bands who do good solos, but not as often as I'd like.

Loved this video. You got a subscriber out of me! A very appealing shred solo that I think would be accessible, "palatable" and enjoyable by common folk is the solo in technical difficulties by racer x. As a guitarist I often get tired of listening to straight shred songs, ironically, but I can listen to tech difficulties endlessly. Paul Gilbert is a genius at combining shred and emotion

Pearl Jam had some badass solos.... Alive especially....also, Alice in Chains had solos and so did Chris Cornell's bands. When people say grunge had no solos, they don't know what they are talking about. And talking about Nu Metal, Static X had some great solos, Deftones had a few, and even Korn did. Glad you made this video, Finn.

Thank you for pointing out that grunge didn’t kill solos! It’s such a common fallacy but all the grunge bands totally had solos in their songs. Yeah, they weren’t like hair metal solos and served the song instead of being the point of the song, they were still there. I agree for sure that it was rap and nu metal that took the solo out of mainstream music. But, like, imagine how corny a Korn song would sound with someone shredding over it or something. Freak on a Leash except instead of Johnathon Davis doing his vocal thing it is a bunch of sweep picking and tapping! 🤣

Some 90’s hardcore bands were doing solos, few and far between though. Awesome video Finn!

One thing Finn didn't mention here is the garage rock revival in the early 2000s which saw a bunch of indie bands achieve mainstream success. Bands like the White Stripes, The Killers and the Strokes all had hit songs with iconic lead guitar solos eg: Seven Nation Army, When You Were Young, Last Nite etc. The lead guitarists may not have had the same star power as the 80s hair metal bands but it still formed a key part of the sound which made it so popular. Just my two cents

Joji's song Run features a nice solo, a very rare thing for "Pop" music as you said. Being such a rare thing makes me like it even more.

An Incredible analysis! I love the mentions of Intervals, Polyphia, and AAL. I hard agreed with a ton of your takes on this video which is a little rare for me although I love hearing your opinions. Thanks a ton Finn.

I was in Tampa in the last days of the dm scene and this was a common topic at Morris Sound and the brass mug , rehearsal studios... You nailed it sir !!!

As a very very niche guitarist myself, I've always found there is an audience ready and waiting for anything you're passionate in playing, that was something that changed was that guitarists started doing solos not for the passion of music but just for standing out and it doesn't resonate at all with audiences, it's inauthentic

Great video. For an example of extremes, I would cite Eddie Van Halen vs. Yngwie Malmsteen. Eddie was the best shredder possible who could take complex stuff and make it fun and accessible. His solos always seemed to fit perfectly into fun, catchy Van Halen songs, and he was also the man behind the monster solo in "Beat it" one of the most successful songs from one of the most successful albums ever. On the other hand, Yngwie is the ultimate flash for flash sake, guitarist who only impressed nerds. You pretty much summarized it perfectly: Something is cool when it impresses girls, something is nerdy if it can only impress other dudes.

I love that your one shred pick was Marty and Jason in Cacophony 🙏🏼

The guitar solo really needs to come back imo. It's usually my favorite part of the song.

I've never been terribly picky about lead guitar work. Shreddy solos or minimalist punk-ish solos can both be enjoyable or both be boring. Riffs always come first for me.

The guitar solo is actually now more alive than any time since nu metal blew up. There’s now tons of raps songs even with guitars and solos. Plus the nerd prog bands like polyphia, intervals, etc really brought it back.

You nailed it with this video. I've been playing guitar for 20 years, write my own music that includes guitar solos (tastefully to suit the song and relatively short), have seen all the modern instrumental guitar bands live, and watch all the KZfaqrs you mentioned in the video. Bands like Polyphia and CHON are evolving what guitar instrumental music can be. And it's exciting. Good stuff!

Plini is an amazing all-instrumental band from Australia people have been sleeping on for far too long when it comes to shred but still has grooves that make you move. The main dude even uses the same headless guitar that Paul Masvidal of Cynic used.

I love the old Discharge solos. They were quick and to the point. Not too flashy but still added to the song.

