The first decade of the 2000s wasn’t exactly a golden era for guitar heroes. Shredding was “out,” replaced by drop-D angst and bedroom recordings. It was also the post-Napster apocalypse, the recording business was dealing with peer to peer file sharing.

But George Lynch?

He didn’t get the memo.

While most of his peers slowed down, or disappeared, Lynch went full beast mode, dropping albums like mixtapes and solos like warheads.

And in the middle of all this chaos, one track stood above the rest like a flaming sword in the rubble: “We Will Remain.”

But we’ll get to that. Let’s take it from the top.

2001

George Lynch – Will Play for Food

Lynch kicked off the decade with a collection of covers from tribute sessions. Think all-star jams: Jani Lane (RIP) on “Panama,” and John Corabi ripping Scorpions on “She’s A Woman, He’s A Man.” Fun, loose, and crunchy.

George Lynch – Stone House

An alt-rock curveball. Sludgy, moody, and experimental. Most of it would later appear on “The Lost Anthology” (2005), but its roots are here.

2002

George Lynch – The Lynch That Stole Riffness!

Lynch leans into downtuned, alt-metal groove territory. Less polished, more primal—like a jam session in a thunderstorm.

Standout Solo: “Static Reaction” Fast-forward to 3:06. Pure chaos. Pure Lynch.

2003

LYNCH MOB – REvolution

A reinvention of early Dokken and Lynch Mob tracks, modernized and meaner. Robert Mason is on vocals and Anthony Esposito on bass.

Standout Solo: “Tooth and Nail

Annihilation by shred.

Standout Solo: “Cold Is the Heart”

Smoother, more fluid than before.

Standout Solo: “When Darkness Calls”

That outro solo will haunt you.

LYNCH/PILSON – Wicked Underground

George reconnects with Jeff Pilson. Not a commercial splash, but some of Lynch’s most inspired work.

Standout Solo: “Ever Higher”

Dreamlike, cinematic.

Standout Solo: “Vaccine”

Twisting, snarling, then melodic carnage.

Standout Solo: “Never Enough”

Grit meets precision. A closing statement that smokes.

2004

LYNCH MOB – Evil: Live

No frills, no overdubs, just George and the band burning it down onstage.

The live versions of the “Wicked Sensation” material hit harder than a brick to the teeth.

George Lynch – Furious George

Lynch covers his heroes. It’s not tribute, it’s possession.

Standout Solo: “All Along the Watchtower”

Dylan + Hendrix + Lynch = holy fire.

Standout Solo: “Bridge of Sighs”

Moody, spiritual, loaded with atmosphere.

2005

George Lynch – The Lost Anthology

A grab bag of demos, rarities, and secret sauce. Not tidy, but bursting with gold.

Standout Solos:

“Paris Is Burning” (original solo) (Xciter)

Raw and untamed.

“Sleepless Nights” (Xciter)

Early Lynch before the gloss.

2006

LYNCH MOB – REvolution: Live!

The remakes from “REvolution” are turned up to eleven. Solos are looser, more dangerous, totally alive.

Standout Solos:

“Tooth and Nail”

Opens with a slash, closes in flames.

“Wicked Sensation”

Grit and groove collide.

“River of Love”

Part sermon, part demolition derby.

2007

George Lynch– Guitar Slinger

Another covers collection. Worth it for the Stephen Pearcy-led tracks like “Round and Round” and “Dr. Rock.”

DOKKEN – From Conception: Live 1981

Marketed as 1981, but probably ‘82 as Jeff Pilson is listed as the bassist and he wasn’t in at 81, this was Croucier’s bass era. Pilson joined in 1982.

Standout Solos:

“Paris Is Burning”

Savage. Totally unrefined and beautiful.

“Nightrider”

The fastest cut on the album. NWOBHM energy. Harmonies for days. Proof that Dokken was never just “Scorpions Lite.”

2008

George Lynch – Scorpion Tales

Lynch mutates Scorpions songs into heavier, groovier beasts.

“The Zoo”

Darker, deadlier, stalking riffs.

“Blackout”

Chaotic brilliance. He plays through the song, not just on it.

SOULS OF WE – Let the Truth Be Known

Way under the radar, but experimental and textured.

Standout Solo:

“Skeleton Key”

Atmospheric and eerie. Lynch as architect, not showman.

2009

LYNCH MOB – Smoke and Mirrors

The return of Oni Logan, and Lynch firing on all cylinders. A mature, melodic, but heavy-as-hell release.

Standout Solos:

“21st Century Man”

Solo erupts like a skyscraper collapsing in reverse.

“Lucky Man”

Bluesy bends and a searing climax

“My Kind of Healer”

Wah-heavy, melodic. Classic Lynch sauce.

“We Will Remain”

This is it. The crown jewel of Lynch’s 2000s. A towering anthem, dripping with the same dark melodic DNA that made his Dokken-era solos immortal.

Everything, tone, phrasing, feel, is textbook Lynch.

If you had to show an alien why George Lynch still matters in the 2000’s, this is the track.

There’s an instrumental version too, just in case the original wasn’t epic enough.

“Before I Close My Eyes”

Where “We Will Remain” is the metal thunderstorm, this one is the sunrise after. A softer, major-key counterbalance, emotive and warm without being saccharine.

Final Wrap Up:

While the music world pushed shredders aside, George Lynch did what he always does, kept playing, kept evolving, and kept dropping sonic grenades. The 2000s might’ve been a weird decade for guitar heroes, but for Lynch, it was just another chapter in a relentless, riff-drenched legacy.

And “We Will Remain”; that wasn’t just a track. It was a declaration.