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In 1968 Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi had a brief stint in Jethro Tull. (Ferrier, A. (2023, January 22)

"He stated, “At first, I thought Tull were great, but I didn’t much go for having a leader in the band, which was Ian Anderson’s way.” (Ferrier, A. (2023, January 22)

"Regardless, Jethro Tull still had a considerable influence on Black Sabbath, particularly their work ethic. Iommi once said: “I learned that you have got to work at it. You have to rehearse. When I came back, and I got [Earth] (Black Sabbath's prior name) back together, I made sure everybody was up early in the morning and rehearsing. […] I said to them, ‘This is how we have got to do it because this is how Jethro Tull did it.'” (Ferrier, A. (2023, January 22)

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Cream was the very band that influenced Black Sabbath's bassist Geezer Butler to become a bassist in the first place.  (The Official Black Sabbath Website :: The History of Black Sabbath. (2023).I used to play rhythm guitar, and rhythm guitar was going out of style back then. I went to see Cream at the local club. I was mesmerised watching Jack Bruce ’cause I’d heard of Eric Clapton, but I’d never heard of Jack Bruce.” (Ferrier, A. (2023, January 22)

"Black Sabbath’s drummer Bill Ward was also hugely inspired by Baker, writing, “He changed everything around, and what I was holding onto. Pushed me away and almost demanded I start all over and listen closer this time.” (Ferrier, A. (2023, January 22)

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Tony Iommi, the guitarist of Black Sabbath, cites Django Reinhardt as the primary reason he continued playing guitar after his accident.

"As he lay in the hospital, Iommi first became aware of Reinhardt’s style when the factory manager came to see him." (Coffman, T. (2023, August 13).

“He brought me an EP and told me to play it. And I was like, ‘No, I don’t want to listen to it’. Then I did, and it was Django Reinhardt. I thought his playing was great, and he said, ‘Well, he’s had an accident in another form and has lost two fingers’. And it really got me going, like ‘wow, somebody’s done it”. (Coffman, T. (2023, August 13).

“He said: ‘Well, this guy plays with two fingers.’ And that really inspired me to do it,” ‌(Else, S. (2013, July 11)

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"Brian May has cited Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin as a major influence, saying: "He's almost my generation, but a little bit older, and we went to the same primary school, although he was, I think, two or three years above me - and that's a lot when you're small." (Desborough, J. (2021, January 29)

“So I always looked up to him, I gotta say because he's kind of a local boy to me." (Desborough, J. (2021, January 29)

"Strangely enough, we live quite close to each other at the moment. To me, he's a master of invention, that's what I would say." (Desborough, J. (2021, January 29)

"And he's a major, major force in defining what heavy rock became as it was being born. I never get fed up of listening to those Zeppelin albums, and I never will." (Desborough, J. (2021, January 29)

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Brian May cites Jimi Hendrix as a core musician that inspired Queen.  "[Brian] May said: “By that time I’d been exposed to Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix, and that was life-changing.” “To us, Hendrix was the great god." “I still can’t understand where that stuff came from. "It’s like he came from another planet."  “Jimi is, of course, my number one. And I've always said that." (Desborough, J. (2021, January 29)

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Brian May, the guitarist for Queen cites the Beatles as their blueprint for what to follow in their production of their albums.

“The Beatles built our bible as far as musical composition, arrangement and production went,” he said. “The White Album is a complete catalog of how you should use a studio to build songs. ‘Happiness Is a Warm Gun’ and ‘Dear Prudence’ are blinding examples of how music can be like painting a picture on a canvas. (Ferrier, A. (2023, January 22)

“In a sense, the Beatles were unburdened because they didn’t have to play the songs live. We became passionate about building stuff in the studio but also making it come to life on a stage.” (Ferrier, A. (2023, January 22)

“The Beatles built our bible as far as musical composition, arrangement and production went.” (Ferrier, A. (2023, January 22)

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Phil Anselmo joined Pantera in 1988. (jonwiederhorn, 2019), around that time he befriended Slayer guitarist Kerry King, who introduced the (at the time) glam metal band to their dark sound.