Absolutely solid points. I always loved solos myself but even in my own song writing, they typically suck up more unneeded space than really add to anything. And I'm by no means even an awesome guitarist either.

Yo man great video, I feel like this is a thing people don’t talk about enough when it comes to popular music.

This vid is pretty much spot on👌 I still love a guitar solo if it serves the vibe of the song. The shred solo however does nothing for me, but the immense talent of such guitarists is undeniable. For me that's what's great about music; there's something for everyone. And I feel the solo will never go away, like you say; just because soloing isn't mainstream doesn't mean people don't care -there's a healthy space for 'solo enthusiasts' & guitarists - long may that continue🤘

man you're killing it, you are releasing a video almost every day !

I miss the epic shred days. Children Of Bodom kept shred alive. I'm also in a punk band and I make sure there's some shred, but like you said. Nobody want a 34 bar solo in a punk song. But a 4 bar shred is pretty awesome. See ya Finn.

Love that you included the clip of Kirk in Some Kind of Monster. I mentioned this in your community post when you said you were doing this video.

Great video. I really enjoyed your breakdown of it all.

I always loved David Gilmore's solos-great phrasing and pauses/sustain to build the tension and release. he never "shreds" but you really feel those notes in your gut.

I still love guitar solos 🤷‍♂️ guess I’m just too old now I dunno?!

I've been subscribed since August 2020 and your content is still on point, great job homie.

This channel is great man such interesting content across the board. May you live forever.

Guitar solos are not dead, but is not mandatory to include them anymore, some genres don't care about them because don't need them, but other styles like techdeath have guitar solos all the time. The novelty factor is gone, so, now solos are just another tool in songwriting, not a must.

Im surprised you didn't mention it but even Pantera started soloing less for a while or at least traditional solos, because songs like becoming and strength beyond strength have "solos" but its more so for aesthetic and atmosphere like you said. Far Beyond Driven really focused on breakdowns way more than any other Pantera album AND went #1.

Nice analysis, thanks! Trends change, it just happens. Probably my grandfather was upset about clarinet solos disappearing from popular music... I'm not even that sure that "shredding" was ever much of a component of popular music, with a couple of exceptions. Riffs were always the point of rock guitar in popular music.

Hey, Finn. Great video. Congrats. I wanna point out another thing, if i may, about modern guitar players. The use of effects and tuning that add that certain "wtf am i listening to?" quality that makes it interesting to people even outside the musician universe. Sure. There are bandas that still play with the classic shredy sound of the old days. But the creativity of this new guard is one of the main reasons that this sound is relevant. You could say that they're nerdiness was a good thing for once. 😆 Hope i got my point across. I sometimes suck at putting thoughts into words.

I recall watching Zak Wylde playing a self-indulgent 'solo' at a festival with BLS, and he went on...and on...and on and totally killed the sets vibe. (His band mates even left the stage for a while)

Adam Jones of Tool still does solos - hell, even Justin (bassist) has one in the new album track Invincible.

excellent explanation and rundown!!! I graduated High School in 1988 so you can imagine that I was heartbroken when EVH died in 2020...fortunately, as you touched on, with the explosion of self-publishing and social media I can go on in life imagining that the guitar hero never died...oops, I gotta go check my feed for Steve Vai's latest!😁

Another great video Finn. Keep ‘em coming. I love em all. I think you should do a video on V.O.D. That would be badass.

Guitar nerd music really is thriving. I ran into a “normie” friend from high school recently (she is a musician but in the choir kid sense rather than the metal bro sense), and she mentioned being into animals as leaders now. Absolutely shocked me

Being raised on bands like Zeppelin, Skynyrd, Pink Floyd, Van Halen and more, I've always been blown away by a killer guitar solo and wish they would make a comeback! I love a killer shredding solo 🤘🏼🤘🏼

Never got into Yngwie too much, but I did like Joe Satrioni in the 80's. He did a pretty good job blending the solos with some catchy riffs and hooks that made it more accessible to layman like me.

Wow, I love this topic. Real high quality content here. Keep it up!

