
Amit Sharma
Amit has been writing for titles like Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Guitar World for over a decade and counts Richie Kotzen, Guthrie Govan and Jeff Beck among his primary influences. He's interviewed everyone from Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy to Slash and Jimmy Page, and once even traded solos with a member of Slayer on a track released internationally. As a session guitarist, he's played alongside members of Judas Priest and Uriah Heep in London ensemble Metalworks, as well as handling lead guitars for legends like Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols, The Faces) and Stu Hamm (Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, G3).
Latest articles by Amit Sharma

Bullet For My Valentine: "Right now, I believe more than ever that our strengths are in songwriting, not just guitar playing"
By Amit Sharma published
Matt Tuck and Michael ‘Padge’ Paget discuss the tones and technique behind Gravity's sonic reinvention

5 minutes alone - Fall Out Boy's Joe Trohman: “It’s better to have an identity than be the world’s ultimate shredder”
By Amit Sharma published
Fall Out Boy axeman Joe Trohman on giving up the trombone, his biggest playing weakness and starting a band with one of his all-time guitar heroes...

Rig tour: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
By Amit Sharma published
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club have long defied convention. They blur the lines between indie garage and stoner fuzz, swap sides/rigs mid-set, plug hollow bodies into bass amps and use live loops

Michael Schenker's 10 tips for guitarists: "The key is making each note carry a meaning"
By Amit Sharma published
Michael Schenker is easily one of the more philosophical guitarists seen in these parts

Of Mice & Men’s Phil Manansala: "I never realised the similarities between pop songwriting methods and our music - I just wrote breakdowns and sick riffs!"
By Amit Sharma published
Metalcore mainstay talks analysing Britney with Linkin Park, Austin Carlile's departure and why OMAM have just had their best year yet

Five Finger Death Punch’s Zoltan Bathory - my top 5 tips for guitarists: "Turn the gain all the way down so you have to hear every f**k-up"
By Amit Sharma published
Hungarian-born hard-rocker shares his songwriting, gear and technique secrets

Michael Lee Firkins’ top 5 tips for guitarists: “A solo is an open field where you can play anything; filling it with just a scale or sequence seems like a waste”
By Amit Sharma published
Country shredder shares his technique secrets

Brent Cobb's 10 essential country guitar albums: "What those guys were doing was imitating the sound of their surroundings"
By Amit Sharma published
Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter names the country records you need to hear

Gus G's top 5 tips for guitarists: "All techniques need to have a musical meaning"
By Amit Sharma published
Greek shred sage talks building speed, effective practice and life after Ozzy

Galactic Empire's Dark Vader: "This was all about making a cool YouTube video. We didn’t have any expectations about this turning into a band"
By Amit Sharma published
The viral Star Wars superstar and Sith shred lord on the band's guitar orchestrations and unlikely success story

Def Leppard's Rick Savage: “As a bassist, you should be the perfect bridge between the rhythm and the colour”
By Amit Sharma published
Heavy rock. Heavy metal. Pop-rock? Def Leppard bassist Rick ‘Sav’ Savage has heard it all, played it all and sold millions of copies of his band’s music. whatever it is, it has enduring power

Miyavi's top 5 tips for guitarists: "The distance between you and the guitar - you need to overcome that"
By Amit Sharma published
Japanese superstar reveals the secrets to passionate playing

Gibson Les Paul Tribute 2018
By Amit Sharma published
A bonafide US-made LP for under a grand?

Andy Summers' career in gear: "It’s all mythology: sometimes old guitars are great but not always"
By Amit Sharma published
The Police guitarist on the guitars, pedals and amps that shaped his hugely influential sound

The Darkness: “Less can be more… because more is too much sometimes”
By Amit Sharma published
As roadies soundcheck around them at Guildford’s G Live venue, The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins and brother/ rhythm guitarist Dan are firmly poised for another night of thunderous classic rock.

Kamelot’s Thomas Youngblood: "If you’re tight at riffing and rhythm, you can apply it to soloing"
By Amit Sharma published
Metal guitar wizard on his technique-altering bone graft and why power metal is a misnomer

Mastodon's Bill Kelliher: “Guitar is less intimidating when you can see patterns - that’s what scales are for”
By Amit Sharma published
Access all areas at the metal riff-master's sold-out, preshow guitar clinic

Korn’s Fieldy: my top 5 tips for bassists
By Amit Sharma published
“It’s all about the way your fingers attack the strings”

Fall Out Boy’s Joe Trohman: my top 5 tips for guitarists
By Amit Sharma published
“Not overplaying is the hardest thing to do as a guitar player”

Zakk Wylde: these are the 10 guitarists that blew my mind
By Amit Sharma published
“Now at 51, I still get as inspired from him as I did when I was 15”

John 5: these are the 10 guitarists who blew my mind
By Amit Sharma published
"His fierce overall musicianship really did change my life big-time"

Def Leppard's Phil Collen: these are the 11 guitarists that blew my mind
By Amit Sharma published
"I honestly feel like he was not only the first proper guitar player but also the best..."

Danny Carey: “It’s a sad thing when almost every band you see is keeping time to clicks and backing tracks”
By Amit Sharma published
Prog drumming titan on supergroup Legend Of The Seagullmen’s debut and Tool’s long-awaited new album
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