2018

IN THIS YEAR…

The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle draws a global TV audience of nearly 2 billion

Ed Sheeran has the highest-grossing tour of the year

The Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemianrhapsody is released

HONEYCOMB

DEAFHEAVEN

The fusion of black metal, post-rock and shoegaze might surprise on paper, but Deafheaven have popularised a new sound in modern metal.

OUR MOST DESPERATE HOUR

NITA STRAUSS

Blistering sweeps and classical harmonies galore from the only Alice Cooper guitarist to have descended from a famous 19th-century composer.

VALLEY OF FIRE

JASON BECKER

The guest stars on this epic from the Notdeadyet virtuoso’s 2018 return reads like a who’s who of guitar legends. Clearly he remains an inspiration to us all.

SHIBUYA

COVET

Beautifully executed fingerstyle chord melody and two-handed tapping come together in a rhythmically complex but oh-solistenable offering from Ibanez Talman-toting Yvette Young.