Opal Ocean Pick Their 5 Greatest Guitar Songs

They made their name on a Melbourne pavement, drawing a crowd with two guitars and a piece called J.A.M. that would go on to rack up tens of millions of views. Since then, Alex Champ and Nadav Tabak of Opal Ocean have built an international following. Their music pulls from Spanish technique, progressive and psychedelic rock. Now they arrive in the UK for the first time this March, touring alongside the release of their new album, Temple Of The Stars. Before they take to British stages, Opal Ocean select their top five greatest guitar songs.

Ghost of Perdition – Opeth

Nadav: There’s just something about having such heavy, tight, distorted guitar sounds alongside beautiful acoustic melodies, moving between blistering solos and heavy chugging, all within one song. That balance and contrast make it an incredibly powerful and beautiful guitar piece. This track is definitely one of my biggest guitar influences.

Comfortably Numb – Pink Floyd

Nadav: The sweet tones of David Gilmour are something no one else on the planet can truly replicate. There’s a sense that every note played is exactly the right one, you don’t want to hear anything more or anything less. It’s the perfect balance between space and sound, and it remains one of the most emotionally powerful guitar performances ever recorded.

Erotomania – Dream Theater

Nadav: I’ve always loved this track. It’s an instrumental by the wizards of music themselves, but it’s not technical just for the sake of being technical. There’s something about it that constantly draws me in. As a kid, I used to love playing it, and it’s always one of the first songs that comes to mind when I think about guitar inspiration.

Wonderful Slippery thing – Guthrie Govan

Alex: Look if you’re looking for the all-round most inspirational player Guthrie has to be one of those aliens that deserve to be at the top! The whole Erotic Cack album is an absolute masterclass in instrumental guitar playing, I just like the Jazzy 16th note swing feel of that track. It’s often said that Guthrie “saved” shred and thanks to his unbelievable approach to playing he breathed in some new air into the scene at a time the genre was feeling a bit stale.

Tender Surrender – Steve Vai

Alex: Yeah, it’s the 16-year-old in me speaking when I say that this track inspired the crap out of me, the expression in his playing and the unhinged attitude he brings to that performance is just pure art. The boundary between human and guitar just melts into one single effortless voice that speaks with bends, slides all sorts of articulation that only Mr Vai can deliver. As a young guitar player this is the kind of song that pushed me to work on my technique and showed me what could be done on 6 strings.