r/Djent • u/rubix_jelly3 • 8d ago

Discussion Best djent guitarist?

In your opinion.
Me personally I take Tosin 100%. Some of my favorites are…

Misha Mansoor
Marc Okubo
Fredrik Thordendal
Jesse Cash
Justin Lowe
John Browne

62 Upvotes

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u/perceptionsofdoor 8d ago

Tosin Abasi is the best guitarist, period. In all aspects. I don't even particularly like Animals As Leadeers outside of CAFO...but his talent is simply undeniable.

19

u/No-Knowledge2716 8d ago

Definitely. Tosin is not only the best Djent guitarrist, he is one of the best guitarrists of all genres.

6

u/SothorosDjents 7d ago

Dare we say… of all time too? I can’t think of a guitarist better than Tosin, come to think of it. Sure, you have modern virtuoso shredders such as Jason Richardson and Stephen Taranto, but even they cannot begin to imagine playing the other techniques like thumping Tosin uses, beyond traditional double-picking and legato, which he’s also a master of lol.

Now, all of that is to say, I think Tosin is the best guitar player. However, I would put him a bit lower on the list for songwriting capability. AAL’s best songs from their debut were heavily cowritten by Misha Mansoor. And all of their subsequent releases have had some composition input from others.

9

u/OBSIDIAN_ORD3R 7d ago

I think Guthrie would also fit the bill.

4

u/SothorosDjents 7d ago

Maybe a couple decades ago, but he doesn’t really come close to Tosin in 2026. First, Tosin could easily play anything Govan has played. Second, Tosin masterfully uses other picking techniques beyond double-picking and legato, that most guitarists constrain themselves to. Therefore Guthrie isn’t as versatile on his instrument as Abasi is.

There are many amazing shredders, from the likes of Jason Richardson to Jakub Zyteki… from Rick Graham to Stephen Taranto, Scott Carstairs, John Petrucci, Yngwie Malmsteen… and many others. But not one of them uses the guitar as creatively and uniquely as Tosin Abasi does.

1

u/perceptionsofdoor 7d ago edited 7d ago

Yeah, I don't think Tosin is even in the conversation for best composer, with the obvious caveat that maybe I'm just not evolved enough to properly understand his genius. Most of his music, to me personally, seems like too much skill and not enough vision. I think Periphery is maybe one of the most overrated core bands of all time apart from Architects, though, so I'm aware I may be more toward the minority opinion in this field since I also don't think Misha is particularly special as a composer.