10 Perfect Rock Songs That Don't Have Any Lyrics

One of the problems that comes with some of the virtuoso side of guitar soloing is the idea of mindless shredding. Even though someone like Yngwie Malmsteen might be able to play a million notes per second, it's not going to matter if you don't connect to what he's trying to say with his instrument. If there's one guy who could get away with a full on showboating track though, it was going to be Eddie Van Halen.

Before Van Halen's debut really kicks into high gear, Eruption is what made every single guitar player want to pack up everything for good, laying the groundwork for a sea of new shredders coming up in the '80s. Compared to the other guitar solo tracks that bands use as interludes, there's an actual song structure at the core of this tune, like the tremolo picked guitar giving you one hook after another.

The real magic comes in right around the halfway mark of the song though, where Eddie brings out his two hand tapping technique for the first time and weaving together chords that wouldn't feel that out of place next to the more classical side of the spectrum. If you look through Van Halen's back catalog though, it only grows deeper from there, like moving the volume switch on Cathedral and shredding on acoustic for Spanish Fly. In just under 2 minutes, Eddie practically broke down every foundation of rock guitar and launched a new era of playing.