Alexi Laiho voted the best metal guitarist in the Guitar World mag

The April 2009 issue of the Guitar World magazine listed the results of its 15th annual readers poll. Children of Bodom's Alexi Laiho was voted the best metal guitarist and COB's Blooddrunk got the second place in the best "extreme metal album" category after Opeth's watershed.

The votes in each category were given for five pre-selected nominees, so the poll may not meet the tightest objectivity criteria...

Overview of the results:

Best Metal Guitarist: 1) Alexi Laiho 2) Kirk Hammett 3) Alex Skolnick 4) Insahn 5) Matt Tuck

Best Extreme Metal Album: 1) Opeth: Watershed 2) Children Of Bodom: Blooddrunk 3) All That Remains: Chiron 4) Whitechapel: This Is Exile 5) Insahn: Angl

Best Rock Guitarist: 1) Eddie Van Halen

Best Shredder: 1) Michael Angelo Batio

Best Metal Album: 1) Slipknot: All Hope Is Gone

Best Rock Album: 1) Disturbed: Indestructible

Best Alt-Rock Album: 1) Oasis: Dig Out Your Soul

Best Shred Album: 1) Paul Gilbert: Silence Followed by a Deafening Roar

Guitar World Hall of Fame: 1) Joe Satriani

2008 Most Valuable Players: 1) James Hetfield/Kirk Hammett

Best New Talent: 1) Black Tide

Best Riff of 2008: 1) Avenged Sevenfold: Afterlife

Hottest Guitar World Girl: 1) Amanda Harris

And the same issue also has a very interesting article/interview with Adam Jones (Tool) and Kirk Hammett (Metallica), talking about their inspiration and ideology behind music, visual arts, etc.

http://www.guitarworld.com/