10 Best Two Guitar Bands
9. Def Leppard
When Def Leppard was getting the ball rolling, the guitar sound present in the band was typical of your standard pop-rock act, with crunchy riffs and off-the-wall solo work from Steve Clarke. Once the band went into the studio to record their commercial breakthrough Pyromania though, guitarist Pete Willis found himself unable to keep up with the band's rigorous recording techniques.
Upon Willis's departure, Leppard acquired pop-rock technician Phil Collen, who brought a great diversity to the band's work. While Steve Clarke was always the sloppy soloist with his guitar strung way down low, Collen's leads would sneak up on you with an impressive barrage of notes that would leave any hopeful guitarist delirious.
As the band went further down the road, the duo's approach to the guitar changed, with neither of them taking on the role of lead guitarist but rather using the songs as opportunities to bring in new sonic ideas as they traded off lead lines from one track to the next. This helped the band dominate the back half of the 80's with Hysteria, whose guitar parts went from subdued to soul-shredding. When put together, Collen and Clarke brought a mix punk and precision that could win the heart of any rock fan.