"Mark Strigl: Talk about Kerry King. He seems to be somebody who had some influence on what you guys did with Pantera. Do you remember meeting him for the first time? (Barrios, J. (2014, October 24).

"Philip Anselmo: Absolutely, yeah. Pantera, before we were signed, would play every weekend in the DFW area or Shreveport Louisiana or whatever along those circuits and we had a weekend booked playing a club in Dallas which really consisted of Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Slayer were playing right down the street on, I believe the beginning of the South of Heaven tour. They were planning on a Saturday night, they got in town on a Friday and my boxing coach used to be a radio DJ and he called my house and said hey man I got Tom Araya in here, do you want to talk to him, do you want to meet him and I’m like ‘”definitely.” So I talked to Tom on the phone briefly for a moment. Then sure enough he brought Tom, Kerry and Jeff, Rest in Peace, out to the show that night on Friday and we met all those guys and they got up on stage and did a couple songs with us. We knew Reign in Blood and one other song, umm, like I said my memory is pathetic. Kerry and I hit it off and we exchanged phone numbers. Really he kept in touch quite a bit and it was awesome especially for a kid, like I was at the time, who really, for me the greatest bands from California, especially at the time, were Black Flag and Slayer. Definitely at the time… Slayer was the be-all end-all for me. To befriend a guy like Kerry King was a huge thing." (Barrios, J. (2014, October 24).

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Kiss was another great inspiration for Pantera, specifically Dimebag Darrell Abott. Who had a particular love for Ace Frehley.

"When he was a kid Darrell would mimic a guitar in his hands before he could play and wear Kiss makeup while looking at the mirror, wanting to be like his hero Ace Frehley. (Black Tooth Grin. (2013). "

"Darrell was such a fan of Ace Frehley that he once said, “If there were no Ace Frehley, there would have been no Dimebag Darrell.” Dimebag had a tattoo of Ace on his chest. Ace signed it and Abbott then had the autograph tattooed on too.‌" (Darrell. (2022, December 8)

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Eddie and Alex Van Halen of Van Halen fame inspired Pantera, specifically Dimebag and Vinnie Paul Abbott, to follow in their footsteps.

"Other famous brothers and bandmates, guitarists Dimebag Darrell and drummer Vinnie Paul, followed Van Halen’s steps and founded their band Gemini. Later, they decided to change its name to Eternity until they came up with Pantera in the early ’80s. Like the Van Halen siblings, Darrell became the lead guitarist, and Paul served as the drummer, and they played Deep Purple’s ‘Smoke on the Water’ for hours in their first rehearsal, inspired by Alex and Eddie." (Iscan & Iscan, 2022)

Dimebag especially emulated Van Halen's tapping technique and whammy bar "tricks". (Overdrive, 2021)

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Queen introduced me to my love of music.  I had heard music before, such as the Beatles, but I only began to take notice and love music when I listened to Queen.

A particular aspect of Queen that I have always loved is that they never constrained themselves to one genre, despite whatever criticism they may have faced. From the operatic rock epic March of the Black Queen, to the iconic pop single Don't Stop Me Now, drastically different songs in almost every aspect.

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The first heavy band I got into. Black Sabbath introduced me to my love of guitars. The iconic and crushing sound of Tony Iommi's riffs inspired me to pick up the guitar in the first place.

The fact that the riffs were so simple an absolute beginner such as myself at the time could play them, and yet they were so legendary and beloved by millions, showed me that you its not the complexity that makes a song, it's the creativity and the passion behind each note played. My favourite Black Sabbath song, Electric Funeral, is literally 0-0-2-3-2 on the A string, followed by the same on the low E. That's the main riff. And yet it it is instantly memorable and one of my favourite songs, despite its simplicity.

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Pantera is my favourite band. Dimebag Darrel's guitar work inspired me to really become the kind of guitarist I want to be. It was the first band I really took notice of great guitar solos. It was the evolution after Black Sabbath.

All their main albums I think are powerhouses of metal. But my favourite album, the Great Southern Trendkill, resonates with me the most. It is a dark, dirty and unapologetic onslaught of sonic assault, but it is also an album of beautiful melodic riffs and soul-touching solos. And I relate to its extreme anger and self-reflection

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An aspiring guitarist