The #100 Guitarist of the Rock Era: Mick Barr

We're about to dive into yet another special of the quality you have come to expect from Inside the Rock Era.  We don't just publish a list; we actually put some work into it.  That way, if you don't agree with the rankings (and let's face it, no one is going to agree with everything...), you can still enjoy the music and the information.

Inside the Rock Era began working on this about six months ago.  We looked at some of the other lists as a basis to go on.  Then we listened and listened to each of the top guitarists of the rock era.  We evaluated them on their overall ability, the sound of their guitar-playing, their popularity, their longevity, their experience, their guitar riffs, the ability to play a melody, their speed, creativity, their entertainment ability and live stage presence.  We narrowed it down to about 160.  Then we listened some more, continuing to evaluate each on the factors above.  We ranked them then re-ranked them, doing our best to compare each guitarist and rank them where they truly deserved to be ranked.  

Now I will preface this special by saying if you love Adult Contemporary music or the old-fashioned rock, we hope that you will just ignore this special and enjoy the other features of the website.  We try to offer a good picture of all that the Rock Era has to offer.  Remember, we featured The Top 100 Adult Contemporary Songs of the 1980's*.  Now, we feature a different segment.  And we'll certainly be doing more in terms of AC specials.

For most, even if you don't like the song or the style of the guitarist, it is not hard to marvel at the ability.  These are some incredible Axemen, as they call them.  I've played guitar before and I can tell you it isn't as easy as these guys make it look.  They are so good and so familiar with their instrument that the guitar is actually part of them.

So without further ado, we hope you enjoy the special.  We will feature one guitarist per day, so we can properly salute them.  

Mick Barr gets things started, a guitarist who just "plays what he feels".  Barr is #100:

   #100:  Mick Barr, Orthrelm

   18 years as an active guitarist

(Here is Mick captured live at the Stone in New York City.

Born in Derby, Connecticut.)

Barr was born in 1975 in Derby, Connecticut.  Mick has great speed and agility, with his technique characterized by awkward, loud and fast guitar "shredding", without regard to melody or progression.  Like Azagthoth at #100, he is thus limited in his development and in his ranking of top guitarists.  He has released numerous projects under various names (Orthrelm, Crom-Tech, Krallice, Octos and Ocrilim).  In 2008, Barr received an unrestricted grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts through their Grants to Artists program.  Barr has released over 20 solo projects. 


Mick Barr comes in at #100 for the Rock Era*.