[Chronic Diarrhea]

I think Paul Gilbert is the best shredder in terms of being one of the fastest and still maintaining some semblance of a melody. I'd give Michael Angelo Batio fastest shredder in the neo-classical style. That guy is hardcore, but he only does the ridiculous stuff every now and then. Buckethead's not the best, but he's my favorite for his innovation. I guess that makes sense.

As for Avenged Sevenfold, their lead guitarist sucks dick (Synyster Gates I think). I've been playing guitar for 2 years, and I can play all the shit he plays a lot cleaner. He uses the same boring ass riffs that have been used in metal for 40 years. In fact, most of their riffs are shit I started out learning when I started playing. The only reason people like Dragonforce is because they think they're playing a lot faster than they really are. they use a lot of distortion to give the illusion of incredibly fast playing. Compare a studio version to their live performances and it's a dead giveaway. Not to say I can play as fast as Herman Li, as I certainly can't, but I'd rather play something unique than play musical ejaculation on my fretboard.