“I tried SGs and Flying Vs, and they might look cool, but it's like playing a piece of Styrofoam”: Bill Kelliher explains why he prefers his guitars to be as heavy as possible

Bill Kelliher with his ESP LTD Bill Kelliher Royal Shiva Silver Sunburst.

ESP recently released Bill Kelliher’s latest signature model, the Royal Shiva. The arrival of the LTD iteration of his personal ESP Custom Shop Silverburst had been hotly anticipated both by fans of Mastodon – and fans of unusually thick electric guitars.

Indeed, the guitar itself was teased back in 2021, and while the double-cut Yamaha SG/First Act body shape caught the eye, it was the sheer denseness of the starkly finished guitar that really stole the spotlight: that thing was absolutely huge.