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10. Maciej Meller – Riverside

Maciej has managed to step into some very big shoes. On Riverside’s latest, he brings some very emotional guitar solos and an overall sense that he is truly one of Riverside now. I was impressed.

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9. Markus Steffen – Subsignal

Markus has some of the best stabby guitar riffs around, and Subsignal’s new album really focused on that at times. He has mastered angular and melodic phrasing, and he knows how to place an addictive lick or immaculate riff perfectly.

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8. Kelly Nordstrom – eMolecule

One of the highlights of the eMolecule debut was Kelly’s ferocious and piledriving guitar work. I was expected something more like Sound of Contact, but this was far heavier and more complex, and I loved it.

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7. Marco – Edenya

Marco’s guitars are a major highlight of the recent Edenya album. At first, I assumed he would primarily take influence from Gilmour and his ilk, mainly because Marco’s soloing is excellent, but he is much more than that with some very muscular, yet clean riffs that truly wowed me on some tracks.

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6. Jason Hartman – Vanishing Kids

Jason is a master of the doom riff, elongated and mournful. I was also taken with his emotional and intense classic solos, and the general fuzz of his distorted tone. His work on the new Vanishing Kids album is so much fun to hear.

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5. Max Molodtsov – Sorrowful Land

Max’s guitars are heavy and dark with a nice bite to them, and yet he doesn’t overdue them.  Fans of Insomnium and Draconian should love his style, both in the fleeting and slow motion licks and also the robust riffs that so often take the music to a higher place.

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4. Jens Lueck

– Single Celled Organism

I’ve always known that Jens is a great guitarist, but the new Single Celled Organism album is some of the best I’ve heard from him. I love his Floydian vibe, especially the terrific solos, but he leans into lengthy instrumentals on this album, too, which show various sides of his playing, even meaty riffs. I really enjoyed his work on this one.

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3. Kim Olesen and Michael Bodin

– Anubis Gate

Anubis Gate roared back with some of their best work yet, and that goes for their guitars, too. I love the dark tone they chose, but it is the intensity and perfect riffs that they use that really made me take notice.

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2. Ally Carter

– The Emerald Dawn

Ally has the perfect sound for The Emerald Dawn’s unconventional music; expressive with a sense of familiarity in its phrasing.  His fingers get some extensive exercise on their latest, both in how much his guitar is the center of attention, and also in how melodic and conversational his playing is. I can’t think of another guitarist that sounds exactly like him.

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**1. Jamie Van Dyck – Earthside**

It is a pleasure to see and hear Jamie’s playing. From delicate passages to monstrously heavy riffs, his guitars are the soul of Earthside. He is very much a clinician or mathematician in how he composes and plays, and I could hear that intensity and cerebral focus all over their long-awaited new album.

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