I really loved the guitar in Threat Signal - Counterbalance and Devin Townsend - Stagnant is one of my all time favourite cheesy solos, so good! I also really liked Avenged Sevenfold - Sidewinder for the guitar too.

I love a great solo from Trivium or A7X or Tim Henson on Goat but Brakedowns just hit harder. Domination by Pantera is a sweet spot for a 30 year old song.

I'm glad you covered this. I've definitely noticed the solos have been phased out. When you catch one it's like a nice gem. Depending on the solo. 🤣

Great video. I learned about 90s bands doing away with solos before in college music courses. And I'm heavy into Polyphia and Intervals now too (bass player here). Only thing I wished you mentioned in this video was Dimebag Darrell from Pantera. He is like the last great solo player I can think of. Definitely helped me get into heavier music. Rip.

My favorite guitar solos now often come from Billy Strings, his band also does great breakdowns. It's not a rock act but the rock influences are definitely there.

As a bassist, I would say we should all be grateful bass solos never became mainstream, especially slap bass solos. I know my place and that is building a heavy groove that makes the rest of the band sound great.

Will there be Parts 2 for Album art and Band logo videos? Those were great!

Sir, you have become my favorite person to watch on youtube. Always great content 🤘🏻

Hooo boy, i hope you survive the incoming guitarists

I feel like I'm the only guitarist who is happy rock is back on the fringes of society and that the solo is much more rare.

What a great and informative video. It was really interesting. Keep it up.

Sweet!!! Starting a Friday morning at work with a new video.

Can we acknowledge that Dimebag Darrell was a weird anomaly that somehow managed to be a guitar hero in the 90s/early 00s through the height of nu-metal? Btw, great video yet again, I loved this.

I saw Phish play to crowds of nearly 50,000 for three nights last year, definitely makes me happy that there are still people who appreciate the noodly stuff I like

awesome video and great points!

Bro you got me with this one. I saw the title and clicked immediately can't wait to watch.

I love the thought that “Breakdowns basically turn the whole band into a percussion instrument” Such a great description

"There are no guitar solos in punk" Bad Religion: hold my PhD!

Unrelated but I was chilling with my power metal friends the other day, and when we got bored I put on your video of you roasting Power Metal and it had everyone laughing for 20 minutes! Thanks Finn 🤘

That was extremely well explained. As a musicia, you hit the nail on the head!

the comparison between Solo and breakdown is interesting, and both tend to be overused to the point where it becomes boring

I play 🎸 and have for years, everything you said here 💯 percent checks out. Great vid!

I do remember hearing a fair few guitar solos in some pop/pop rock songs in the 90s, and 00s, but it did feel like it was declining by the end of the 00s. In 2009 though, I was blown away to hear a guitar solo in a mainstream song, in the form of Orianthi's pop rock song, According to You. I feel like that's the last guitar solo I heard on mainstream radio, but it would be interesting to see it come back in one way or another.

Not that it matters too much but two of the best solos from the grunge era come from Alice In Chains “Jar of Flies” within the songs “No Excuses” and “Nutshell”.

I love the guitar solos from Meshuggah, especially on the older albums like "Chaosphere", so unique. In general I prefer melodic solos in the style of David Gilmour or Steve Rothery. Absolute worst solos are from Slayer ;)

This is such an eloquent and insightful video. Hella informative and heartfelt. Love this Finn, super enjoyable. Thank you 🙏

i think where others have failed to figure out this mystery you totally nailed it.

I don’t mind a guitar solo when they are trying to be bluesy, (for example great guitar solos in Come As You Are by Nirvana, and imo the greatest guitar solo of all time in Don’t Fear The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult), but when a band is trying to be groovy and funky I don’t think a guitar solo works. That’s why Nu-Metal bands didn’t want to do guitar solos because Nu-Metal bands wanted to sound groovy and funky and a guitar solo wouldn’t work well with a groovy and funky tone. But yeah the guitar solo was so overused in the 80’s that by the 90’s bands wanted to get away from that flashy guitar solo that was so overused back in the 80’s.

