It's easy to get heavy with this new guide to playing metal guitar. Each chapter offers biographical portraits, details on gear set up and tone, analysis of playing techniques, and several music examples. The CD illustrates all the examples from the book, played with each artist's preferred equipment. The Way They Play series explores the work of guitar heroes within a given genre. Players can discover the secrets of their classic tones, learn how they played their most famous rhythms and leads, and find out how they forged their unique styles. The accompanying CD walks guitarists note-by-note through licks that characterise the signature sounds of these world-class musicians. This is the third book in the series, following The Blues-Rock Masters (ISBN 0879307358, January 2003) and The Acoustic-Rock Masters (ISBN 0879307617, November 2003).

The popularity of the acoustic guitar in rock music keeps on growing, and this book reveals the secrets of ten wide-ranging masters who have shaped the sound of acoustic-rock guitar: Neil Young, the Eagles, Dave Matthews, Paul Simon, David Crosby (and CSN), George Harrison, Pete Townshend, Keith Richards, Tom Petty, and James Taylor. Each chapter provides guitarists with the detailed information they need to sound like their heroes: a profile of each guitarist's history and influences, in-depth looks at their technique and tone, complete gear lists and setup tips, hands-on lessons in tab and standard notation, and essential discographies. The companion CD allows readers to hear all of the licks from the lessons, played in the style of each guitarist.