
Phil Weller
A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He's also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.
Latest articles by Phil Weller

Scott Gorham gives a health update following his chilling flatliner experience
By Phil Weller published
The guitarist had to undergo three surgeries and is taking time off the road as he recuperates

Here's the secret sauce behind IV, the guitarist from Sleep Token, whose new album is the modern era's best-selling hard rock record
By Phil Weller published
The band’s fourth album has broken three records. But while their identities remain a mystery, the gear they’re conquering the world with is not

Brian May picks a deep cut as his favorite Queen song
By Phil Weller published
The guitarist says the track shows the character of the man who wrote it

When Josh Homme was stunned into silence by George Harrison's Rosewood Tele
By Phil Weller published
The Rosewood Telecaster was a gift to Harrison from Fender, but after using it for less than a week on 'Let It Be,' he cast it aside and gave it away just months later

Andy Summers on his improbable success with Robert Fripp after the Police's record label tried to stop the duo in their tracks
By Phil Weller published
Fripp and Summers' highly experimental albums showed their label who was boss

Mark Knopfler grew up wanting to be like Jimi Hendrix. He's revealed the guitarist who changed his mind
By Phil Weller published
He admits playing with a pick is “faster and louder,” but he's created his finest music without one

Boss turns eight of its most popular pedals into a one-stop plug-in – promises more on the way
By Phil Weller published
Coming in as part of the Roland Cloud suite of virtual instruments and effects, the plug-in marks the first time the best-selling pedals have been made available in this format

Paul McCartney names the one guitarist he says was like no other
By Phil Weller published
The duo recorded a charity track together in the mid ’90s that showcased everything he loves about the guitarist, but it was never released until 2023

David Gilmour tells how he turned his biggest weakness into his greatest asset – with a little help from Hank Marvin
By Phil Weller published
The guitarist is a fine example of why players should lean into themselves and not be blinded by what their peers are doing

Eddie Vedder praises Peter Frampton as the guitarist joins Pearl Jam in Nashville
By Phil Weller published
The guitarist has a long-standing relationship with the Seattle band, and now he’s lent his talents to a special rendition of “Black”

“I’m listening to the guitar riffs and what they’re talking about. It’s just blues music sung by white people.” How Alice In Chains' blues influences and three 1932 Dobro Cyclops guitars made 'Sinners' one of the year's biggest films
By Phil Weller published
The blues-meets-horror blockbuster features a wealth of blues greats, including Buddy Guy and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram

Robin Nolan on collaborating with George Harrison, playing his Beatles-era guitars and completing a song the former Beatle started but never finished
By Phil Weller published
His co-write is featured on Nolan's new album of gypsy jazz versions of Harrison songs, recorded with his Beatles guitars

Yngwie Malmsteen says Eddie Van Halen listened to his music all the time but ran from him every chance he got
By Phil Weller published
Eddie was everyone's favorite, but Yngwie claims he always shied away from meeting or playing with him

Led Zeppelin documentary sparks fresh “Dazed and Confused” lawsuit from the song’s composer
By Phil Weller published
Jake Holmes has already forced a change to the track’s credits, but he feels the band has broken copyright laws again with the 'Becoming Led Zeppelin' doc

Eddie Van Halen's former guitar tech recalls the virtuoso's disastrous guitar battle before a packed NAMM show crowd
By Phil Weller published
At an event where he also locked fretboards with Steve Stevens and Tim Bogert, it was a different kind of musician who provided Eddie with his most unique test

Eddie Van Halen on tapping, “Eruption” — and why the weight of the band rested on his shoulders
By Phil Weller published
The last in a six-part series dedicated to the band’s early years is told through their voices, along with Van Halen producer Ted Templeman

When Kiss’s 1998 reunion album was in jeopardy, Bruce Kulick returned to the fold to save the day
By Phil Weller published
'Psycho Circus' wasn’t Kiss at their best, but it’s a record that involves a revolving cast of past, present and future Kiss members

Brian May says Freddie Mercury fought his guitar solo on one of Queen's biggest hits
By Phil Weller published
Mercury heard a “piano song” in the 1979 track, but May convinced him it needed a guitar solo

Mike Campbell reveals how he and Tom Petty developed the guitar tandem that defines the Heartbreakers' classic sound
By Phil Weller published
Petty had started out as a bass player, but when he moved to electric the seeds of one of rock’s greatest guitar partnerships were sown

Aaron Rash has spent years learning the tonal secrets of Nirvana’s “In Utero”, and he’s just discovered his Holy Grail
By Phil Weller published
The exact make, model and specs of the guitar that produced the album’s “mean stuff” eluded Aaron Rash until he took a chance on an oddball axe

Sammy Hagar claims he made Eddie Van Halen a better musician and says the guitarist "dried up" in the 2000s
By Phil Weller published
The Red Rocker believes Van Halen's musical horizons broadened during their time together, only to shrink in the years after they parted ways

How Lita Ford rediscovered her stolen B.C. Rich Mockingbird — and then let it go again
By Phil Weller last updated
The guitar joins the ranks of star-owned axes that have mysteriously disappeared, only to return again

Elliot Easton reveals how Mutt Lange drove the Cars mad when making their 1984 comeback, 'Heartbeat City'
By Phil Weller published
Having cut their first albums with Queen producer Roy Thomas Baker, the band sought Lange's magic touch, only to find it far heavier than they imagined
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