Tuesday Top Ten: Heavy Metal Guitar Duos

Happy Tuesday, dear readers.  I came across an article on VH1.com today entitled "Dueling Axes:  Who Are Heavy Metal's 10 Greatest Two Guitar Teams?," and that seemed like a better Tuesday Top Ten topic than "ten different alcoholic drinks I consumed this weekend and their effect on my motor skills and cranial pain."

I love twin lead guitars -- or, as the article refers to them as, "guitarmonies."  That's one of the reasons I love Thin Lizzy so much, and one of the reasons that Iron Maiden is probably just as difficult to master as some classical music.  I wouldn't know, since I can play neither Iron Maiden nor classical music.  Anywho, here is VH1's list of heavy metal's greatest guitar duos (which is not necessarily limited to twin lead guitars):

10. DragonForce
9.  Children of Bodom
8.  Mastadon
7.  Slayer
6.  Metallica
5.  AC/DC
4.  Iron Maiden
3.  Thin Lizzy
2.  Megadeth
1.  Judas Priest

I can't really argue too much with this list.  I would probably put Thin Lizzy #1 and Iron Maiden #2 (or vice versa), and I would move Metallica up past AC/DC.  The obligatory shout-out to newer metal bands is nice.  I don't know much by Mastadon or Children of Bodom, but I know DragonForce is pretty solid.  My only potential addition would be Def Leppard.  To the extent you can consider them "heavy metal," whether it was Steve Clark and Pete Willis, Steve Clark and Phil Collen, or Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell, Def Leppard has always had a formidable guitar duo with two players who can trade solos/leads.

I'm not sure I would add KISS, since Paul Stanley is a serviceable guitarist, while the other guitarist in the band (whether it's Ace Frehley, Vinnie Vincent, or whoever) is usually the soloist, so I'm not sure the "duo" is good enough to be on the list.  Same thing with Aerosmith (apologies to Brad Whitford) and GNR (apologies to Izzy or anyone not named Slash).