10 Greatest Rhythm Guitarists In Rock History

When you get into the field of metal music, that's when the guitar playing starts to jump up a notch. In the wake of the revolution that Black Sabbath started all those years ago, you had one guitarist after another trying to make some of the heaviest riffs that you could possibly imagine. In the realm of rhythm guitar though, James Hetfield has turned the entire practice into an Olympic sport.

Instead of the usual fretboard gymnastics that other guitarists were known to indulge in, James has made his life's work by honing in on some of the most devilish sounding riffs that you would ever hear. Being a massive fan of punk rock, Hetfield has built up the strongest right hand in the business, making riffs like Master of Puppets that could give you tendonitis in your wrist if you're not careful.

In between the intense riffing though, James seems to build every Metallica song almost like a metal form of architecture, making one riff overlap on top of the other one while also layering in some melodic harmony parts to keep you on your toes. Though rhythm guitarists aren't known to be the most technically proficient players in rock, James Hetfield is the one rhythm player who could actually be considered a virtuoso.