oh yes i do have a real soft spot for shred, it was one of the first things i got into when i was younger. i have been on a real iron maiden kick receently, not your shred per se but still not bad.

I see shredding merely as a technique or tool that can be applied to things. I have very little appreciation for music where it overwhelms everything else. At worst it's like a sport.

My biggest problem with shredding however is just the way it sounds. Usually done with the hi-gain metal distortion, which isn't my cup of tea. Plus the fact that shredding is usually single notes / single string stuff, which sounds kind of shrill. They should shred with chords.

I tend to like stuff where notes/chords are droning. Less playing more volume I say.

Have we had three pages of thread without mention of MATT PIKE?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgtxdN8ngFI

or EDDIE CARKE?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2S9rwyQkJE

That was the shit. I've never heard this band before. Thank you very much for posting that.

Matt Pike's amazing. I love the way he plays the rhytm guitar parts more though, all that fast big ass sounding power chord strumming.