Kayla Kent
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kayla Kent | |
|---|---|
 Kayla in 2022 | |
| Background information | |
| Genres | groove metal, thrash metal |
| Occupations | Musician, songwriter, YouTuber |
| Instruments | Guitar, bass |
| Years active | 2020–present |
| Website | kaylakent |
Kayla Kent is an American guitarist and YouTuber. First coming to fame after being featured in Guitar World in early 2022 for her covers of Dimebag Darrell guitar solos, she predominantly is known for playing exclusively her Kramer JK8000 and Kapybara model guitars.[1][2][3]
Following her rise in popularity, she was invited to a Pantera concert in Austin, TX in 2023 with the newly reformed Pantera with new members Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante. Phil Anselmo revealed to her at this concert that she was on the list to replace Dimebag Darrell as the guitarist in Pantera.[4][5][6][7][8]
She is repeatedly featured in the media as articles discussing her attract much attention. Guitar World called their breakout article featuring her one of the "Best of 2022"[1] as well as Metal Injection ranking the story featuring her on Phil Anselmo's Pantera guitarist list as #20 on the Top Stories of 2023.[9]
Kent has a YouTube channel under her own name, where she started posting videos in late 2020 exclusively covering Dimebag Darrell solos.[1] In addition to those, she has posted videos of guitar reviews, reactions to comments, videos with her band and some covers of songs that aren't exclusively by Pantera.[10][11] As of February 2026, her channel has 100,000 subscribers.
While Kent is well known to accredit Dimebag Darrell as her single biggest guitar influence, she lists Ty Tabor, Joe Satriani, and Alex Lifeson as her biggest secondary influences.[1]
She is known to cover a select few other guitar players on her channel other than Dimebag Darrell - such as leads from Eddie Van Halen and Jake E Lee.[12]
Discography
Even though Kent is known for her Heavy Metal playing style, she has released several singles under her own name which she described as "more indie rock than metal" to Guitar World.[1]
| Year | Band | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Kayla Kent | Silly Insults | Single |
| 2019 | Kayla Kent | All For Nothing | Single |
| 2021 | Kayla Kent | a (cute) stress disorder | Single |
| 2021 | Kayla Kent | cauliflower crust | Single |
| 2021 | Kayla Kent | Halloween | Single |
| 2021 | Kayla Kent | Fractured Soul | Single |
| 2021 | Kayla Kent | How Nice | Single |
| 2022 | Kayla Kent | Chaos Reigns | Single |
| 2023 | Otu | Believe (In the style of Pantera) (feat. Kayla Kent) | Otu album featuring her solo on this track. |
| 2025 | Kayla Kent | Smoke This | Single |
| 2025 | Kayla Kent | Lost and Found | Single |
