Dave Mustaine names himself as one of the “fantastic four” of rhythm guitar

Rhythm guitarists are often unsung heroes compared with the glory heaped upon lead players, but now Dave Mustaine is shining a light on who he considers to be the “fantastic four” of rhythm guitar.

In a recent interview with Rock Cellar magazine, the Megadeth frontman bigged up the importance of rhythm guitarists.

“I still feel to this day that a good band can be measured by its rhythm,” he explains.

“You’ve got all-guitar hero bands and the solos are excellent but try and hum one of those songs outside of maybe a quick flash lick.

“In a band like Megadeth where rhythm is one of the main ingredients, the solos become so much more important because it’s not just self-indulgent pig guitar playing all through the whole song.”

The guitarist then went on to name who he considers to be the four best rhythm guitarists in the world.

“I think James [Hetfield] is one of the best rhythm guitar players in the world. As far as rhythm guitar players are concerned, there’s James, there’s me, there’s Malcolm Young and there’s Rudolph Schenker. There’s no-one else that touches the four of us. We’re the fantastic four.”

They're all good shouts, but only two of these players made our list of the best rock rhythm guitarists - who makes the cut on yours?