Cole Rolland

Last updated
Cole Rolland
BornDecember 5, 1993 (age 30)
Ontario, Canada
Origin Port Elgin
GenresRock, Metal and Classical
Years active2009-present
LabelsIndependent
YouTube information
Channel
Subscribers1.4 million [1]
Total views300 million [1]
Associated acts ILLENIUM, Krewella, Adventure Club, DragonForce
YouTube Silver Play Button 2.svg100,000 subscribers2015
YouTube Gold Play Button 2.svg1,000,000 subscribers2020

Last updated: October 2023

Stephen (Cole) Rolland (born December 5, 1993) is a Canadian artist, producer, guitarist and social media personality known for his electric guitar covers, most notably the recreation of dubstep songs. [2] As of 2023, Rolland has more than 1.4 million YouTube subscribers and 300M video views.

Contents

Biography

Rolland was born on December 5, 1993 in Port Elgin in Canada. [3] He started self-learning and playing guitar at the age of 10. At the age of 15 in 2009, he recorded and uploaded a YouTube video performance of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames from the Guitar Hero video game series. [4] [2] Shortly after, he also released a cover of Cannon Rock. Both of these videos collectively gained 52 million views on YouTube. [5]

After school, Rolland worked as a process operator at Nova Chemicals before pursuing a musical career since 2019. [6] He performs rock, metal and classical covers on his electric guitar of artists including Skrillex, Krewella, Slipknot, Metallica and Avenged Sevenfold. [3] Rolland makes use of a variety of guitar techniques including slides/vibrato, along with various implementations of the whammy bar, and a killswitch. [2] [4]

As of December 2021, Rolland’s YouTube channel had more than 1.2 million subscribers and over 209 million views. [7]

Acts

Rolland has performed stage acts with ILLENIUM, Adventure Club, Krewella and DragonForce. [8] [9] He has also collaborated with Sershen & Zarítskaya for Guns n Roses’ song Sweet Child o' Mine, [10] and Sophie Lloyd for Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. [11]

Gear

Rolland has a signature guitar line in association with California-based guitar manufacturer Kiesel Guitars, Midnight and Moonlight signature guitars. [4] [5]

Guitars

Hardware

Software

Discography

Singles

EPs

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richie Kotzen</span> American guitarist and singer

Richard Dale Kotzen Jr. is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. As a solo artist, Kotzen has back catalogue of more than 20 album releases. He was a member of glam metal band Poison from 1991 to 1993, Mr. Big from 1999 to 2002, and since 2012, has been the frontman of the band The Winery Dogs. Kotzen was signed to California-based Shrapnel Records from 1988 to 1991, and again from 1995 to 1997.

Jason Eli Becker is an American composer and guitarist. At the age of 16, he became part of the Shrapnel Records-produced duo Cacophony with his friend Marty Friedman, and they released two albums, Speed Metal Symphony (1987) and Go Off! (1988). Since the dissolution of Cacophony in 1989, Becker has undertaken a solo career, releasing seven albums since his 1988 debut Perpetual Burn. He later joined David Lee Roth's solo band and recorded one album with him, A Little Ain't Enough.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herman Li</span> British guitarist

Herman Li is a Hong Kong-born British musician who is one of two lead guitarists for the power metal band DragonForce. Li has played with the band based in England since it was formed in 1999 by Li along with Sam Totman, both of whom are also the remaining original members of the band. Before DragonForce he was in the black metal band Demoniac.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shred guitar</span> Virtuoso lead guitar solo playing style

Shred guitar or shredding is a virtuoso style of playing the electric guitar, based on various advanced and complex playing techniques, particularly rapid passages and advanced performance effects. Shred guitar includes fast alternate picking, sweep-picked arpeggios, diminished and harmonic scales, finger-tapping and whammy bar use. It is commonly used in heavy metal, where guitarists use the electric guitar with a guitar amplifier and a range of electronic effects such as distortion, which create a more sustained guitar tone and facilitate guitar feedback effects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein</span> American guitarist

Paul Caiafa, known professionally as Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein, is an American guitarist best known for his material with the horror punk band the Misfits and his own band eponymously named Doyle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Donegan</span> American guitarist

Daniel Joseph Donegan is an American musician who is the guitarist, keyboardist and one of the founding members of heavy metal band Disturbed.

"The Art of Shredding" is a song by the American heavy metal band Pantera. It was released in 1990 on their fifth studio album Cowboys from Hell, and is the twelfth and final song on the album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Through the Fire and Flames</span> 2006 single by DragonForce

"Through the Fire and Flames", often abbreviated as TTFAF, is a song by British power metal band DragonForce. The song is acclaimed as the most successful song by the band. The song was the lead single and opening track from DragonForce's third album, Inhuman Rampage. It is known primarily for its rapid twin guitar solos by Herman Li and Sam Totman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zach Myers</span> Musical artist

Michael Zachary Myers is an American musician, singer, and songwriter who founded and is currently the lead singer and guitarist for the rock band The Fairwell. He is also the former bassist and current guitarist for the hard rock band Shinedown, and the manager of Memphis pop rock band Sore Eyes, as well as lead singer of Allen, Mack, Myers, & Moore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Promenade (Street Sweeper Social Club song)</span> 2010 single by Street Sweeper Social Club

"Promenade" is the second single by rap rock supergroup Street Sweeper Social Club from their debut self-titled album. The version that was released as a single differs from that on the album, the original version on the album is 2:31 in length whereas the extended version is 3:40 in length. The extended version features a guitar solo by Tom Morello, the extended version is also on The Ghetto Blaster EP, but is listed as the 'Guitar Fury remix'.

