Gus G, one of the most prominent guitarists in the world of hard rock and metal and a Thessaloniki native, had his latest record place number two on Guitar World’s list of best guitar albums in 2021.

Born Konstantinos Karamitroudis, Gus G most famously starred as the lead guitarist in Ozzy Osbourne’s band from 2009 to 2017. For nearly two decades, he’s been the frontman of his Greece-based band Firewind while releasing solo projects and collaborating with other artists.

The 41-year-old shredder has played large stages worldwide between his years of touring with Osbourne and Firewind which has produced eight studio albums over its almost 20-year history.

His new record “Quantum Leap” is the fourth which he’s released as a solo artist but his first-ever all-instrumental album. The record came in at second place on Guitar World’s 2021 list, only behind John Mayer’s “Sob Rock.”

“‘Quantum leap’ means when you’re taking a big step. So for me, making an instrumental album and letting my guitar do the talking was a big step for me, for once,” Gus G told Guitar World in an interview. “I’ve always worked with singers and collaborated with many people, but this time, I decided to just let the guitar be a voice. So this was my quantum leap.”

Gus remains the only Greek-born musician to have his own signature guitar model — the Jackson USA Signature Gus G. Star. — which he can be seen playing in a rehearsal video, performing the title track of his new album.

“Quantum Leap” is now available for purchase or streaming on various platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon and others.