Welcome to the inaugural Temu Guitar Challenge, featuring our first brave contestant, the legendary Gary Holt of Exodus and Slayer! In this unique competition, we put the guitar skills of one of metal’s finest axemen to the test, showcasing his ability to perform on less-than-stellar instruments.

The challenge is straightforward, but the execution is far from easy!

We procured three distinctly different yet equally questionable guitars from the renowned digital marketplace known for its budget-friendly offerings, Temu. Our goal? To see if Holt can make music with these instruments, regardless of their quality or whether they can truly be classified as guitars at all.

A renowned shredder and a riff machine, Holt approached the task with no hesitation, ready to prove that true talent can shine through even the most inadequate instruments.

We presented him with three peculiar choices: a “smart guitar” equipped with a limited number of frets, a diminutive acoustic guitar, and a more traditional, child-sized guitar.

The first instrument he chose was the so-called “smart guitar.” As he straps it on, Holt sits down and immediately begins playing My Chemical Romance, praising The Black Parade as one of his all-time favorite albums. “I can’t get enough of it,” he declares, likening its sound to a fusion of Queen and Cheap Trick. For Holt, it’s a desert island album; he insists that having just The Black Parade and Rainbow’s Rising would suffice for him.

READ MORE: Gary Holt Plays His Favorite Black Sabbath Riffs

However, it doesn’t take long for him to discover the severe limitations of this “smart” instrument. It presents numerous challenges, including an inability to perform techniques like bending, hammer-ons, and tremolo picking, which are essential for metal guitarists.

Attempting to play tracks from Exodus or Iron Maiden? That’s simply not going to happen!

After rating the smart guitar on a scale from one to ten, Holt moves on to inspect the unfortunate, tiny guitar that barely resembles a functional instrument. At first glance, it looks like a guitar, but as a tool for creating music, it falls terribly short.

Watch Gary Holt take on the Temu Guitar Challenge in the exciting video below.

Thank you, Gary, for joining us and sharing your musical journey!

Can Gary Holt Successfully Play a $20 Guitar from Temu?

Gary Holt Showcases His Favorite Black Sabbath Riffs