Dave Reffett is an American hard rock and heavy metal guitarist, singer, producer and bassist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krewella</span> American electronic dance music band

Krewella is an American electronic dance music band from the Chicago suburb of Northbrook, Illinois, United States, that formed in 2007. Their musical style has been mainly described as EDM, dance-rock, and dance-pop. However, Krewella's style has been influenced by a number of electronic sub genres, including progressive house, electro, dubstep, drum and bass, trap music and future bass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacky Vincent</span> British guitarist

Jack Casey Vincent is a British guitarist. He was the lead guitarist of the post-hardcore/metalcore band Falling in Reverse from its formation in 2008 until his departure in 2015. After his departure, he founded power metal band Cry Venom. Since then, Vincent has concentrated on his solo career and teaching. He has two solo albums: Star X Speed Story, came third in the Guitar World 2013 readers poll for Best Shred album, and Life Imitating Art released in 2018. Vincent won the Alternative Press Guitarist of the Year award in 2012 and came third in the Guitar World "Best Shredder" readers pool awards in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polyphia</span> American progressive rock band

Polyphia is a primarily instrumental progressive rock band based in Plano, Texas, formed in 2010. The group consists of guitarists Tim Henson and Scott LePage, bassist Clay Gober, and drummer Clay Aeschliman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angel Vivaldi</span> Musical artist

Angel Vivaldi is an American guitarist, songwriter and producer. Voted "third best guitarist" in 2014 by Prog-Sphere, he began his solo career in 2003. Vivaldi has self-released five records, Revelations, The Speed of Dark, Universal Language, Away with Words: Part 1, and Synapse. In 2015, he released a cover of Joe Satriani's "Crystal Planet" single. Vivaldi is known for his virtuoso guitar playing style and cinematic music videos.

Tina Šetkić is a French guitarist specialising in covering solos of heavy metal from Van Halen, Gary Moore, Iron Maiden, Megadeth, and Pink Floyd, and metalised classical music including pieces from Beethoven, Paganini, and Vivaldi. Her YouTube videos attracted the attention of musicians and guitar manufacturers. French manufacturer Vigier Guitars lists her on their corporate website's directory of Artists as having been a Vigier artist since 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas McRocklin</span> English guitarist, songwriter, and producer

Thomas McLaughlin, better known by his stage name McRocklin, is an English guitar player, music producer and mastering engineer. He was the guitarist featured in Steve Vai's music video "The Audience is Listening" (1990). He then became the lead guitarist in Bad4Good, a band produced by Vai in 1991. He is currently the lead guitarist and co-producer of the band McRocklin & Hutch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transparent Soul</span> 2021 single by Willow Smith

"Transparent Soul" is a song by American singer-songwriter Willow featuring American drummer Travis Barker. It was released on April 27, 2021, by MSFTS and Roc Nation, as the lead single from her fourth solo studio album Lately I Feel Everything. The song has been described by publications such as Rolling Stone and Guitar World as a pop-punk track about ingenuine people. A remix of the song featuring American rapper Kid Cudi was released on November 19, 2021.

Steven Roger Terreberry, also known as Stevie T, is a Canadian YouTuber and musician based in Welland, Ontario. He is known for his comedic videos involving music and for being a notable player of the djent subgenre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papercuts (Machine Gun Kelly song)</span> 2021 single by Machine Gun Kelly

"Papercuts" is a song by American musician Machine Gun Kelly, released on August 11, 2021, as the first single from his sixth studio album Mainstream Sellout (2022). The song features drumming and production from collaborator Travis Barker.

References

  1. 1 2 "About ColeRolland". YouTube.
  2. 1 2 3 Wilkinson, Dan (4 June 2014). "EDM Isn't Just Laptops, A Guy Has Recreated Dubstep Songs Using an Electric Guitar". Vice .
  3. 1 2 Charlton, Steve (21 August 2023). "Cole Rolland shreds DragonForce's "Through the Fire and Flames" like a boss". The Music Man.
  4. 1 2 3 Torre, Chris dela (October 18, 2020). "Meet the Sarnia guitarist who quit his day job and earned 1 million YouTube subscribers". CBC News .
  5. 1 2 3 Stewart, Peter (30 August 2023). "Canadian guitar wizard Cole Rolland brings magic to his cover of Canon Rock". The Music Man.
  6. "Sarnia guitar phenom quits Chemical Valley job for music biz". The Sarnia Journal. 13 October 2020.
  7. 1 2 "Music career of online guitar star continues to expand". The Sarnia Journal. 15 December 2021.
  8. 1 2 Roche, Sam (17 February 2021). "Cole Rolland: "EDM allows me so much more freedom to be creative and make weird guitar noises I hope people haven't heard before"". Guitarworld .
  9. Hebert, Sue (4 April 2022). "Guitar Heroes DragonForce Live Performance". Sound Check Entertainment.
  10. Brow, Jason (9 December 2021). "Cole Rolland Sparks A New Chapter In His Life With His Inspirational Anthem 'Ignite'". Hollywood Life .
  11. Owen, Matt (13 August 2021). "Sophie Lloyd and Cole Rolland join forces for monstrous, shred-heavy reinvention of Beethoven's 5th Symphony". guitarworld.
  12. "This week's essential guitar tracks: two of YouTube's biggest shred heroes team up and a slide titan pays tribute to a Southern rock guitar legend". Guitarworld. 26 May 2023.
  13. Stolzer-Gary, Isaac (13 December 2019). "ANGEL VIVALDI Releases New Music Video "Triple Helix" Featuring COLE ROLLAND". GearGods .
  14. Maan, Reuben (July 20, 2016). "Watch guitar guru Cole Rolland perform his song 'Equinox'". CBC Music .
  15. "Watch Cole Rolland totally shred while playing his song 'The Last Night'". CBC Music . June 8, 2016.