Being a guitarist is so painful these days with so many people asking who your influences are. In all honesty it is a hard question to answer, because most people will just say the greats that they know such as Hendrix, Wyllde, Rhoads, and SRV. So i’m going to go back and look into a few of my own personal influences. Who doesn’t love listening to Hendrix wail on his axe? Look at his iconic songs… All Along The Watch Tower, Purple Haze, and Voodoo Chile. One of my all time favorite Hendrix jams is Castles Made Of Sand simply because when I listen to that song all I want to do is pick up my guitar and honor Jimi with an awesome cover of his epic hit. What about Carlos Santana? Man can that guy play with some soul. I know it’s sad to say, but I didn’t even know who he was until I heard the song Smooth with Rob Thomas of Matchbook 20, but as soon as that first little riff went off…. I knew I wanted to play guitar.

So many influences guys, so many. So we’ll just go through some of my riff masters. Mr. Zakk Wyllde the viking man full of brewtality has in all honesty been one of my biggest influences. My own personal riffs I create are filled with so many low chugs and squealies that I think that my fully metal head almost explodes. If you don’t know who Trivium is you need to look them up. So many of my solos are filled with the classical almost Beethoven-ish riffs just like Trivium. Every band I was in before was a mixture of Progressive metal and Melodic metal, so moving to Sodder has been a change, but it was a good one. Children of Bodom….. what more is there to say, i mean Alexi Laiho is a mean ass guitarist. His singing voice isn’t as good as his guitar playing, but I still look up to him sooooo much. So many bands, and artists, that I have listened to and been influenced by… I’m going to just write a list. Killswitch Engage, Oh Sleeper, Ozzy, BLS, Trivium, Children of Bodom, Evanescence, Nightwish, Pantera, Metallica, Avenged Sevenfold, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, Bob Marley, Brad Paisley, All That Remains, Alter Bridge, Bullet For My Valentine, Chimaira, Coheed and Cambria, Demon Hunter, Disturbed, Dope, Five Finger Death Punch, In Flames, Kamelot, Muse, and Soilwork.

Pretty much imagine anything metal, and alot of other influences from other genres. I listen to everything. Hell recently I’ve even been inspired by Dubstep, Techno, Rap, and Pop music. In all honesty I don’t even feel like typing all of my influences, but I can tell you right now. Irregardless of what you think. You are influenced by your emotions, media, and the environment around you. Well just for all you artists that can’t figure out your influences, just look around yourself, and you will see it.

Children of Bodom- In Your Face

Trivium- Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr

Killswitch Engage- Reckoning

Ozzy Osbourne- Diary Of A Madman

Ozzy Osbourne- No More Tears

Oh Sleeper- Endseekers

BLS- Parade Of The Dead

Five Finger Death Punch- The Bleeding

All That Remains- Hold On

Evanescence- Weight Of The World

Bob Marley- No Woman No Cry

Pantera- Cemetery Gates

Megadeth- This Day We Fight

A7X- Beast And The Harlot