The general direction of rock. Mostly these days its all a 'core' derivative

Great summary! Guitar as an art form is definitely alive and well, even if it doesn't usually fit into popular music. KZfaq and other internet platforms have given different music styles a home that didn't exist in the 90's.

Phenomenal job! I’m an underground musician of a WAY underground genre 😅…Dirty Punk. It’s like The Misfits meets Jimi Hendrix…blues punk. It’s not everyone’s thing, especially according to my analytics on KZfaq and SoundCloud but it’s made me a great deal happier. And I know the folks who tune in to listen actually dig what they hear. Which makes it a whole lot more gratifying.

As a guitar player of 20 years, I’ve gotten over shredding. It was cool when I first started and is still impressive, but it’s most often musically nonsensical. If someone can make it musical/interesting like EVH did, then it’s so much more palatable. Making this comment less than a minute in and have a feeling this is the point you’re going to make, but everything works like a pendulum. People got tired of hair metal and shredding rock stars which is why Nirvana and grunge got so popular. We see newer guitarists doing crazy stuff like Tim Henson and I think shredding or its bastard offspring will come back at some point until people grow tired of it again

Unpopular opinion: guitar nerds killed it by making the wank really fucking obvious and making playing guitar all about how many notes you can play. It'll always have its place, I love me a good guitar lead but the weird culture around fretwank made the whole thing simultaneously silly and impenetrable. Who wants to woodshed for like 8 hours a day to get good enough to keep the gatekeepers happy anyway?

08:33 songs first and solo second yes. The two solos you mentioned Nirvana and Black Hole Sun are definitely great solos too

Love the vids Finn. Sick content , you got any on industrial music?

i was never fond of guitar solos until i heard Avenged Sevenfold... City Of Evil brought them back into the mainstream and rightfully so. They proved a good guitar solo can still blow you away and add to the music instead of draining you.

Avenged sevenfold is the most mainstream hard rock band and they do solos.

First off, love your videos. It’s been a slow day at work and I’ve been binge watching some of your videos secretly in my office. 😂. There’s really no one better I’ve seen lately that’s so in tune with the industry. So thanks for all of your great content. But just a random thing here - there’s many videos featuring clips of August Burns Red and it seems you always use “Composure” as your go to for that band. Sure, it’s iconic and recognizable and easy to reference but that was still from their second album where I think they were still crafting their signature sound. Since those albums they’ve advanced in many ways in song writing and have gotten better and better instrumentally. (And frankly incorporate many guitar solos to this day, which I don’t typically hear in metal these days.). I’m not sure if you’ve listened to some of their newer music but I think you might enjoy it a bit more than their old stuff. Some of their latest tracks like Paramount, Ties That Bind, The Frost and Invisible Enemy really showcase how far they’ve come. There’s no instrument that outshines another and their guitar solos blend incredibly well with the rest of the song. They don’t sucker punch you like guitar solos from back in the day. 😂. I really appreciate ABR for keeping solos alive in Metalcore!

Years ago I saw a guitar tutorial video by the guy shredding on the 4-necked guitar at 7:19 where he says in the intro "This is where we give YOU the keys to the Lamborghini!" and then rips into a solo. I would pay good money for a physical copy of that video.

I've always appreciated melody WAY more than rhythm or percussion so... The breakdown was never for me. I'm one of those people sad to see the way popular music has gone in the past 20 years. 🤷

Travis barker and mgk

La primera vez que escuché un solo fue impresionante pero no llamo mucho mi atención, la primera vez que escuché un breakdown fue amor a primera vista 😍, quedé impactado y no creo que me cansé nunca

Finn! You really nailed it here! A lot of people tend to look down on the pop-metal bands of the '80s, but if you really look at it, the players were more accomplished than most other rock genres, including other types of metal and heavy rock. I would also argue that when grunge and the new alternative scenes came about in the '90s, the public not only lost interest in pop-metal, but also in much of the metal landscape at large, as well as classic rock and some of the original post-punk bands. I think it was just a changing of the guard. Pop-metal reigned supreme for about 10 years, and it was time for a change regardless of sub-genre.