(Credits: Far Out / Alamy)
Tue 2 September 2025 20:30, UK
Keith Richards is perhaps one of the most influential guitarists to have ever graced the world of rock music, but that doesn’t necessarily mean everyone is a fan of him. He’s not easily impressed by his devotees either.
To say that The Rolling Stones‘ sound originated from the familiar roots of blues and jazz would be an understatement, because that’s exactly what each of them grew up listening to and loving, something that’s clearly identifiable on their early records. What’s also easy to see on those projects is the inherent gift Richards possessed in how he wielded his instrument, only growing in his scope and ambition as the band evolved.
It would be on their late 1960s releases, and those in the early ‘70s, where Richards truly developed into his own, and the loose scuzziness of his playing style is ultimately what turned him into a guitar hero. Whether it’s the ferocity with which he’d knock out a blues-driven rhythmic lick, or how rip-roaring his lead playing could be at times, there are so many people who hear the guitar sound that Richards produced on classic Stones records and are instantly smitten.
This era is what people look back upon as being his most influential period, and plenty of guitarists who came along in the subsequent years took after him in terms of their style. However, around the turn of the decade, there was a new breed of bands who were playing something completely different to what The Stones had done, and who were equally injecting something previously unheard of into the rock and roll sphere.
Heavy metal spawned from the early ‘70s, and acts like Black Sabbath are commonly regarded as having been the progenitors of the genre, with Led Zeppelin arguably paving the way a few years prior with their own brand of hard rock. This style was far more abrasive than anything Richards had ever done, and while his own ways were rough and raw, what this new breed of guitar players did was cacophonous, and loaded with far more aggression – something that he didn’t see to be necessary.
In fact, Richards saw this as being superfluous and that these new acts were nothing more than a novelty. He would later go on to berate some of the biggest bands of the scene for the ways in which they altered the course of rock music, and was hesitant to suggest that he may have played a part in influencing them. “Millions are in love with Metallica and Black Sabbath,” Richards noted. “I just thought they were great jokes. I don’t know where Metallica’s inspiration comes from, but if it’s from me, then I fucked up.”
He may not realise the importance of the heavy metal movement, and he may not be willing to acknowledge that his own innovations of playing with heavy distortion influenced them, but it’s also perfectly understandable that a genre of music as abrasive as heavy metal isn’t for everyone, so we can give him a pass for this misunderstanding.
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