Pantera’s Dimebag Darrell Named ‘Riff King’ by Metal Hammer Magazine

Dimebag Darrell has been named Riff King of the World by Metal Hammer magazine in a poll to find the most talented, iconic and beloved guitarists of all time and ‘My Guitar Lessons’ certainly agrees.

The late Pantera guitarist faced stiff competition from the likes of Metallica’s James Hetfield, Black Sabbath’s Toni Iommi and Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine, but industry experts and musicians ultimately decided that Darrell was the real riff lord.

Journalist Mick Wall discussed why Darrell is so revered in the metal community, describing him as “…a guitarist so unbelievably good he got banned from entering talent contests as a kid because he kept winning them. A cat so polar-cool he single-handedly took heavy metal in a new direction and influenced countless others to follow him.

“There have been plenty of giant-killing shredders over the years. There have been the most immense soloists. And of course there have been those masters of the metal universe: the riff overlords. The thing about Dimebag Darrell, though, is that he didn’t just excel at any one of those things. He could do all of them, not just as well as the next axe-grinder. Not Just better, either. But in a whole new way he invented for himself, for us, forever.”

Dimebag Darrell was shot onstage in 2004 while performing with Damageplan. His shooter was killed at the scene.

Who would you include in a list of riff lords? Share your suggestions in the comments below.