I felt like it was time for another guitar-themed medley, so I have four great tracks for you that show off the versatility and utility of that king of instruments: the axe, the six-string, the guitar.

Up first we have a song from Swedish melo-death pioneers In Flames. This song, "The New World" builds up with chugging riffs, mechanical drumming, and raspy growls from vocalist Anders Frieden to a breakdown that leads to the song's centerpiece, a blazing solo by lead guitarist Jesper Stromblad (greatest metal name ever).Next, I don't think it would be possible to celebrate the guitar without including a song from the maestro of American string-jockeying, Joe "Satch" Satriani. This song, "Driving at Night" is not one of his more well known songs, but I think still serves as a strong example of his skills and his much vaunted ability to "tell a story without any words."

I'd argue when it comes to American guitar playing in the last 40 or so years, there's a clear trinity of virtuosos. That trinity begins with the old master, the late, great Frank Zappa, who is included below, but today, years after Zappa's death, the most senior grandmaster of American strings has to be Joe "Satch" Satriani. The song I'm including here, "Driving at Night," isn't his most famous song, but I think it goes a long way to demonstrate Satriani's virtuosity and his much vaunted ability to "tell a story without words."

Next is a song from the aforementioned Zappa, playing alongside his band The Mothers of Invention. This song, "Cosmik Debris" combines the sounds of funk with a dash of jam band improvisation and of course excellent guitar work.

Last up, we couldn't really have a series about guitars without including perhaps the most iconic guitar track in the history of rock. You know which one I'm talking about, if you ever learned to play guitar, it was probably the first track you ever learned to play. But as good as the Deep Purple original of "Smoke on the Water" is, we can take it a step further. So here's the G3 version, performed by the trio of Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, and John Petrucci (Dream Theater).