Who Are Metal's Top 5 Hired Guns?

Each week fans tune in to That Metal Show to see Eddie, Jim and Don weigh-in and argue about such important subjects as What Are The Top 5 Rush Albums or What Are The Top 5 Band Blow Ups of all-time? For season 12 we’re moving the debate online and letting you, the fans, make your voices heard in our weekly TMS Top 5 polls.

This week we asked the boys to rank hard rock and heavy metal's Top 5 "Hired Guns," those musicians who are as known for their guest appearances as for their own bands. Is it technical drum wizard Mike Portnoy, who moonlighted in Avenged Sevenfold in between Dream Theater tours? Legendary heavy metal bassist Rudy Sarzo —who's played with everyone from Ozzy to Whitesnake— is also up there. There's a lot of talented musicians out there, but only a select few get the call to fill in on the fly when that extra special something is needed.

Check out the boys picks on the following pages and go to the end to vote in our poll to help us determine the best of the best.  You can vote as many times for as many different albums as you like and don’t forget to check back every week for more TMS Top 5 countdowns and watch That Metal Show on VH1 Classic every Saturday night at 11/10C!

Eddie Trunk

1. Mike Portnoy

2. Rudy Sarzo

3. Tim “Ripper” Owens

4. Slash

5. Mike Inez

Jim Florentine

1. Rudy Sarzo

2. Tim “Ripper” Owens

3. Marco Mendoza

4. Tommy Aldridge

5. Mike Portnoy

Don Jamieson

1. Glenn Hughes

2. Vinny Appice

3. Rudy Sarzo

4. Steve Vai

5. Jason Newsted